Ixchel's Piece V2: Belial's Boogaloo

[18:24] {NARRATION} The group is aiming for a mountain deep within the jungles of Agartha, where on top of it is rumored to lie a connection to Ixchel itself-- A place of worship to some of the Naguals. Being it true or not, they need to get closer to the place, and most of the journey itself is on the woods.

After preparing for the journey, they are presented with a scenario that Kazko perhaps finds himself slightly familiar with. The woods close around the group as soon as they delve deeper into it, with the presence of lesser demons growing more and more intense as they follow a path of dirt, a single opening barely fit for the group to pass through amidst the trees.

All they have to do now is press forward-- The mountain lies far, and the journey is long.
[18:29] The now heavily armored Nagual pre-emptively ignites her aura. Her shadow twists and contorts, pulling close to her floating form and pooling around her feet. It rises up like a smoky mist to pour over her form, seeping into her dark armor, and pouring out from seams in the plating, tendrils of shadow, dotted with starlight like the night's sky.

"Will lead hunting party... Since I called hunt."

Her form floats in the air, making its way down the path. Slitted, amber eyes, hungry, peer around the path, eyes peeled for a Demonic ambush. She'll extend a weak aura of gravity around her, like a bubble that 'feels' for the environment where she cannot see it. Other's might feel an ever-so-slight pressure.

"Was blind for year... Illusionist hurt me... Learned to do this."
(Ixcuiname)
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[18:31] The crawling weight of Sayuri’s responsibilities were ever saddled upon the vixen’s shoulders as heavy and palpable as the thick armor she wore in the present. She was a guardian, protector to the hearts and lives of those she loved, a fiery aegis to burn back the darkness of the land. To the fox that was her adoptive daughter, her wife to-be, kindred spirits ill fit for the dark dangers and corruption so rife within Agartha.

That role was no different in the company of those about her.

Friends, ex-partners, even her coach, they were all people dear to her, and Sayuri held the responsibility of their lives within her chest. They were of course of their of skill and caliber magi of repute, capable of defending their selves. But to the holyfire exorcist, there was never a thick enough shield.

The unknown landscapes stretched out before her in endless rows of unfamiliar trees, the thickest of Agartha’s woods explored by the career lumberjack, yet to even the vixen, these woods were foreboding, carrying a weight and mystery to them.

“Together now, our flames burn brighter close. . .”
(Sayuri Ru)
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[18:33] Kazko wasn't the leader on this mighty journey, but he had as much of a stake in it as their head, Ixcuiname. This was a trek to bathe in Ixchel's glory, one step at a time. The jungle, as usual, was his element, and relatively easy to navigate. It had been some time since he was following a group through trees as dense as this, but it appeared things weren't going to be so easy this time, either.

As he floated about, his nose was kept open on approaching demons. It had been many moons since his boisterous teenage years. Though there was a strong urge to let loose and kill the strong occultic presence around him, the man had grown thirstier for more powerful prey...especially after battling Kaors and Archons.

"Right behind you, Big Sis. Don't bother with these small fries, everybody. They're way too slow to catch up. Save your good stuff for anything dangerous ahead!" Ever the wise, he still produced both of his blades to his hands, the chimes of chains hitting the air while he hovered forth. His eyes, ears, and nose would do where the others seemed to not manage when it came to keener senses.
(Kazko)
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[18:34] The man clad in red and gold arrives on the path with the likes of Ixcuiname and the rest of her hunting party. Her taking the lead makes the most sense in this scenario and the Arcane magi does little more than bob his head along for the time being.

"I'll aid how I can, Ixie."

The blonde moves along with Keaka, keeping his hands beneath his cloak for the time being. They had a long road ahead of them, and he wouldn't allow any harm to come to those present if he could prevent it.

But still, a child of the Sun, hunting with children of the moon?
(Ovan Huitzilopochtli)
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[18:34] Hidden eyes would scan their surroundings as Keaka pressed onward with the group, careful steps falling in sync with those that chose to travel by foot. The warchief of Ezmara had joined his fellow hunters, Chieftain, and student on this task. How perfect - Each had his respect and faith.

A silent nod was offered to the floating huntress, an earthen shell slowly forming over exposed caramel skin. There was no need to radiate that heat of his yet, if anything it'd give them away.

Where was the fun if there was no prey?

A hefty hand lay dormant against Weight's grip, the slight bit of pressure biting at the back of his head. Gravity magic... It was always strange to see and feel, but at least it wasn't aimed entirely at him right now. Regardless, the earthen warchief of Ezmara remained silent, falling in line as they continued forth.
(Keaka Kamauoha)
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[18:40] Admin Peeptopia: its always been 40
[18:40] Admin Peeptopia: literally never not been 40
[18:41] {NARRATION} The woods are littered with demons. They swing around on the trees, their very presence emitting an strong occultic tinge on the skin of the Exorcists that walk among these wretched woods.

And yet, there seems to be an even bigger presence looming around on them. Red eyes accompany from behind the trees, eyeing every single one of them, the saliva audibly landing on the floor.

Ahead of the group, lies a clearing, marking half of the path towards the mountain, the hordes of demon swarming around, but seemingly keeping their distance from the red eyes that watch them from among the leaves.

Whatever it is, it is powerful enough to rule over this piece of land.

A voice invades the group's ears: "Leave this land, mortals. Nothing awaits for you in here. No plunder-- Only death and suffering."
[18:49] The holyfire exorcist's brow furrowed as that pervasive aura was endured, no indulgence found within that percolating, familiar sense of numb pins and needles that assail her skin. Golden eyes peel back the layers of dark that the hunting band find itself immersed within. Vulpine ears flick, on a swivel as that gargling voice bellows forth, the only vulpine feature on display by the kitsune, a tail long tucked away within those thick plates she wore as a second skin.

Zero reluctance is found within Sayuri’s actions as she collects the resonating staff from her back, that glimmering blue gem within it’s head glowing faintly with the energies the vixen charged. That smoldering pipe lets off a thick puff of smoke, comforting in it’s smell as the incense within that bowl smoldered. Those close about the fox would find an aura percolating from her form, warm, encroaching upon hot as those fiery waves carried the light’s purity.

Wide eyes continued their scan before those red eyes in the distance were discovered, thick with the contagion that rotted Agartha like an ever expanding plague. The kitsune knew what was to come, but the towering defender cared not for the role of aggressor. She awaited her companions, ready to ward against those foes with lashing flames and dancing fires.
(Sayuri Ru)
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[18:49] The feeling of the Occult only resonates with the Dark in her own heart! Ixchel's sacred shadow covering the interior of her armor, drifting out at the seams, her amber eyes follow those red eyes as they moves around her. It's words give her pause, and she stops to gaze upon the clearing before her and her group.

She stops, listening, before raising her visor up ever-so-slightly. It shows off her wicked, sharp-toothed grin, glistening in the moonlight. She breaks into sharp little giggles!

"Ehehe!

You'll stop us, I presume, Demon? The more you tell us we can't, the more I want to see what treasure you're hiding...

If there is no death and suffering, what is the point of a hunt?"

The dark-armored, floating Nagual raises her stave towards the air, glimmering starlight coiling around it, twisting into a thick thread, before pouring into her gauntlet. It solidified into a glimmering, dark chain, coiling around each of her arms.

"I hunt in Ixchel's name, Demon, do you seek to be our quarry? Ehehe..."

All the while as she taunts, slitted eyes remain alert, and she stays on guard, ready for a surprise attack.
(Ixcuiname)
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[18:50] Demons...demons here, demons there. They've claimed this end of Agartha, there was no doubt. But they weren't the worst of it. There were much worse things Kazko had seen, and after an Archon and a handful of Kaors, there wasn't any fear for him to spare for them.

The younger Nagual could feel the piercing glares from all over. But there was something stronger hitting his nostrils than the common, lesser demons. Something bigger--badder. He caught the stench before his ears caught that voice. A smirk curled onto his lips, a single tooth peeking over into vision. He gave Sayuri an idle nudge, not worried about Ovan or Keaka being disturbed by the might of Occult around them.

"Hey, Sayouree. Fun's coming up. We warmed up for this." Whether she saw it or not, he gave a wink over to the kitsune. His body floated up next to Ixcuiname, keeping more caution in case of ambushes. Maybe the rest of the group would be interested in speaking out to the hidden opponent...he just intended to be prepared to kill it.
(Kazko)
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[18:51] Keeping his head on the occasional swivel and his ears open to the occultic life around them, Ovan proceeds with a twinge of caution alongside the others and the blades that had been known to float when left to their own devices still clipped to his belt beneath his oversized cloak.

As a walking dowsing rod of sorts, he is roughly able to spot the entities as they reveal themselves and keep track of them to some extent - though it seems as if there is another doing the same.

The pair of red eyes capture the bulk of his attention, and the Chieftain fights off a smirk in the corner of his mouth. Not just at the fact that they had been ordered to depart, but because of Ixcuiname's behavior in response.

It had been a while since he had been in the company of those willing to fight for the sake of it. It was refreshing.

A hand moves to casually rest on the hilt of one of the twin blades as they wait to see how things will play out.
(Ovan Huitzilopochtli)
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[18:52] Hidden eyes closely watch the demons as they swing about them, grabbing and throwing themselves from the branch to branch. What little skin that was visible for the man would darken, a low grumble leaving the man. Annoying - All of them, damned annoying.

There were bigger fish to char, however, notably those red globes that seemed to follow their path. The soft patter of saliva hitting the forest's ground was evident to the creature's size, but little scared the man, let alone some damned hidden demon.

As the clearing comes to view, the voice ringing through their ears, Keaka would look to the armored Nagual... Who had begun to taunt the demon. A small smirk would spread across his exposed mug - Ever willing for a fight as usual it seemed.

Slowly, Weight was pulled from its sheath, hefty hands holding onto the grip as he lowered himself into a stance. Ever silent, ever ready, the earthen warrior awaits what's to come.
(Keaka Kamauoha)
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[19:05] {NARRATION} Ixcuiname and Kazko manage to avoid the traps on the ground. Simple they were, really, but if any of the group had paid attention to traps instead of bolstering their own courage against the demon, they'd had seen it.

The two merely had a strike of luck for the fact they were floating made them avoid the covered holes in the ground, easily mistaken to simply be spread leaves above the ground. It was indeed not that harmful for the one that managed to fall inside.

Keaka was the unfortunate soul. It provoked a moderate discomfort upon his legs and arms, but even so... The hole they fell in right at the entrance of the clearing was far too deep for him to get out of.

And while this meant no harm to him, the group couldn't get him off right now-- A massive creature, akin to a wolf, slowly strode out of the woods, its red eyes flaring upon the group!


[19:13] Kazko's ears flattened backward, his brows tightening when he saw the massive wolf creep out into the open. Of course, he heard the sound of dirt caving in to the ground behind them, but there was no way he was going to look and see who the unfortunate soul was who got trapped. His eyes were firm upon the blood-red gaze of the canine demon. Instincts told him the moment any of them turned around would be the moment this predatory creature pounced and tore them to bits. It...wasn't because he didn't care about poor Keaka...

"Ix...if you want to distract it, do it now."

That was his only plan of action, if it meant buying their trapped ally some time to recover. Regardless, his knuckles whitened around his blades in preparation. His reflexes were his only hope to matching whatever magic this mighty demon was prepared to throw at them...
(Kazko)
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[19:16] The floating Nagual has her attention fixed on the enemy -- And there's a lesson in that, this time. One of her compatriots, possibly due to the fact that he was the heaviest of the group, fell into a pit-trap. Her attention whips back from his form to the approaching monster. The only lament she has currently, is that the warrior-smith won't get an opportunity to hunt...

Her dark chains that billow around her manifest cruel spines of midnight black Occult, a chorus of clinking heard from them as they swish and sway on an ephemeral breeze. One chain wraps tightly around the armored Nagual's staff, linking it to her arm, a staff with a sharp bladed end, in addition to its orichalcum focal point...

Excited giggles slip from her lips as she levels her staff towards the creature, her coarse, scratchy voice given as she remains airborne.

"Ehehe… I can't wait to see what you're made of when we peel you apart, Demon! I wonder if you'll be a better fight then the pathetic Archon we fought earlier..."

Her chains crackle with electricity as they float before her. She hears the words of her fellow Nagual, trusting in his idea. She'll look for a pit trap close by, floating above it. She hopes she'll have egged the creature on enough to pounce on her, to which she'll utilize Ixchel's power to teleport in a crack of electricity, after intensifying gravity in the spot she occupied, of course. To bring the creature into the pit and buy time!
(Ixcuiname)
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[19:17] Keaka was perhaps too filled with bloodlust, the idea of a decent fight was one he ran over in his head every day. One wrong heavy step, and the mountain of a man soon found himself plummeting down the covered hole.

Just like that, the warchief had found himself trapped. How... How unfitting for him. Deep, cramped, he began to wonder why the hunts they had been on had lacked such strategic ideas. Not that he'd entirely complain about such a thing, though...

The masked warrior had little way to climb out, the cramped space proving little room was given to cast any form of earthen magic. Given larger spaces perhaps he could rise the earth, himself atop its platform, but... Well, there were reasons why he was mightier with a sword than that mana coursing through him.

Thus, he found himself simply waiting for his fellow hunters at the bottom of this pit. Helplessly, he stared out towards the opening with hidden eyes, arms pressed against the walls about him.
(Keaka Kamauoha)
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[19:18] The fox’s resolute stance was far from what was necessary in that particular moment as it was the earthen magi before her that fell for that trap, the man’s departure from Sayuri’s view a troublesome occurrence, one that prompted the vixen’s cry. “Keaka!” Golden eyes were thrown down upon that entrapped male, but common sense warded the kitsune from lingering overlong from that edge, a low growl heaved as she retreated. The earth magi was in his element, so many times had Sayuri been the living proof of it, he’d find that pitfall an inconvenience at worst.

Hands clasp firmly at the rod of her stave, the party’s opponent revealed. A low breath was swallowed as those relentless lessons the male had instilled within her resonated through her mind. Persistence, the smoldering flame lasted the longest, and until they broke into open conflict, the vixen would remain as she was. Ready.
(Sayuri Ru)
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[19:19] "Keaka, wh--"

He was too late to warn the man. But in all honesty, who could have expected the demon-kin to set traps? Perhaps this was a testament to the intelligence that people swore they did not have.

"Keep cool Keaka. We can get you outta there.." He aims to reassure the titan of a man and then gazes upon the wolf as the smell of rotten flesh fills the air. It was unsettling. Disturbing. Frightful. And yet..?

A brilliant golden aura flares around the Order magi as he splits his focus between Keaka's situation and the potential enemy before them. The two blades strapped to his belt are unclipped and move to float around him.

Perhaps they could use telekinesis to get him out?
(Ovan Huitzilopochtli)
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[19:26] {NARRATION} The demon itself seems to have little consideration for Keaka. A whisper crosses the mind of all the group, including the poor fella trapped within the confined space dug down onto the earth.

"I should have prepared more... I didn't know prey were so eager and plentiful these days!", the telepathic voice ensues as the group seems to try and distract him, specially Ixcuiname. The red irises focus on the nagual and a soft growl is heard under its breath, until...

... The golden aura running across Ovan's body distracts it. "Ah, one of those...", the telepathic voice echoes.

But what it continues to say is confined upon Ovan's mind only, with the red flashlights examining his body as if he was lamb ready to be struck down and used as food for the whole horde of demons that single wolf commanded.

The chaos that ran from its form was too powerful to ignore, to say the least. It was penetrating, and the occultism that seeped from it was the only thing stronger than that.

And quickly enough, after he seemingly was done with a taunt meant only for the Order magi... The demon pounced on his direction.
[19:26] DMPrego whispers: I will love the look in your face as I tear their limbs apart, one-by-one.
[19:54] {NARRATION} It was a hard fight. The demon's first attack was surprisingly powerful, every single hit from it tearing down the vitality of the group, the powerful claws made of darkness claiming their own life for itself.

Yet, it was perhaps the purity of Sayuri and Ovan's magic, or just the strenuous exercise that provoked it to slowly decline on its power. The endless assault of flames scorched the ground, counteracted by the water and holyfire from both magis. Yet, it was such strenuous exercise to keep the flames at bay, to stop them from killing everyone... (-10% vit for 1 day)

Nonetheless, Kazko and Ixcuiname prove to be fearsome foes as well, distracting the demon and, in the end, they both strike at him-- But the demon manages to put its jaw on Ix's shoulder.

The teeth dig down on her skin, the corruption spreading raw within her veins, a black mark forever staining her body around where the teeth managed to penetrate. (-20 vit for Ixcuiname)

And yet, Kazko manages to nag the final hit, finishing off the demon.

[19:59] ** DMPrego has inflicted an injury upon Ixcuiname. ("Corrupted Wound", "The demonic wolf's bite penetrated deep within Ixcuiname's shoulder, the very dark essence still lingering within her blood. Her veins around the location are blackened, afflicted by the corrupting essence.", "Permanent", "Severity: MODERATE (-20 Vit)") **
[20:01] ** DMPrego has inflicted an injury upon Sayuri Ru. ("Strenuous Magical Activity", "Sayuri's mana circuits are harmed due to the extreme strain they were subjected to contain the demon's flames, along with some minor burns over her body. It shouldn't last long, yet it is tiresome while it lasts.", "Temporary", "Duration: Short (1 day)") **
[20:01] ** DMPrego has inflicted an injury upon Ovan Huitzilopochtli. ("Strenuous Magical Activity", "Ovan's mana circuits are harmed due to the extreme strain they were subjected to contain the demon's flames, along with some minor burns over her body. It shouldn't last long, yet it is tiresome while it lasts.", "Temporary", "Duration: Short (1 day)") **
[20:04] Kazko's swings were wild and reckless. Flames of dire occult spread over the open area, scaring away the lesser demons...but not he and his allies. They wouldn't fall so easily. The sound of chains whirling through the midnight air made his swings all the more fearsome. Lightning guided the chained weapons across the demonic canine's fur, cleaving it wide open. It looked very much worse for wear after being doused in holy flames and the might of the stars, but it took his strength to make sure it was felled.

Braving the veil of weakened shadowflame, the Nagual dashed in for the kill. With the blast of a meteor from his elder 'sister' blasting it airborne, he flung his chains into its abdomen with practiced precision. The lacerations surged with electricity, searing the demon's flesh from within. In a whipping motion, he suddenly brought it straight down to the earth, much faster than gravity ever could. Dust lifted into their view, hiding thedemon's defeat...

Still in one piece, but cut open, broken, and burnt to a degree where death had been absolutely inevitable.

Kazko reeled his chains back, catching his blades by their grips with a satisfied smirk on his face. Nyeshk, doused in violet blood...just the look of it was beautiful, to him.

"Well, that was fun, what about you g--"

...right. Everyone else didn't end up as well as he did. But, while they were all licking their wounds, he could at least float over to try and give Keaka a hand out of his hole, if he'd made it to the top by now.
(Kazko)
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[20:16] As combat erupts with that demonic entity it is then, and only then the guardian acts, the killing intent of that foe to be warded off to the best of Sayuri’s ability. Before combat may truly begin for the hunting band however that creeping corruption swarms that group, pervasive flames saturating the land in that darkened corruption. Everything about it is wrong, opposite of the holyflame exorcist who was sparred only as her holy shield flickers. A low growl fills the kitsune’s chest as she immediately recognizes how vulnerable her allies where.

She would be their shield.

Eschewing true combat the vixen plants the butt of her staff into the ground, either hand held besides that resonating gem embedded within it’s head. A large breath was swallowed by the fox, what she’d planned would hurt, strain her to her core, but there was no other option within her mind.

A coal, a smoldering coal that persisted through all darkness.

That breath was released as Sayrui;’s aura seeped out, where the reclusive vixen traditionally hid and shied away, hiding that holy influence, it bellowed forth in hot waves, carrying the purity of light. Like a candle flickering within the depths of a moonless night was the holyfire exorcists’ aura, yet a flickering flame amidst the tempest's gale did she struggle to persevere.

Every occultic taint combated against the vixen’s intrusion, the guardian’s spirit aflame as she burned brighter, resolute in her stance as she enforced her will upon that single action. To preserve the lives of her allies.

As the demon withdrew and that last of that necrotic energy seeped away was Sayuri given leave to falter, the vixen collapsing at once alongside that staff, it’s gem flickering with the last vestigates of her power. Flesh burned and skin writhed, tender and red as the kitsune hacked and sputtered, staring into the ground before her. Every bit of her screamed out, but the deed was done, and they breathed yet. For now.

”Cleansing flame, the purifying element.” The woman growled, fingers sinking into the earth as gold orbs leveled against the ground’s surface. “Who’s wounded.”
(Sayuri Ru)
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[20:19] A hand rises up to rest on the nape of the Huitzilopochtli's neck as the battle comes to a conclusive end and Kazko puts the beast to rest. The aura around his person was already working to mend and repair his person to the shape and condition that that fate itself wanted him to have.

The gift that he had - the blessing that he and Suha shared, was one that looked after them even when they could not look out for themselves. With such a blessing watching over him, the man makes his way over to Ixcuiname's injured form and squats down to look her over.

"Hunt was a success. But how are you..?"

He glances over to make sure Keaka made it out of the hole.
(Ovan Huitzilopochtli)
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[20:21] The dark, armor-clad Nagual dances around the battlefield, the dark fire causing her to be overheated, pain searing through her very being. And yet, it's a rapturous sensation, reveling below the moonlight in Ixchel's name! And so, Ixcuiname dances! No spirit dancer, her chorus is that of the lashing of electricity-arching chains, the gnashing of spurred barbs against the wolfen creature's body, coating the starlight conjured items with that baleful, dark blood!

She fought without reservation, recklessly at the forefront of the fight, seeking to entangle and crush with those gravity-augmented chains, electrocute with their contact, and lacerate where they can! Ixchel's dark shadow, contained within her armor, glimmers with that starlight, running over her body and attempting to protect her with enervating tendrils that dissuade teeth.

And yet, they prove to not dissuade it fully. Reeling in her chain-linked staff and brandishing it like a javelin,the armored figure covers it in a coating of starlight, charging it before seeking to lance it towards the demon, hopefully to penetrate it...

But instead, it lunges at her, digging its cursed bite into her shoulder and eliciting a horrid noise between a scream and a growl of rage! Her focus is damaged, so instead, falling to the earth, she manifests that starlight wreathing her weapon into an orb, detonating it to launch the creature airborne. Not before it had shaken and dug its teeth in, her shoulder's ebbing shadows joined by dripping blood.

Still, on the ground, she's able to watch Kazko tear the creature apart, her helmet just ajar enough to watch the other Nagual with a pleased grin. The pain is immense, regardless, but she doesn't have time for it now. Lying there for a moment or two, she forces herself to her feet, her dark chains holding her staff to her side, while one gauntleted arm rests on her black-tainted, bleeding shoulder, four ichor and blood dripping from a deep, penetrating ghash, while her right arm is currently unresponsive.

A giggle is given, pained, but defiant as the dead wolf is approached. She waves her able-to-move hand towards Sayuri and Ovan nonchalantly, lifting herself into the air with those invisible strings.

"Eheh. I've another blessed scar, proof of my devotion to my Goddess... It's just a flesh wound. Let us go, hunters, drag the carcass of this beast with us, to the peak of our blessed site, where we may sacrifice it in Ixchel's name..."

Not one to tarry, she continues onwards, unless stopped. She doesn't dematerialize her dark chains as they hold her staff for her, the weapon and the chains swishing and swaying subtly...
(Ixcuiname)
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[20:23] It pained him, hearing the clashing of blades and the whorl of flames overhead. He sported a grimace, the distant voice of Kazko hinting in on the results of the fight.

During the rather short exchange, the mountain of a man had slowly begun to lift himself from the depths of the pit. The tomahawk he used for practically all of his gathering dug into the sides of the pit, slowly making his ascent. Bits of earth and root littered his already wiry, dirty hair. A damned mess, all of this, he hated it all.

Keaka needed to watch his footing from here on out.

A grimace was sported on his mug as Kazko peered in. What a damned sight - Their own warchief trapped in a pitiful hole while they fought against a demon... It'd take years to get his own ego back up to par at this rate. His pride, once more, had been tarnished.

With the help of Kazko, he would rise from the trap. Low grumblings left the man as he brushed bits of earth from that Nyeshk armor of his. He'd peer about at the group, simply stating. "... We speak nothing of that damned hole- Are you all alright?"

Ixcuiname had other ideas it seemed, a low huff leaving the man as he quickly followed along. This time, however, he'd grab a long branch from a neighboring tree, slowly dragging it in front of him to test for traps.

He was a brute at heart, but the man wouldn't be caught twice.
(Keaka Kamauoha)
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[20:26] Ixcuiname will, if noone else does, direct the other end of her chain to wrap around the Demon-wolf's leg, dragging it behind her, chains holding staff and pulling carcass...
(Ixcuiname)
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[20:27] Sayuri bears witness to Keaka's parinoia. Indeed, this was no friendly place, the illusionist's best interests held in disuading any further attempts as a reckless double was materalized, the vixen's worn form splitting before a second Sayuri joined the front row, the physical manfestation of her energies expendable where flesh and blood was less so. A moving probe that matched Sayuri's existance to a 't'.
(Sayuri Ru)
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[20:40] Kazko, not really paying any mind to the demon's last words, was only listening to Ixchel's will. He heaved the giant known as Keaka from his trap, just giving him a short wink and a taunt...knowing he wouldn't be punished for it while they were in dangerous territory.

"Maybe think about shedding a few more pounds, then the ground won't give out under you."

By the time his words finished, however, he heard an ear piercing screech descend over his ears. They flattened back over his skull, and...his keen eyes saw a Garuda. An immense one, at that. Perhaps it was drawn to the group, finding it to be their prey. As much as he wanted to take down the giant bastard, he knew his allies had taken more than enough punishment already. They got this far...and were already injured.

It pained him to do it, but...Kazko realized he would have to make some sacrifices of his own, before they reached the site of worship. This would be his act of devotion towards this quest itself, rather than just to Ixchel.

From his things, Kazko produced not a weapon, but...

A beautiful, shining, juicy...rainbow trout.

It was held to the sky, in all its glory, for the angered bird to see. Truly a rare morsel, as it was beautiful.

Thanks, big sis.
(Kazko)
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[20:48] Ixcuiname was deceptively strong from what it seemed - The wolf was enormous compared to her. Perhaps this was some extension of her own magics. He wouldn't ask too many questions, nor even reply to Kazko's taunt. Strange.

Their ascent was slow, Keaka's trusty branch brushing about for traps as they proceeded onward. He rarely made eye contact, if at all, with the others. He simply couldn't bring himself to do such a thing - Their damned warchief had fallen in a trap. Xiuhtec, how the hell would he ever pass that?

As they were half way up the mountain, that branch was placed into his pack. There was little chance for a trap to be placed about here... Though those damned birds were getting ever closer.

The shriek pierced the air, Keaka's vision immediately shooting towards the source!

Despite Kazko's offering - Wait, was that the one he gave Ixcuiname? Hidden eyes would squint behind that visor, his head slowly shaking as he pulled himself from his thoughts.

With a left leg swinging outward, he'd motion with his arms to raise a wall of stone on the edge of the mountain and behind them - Barriers, in case they were to be tossed backward or the side!
(Keaka Kamauoha)
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[20:50] A giant harpy..

.. And a rainbow trout.

There was a joke to be made here somewhere, but it would need to wait for a later date. For now, they had a very serious issue to address. Rather than living the rest to Kazko and fate, the magi speaks up.

"Don't risk your hands being torn off. Let me.."

The man aims to make use of his telekinetic abilities to lift and levitate the rainbow trout a few feet away from Kazko and the group.
(Ovan Huitzilopochtli)
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[20:50] The fox followed along with that group, the exerted guardian maintaining her focus as her flesh burned, seared by her intent to defend and protect. Yet once more would that hunting band find their query, or more aptly, their query them.

The shrill cry of that foe sent the vixen’s vulpine ears flat in search for some muffled cover, falling against her scalp. Golden eyes shoot skywards, finding the source of that foe’s call as quickly as it was made. A swooping strike would prove difficult to strike out against, the hit and run diversions of that avian foe.

Flames swirl about the vixen once more, there was to be combat once more. Their foe would be a difficult one to face without grounding it. “Cripple it’s wings, bring it to us.” The fox professes before assessing her role in just that.

Flames shoot off, warding against that assault, and attempt to disrupt it’s flight through those heated updrafts, or, in the event of it’s continued persistence, scorch feather and wing. The vixen's focus on warding upwards in the wake of Keaka’s erected barriers, a proverbial roof of flame to those impromptu walls, further limiting that foe’s angle of attack.
(Sayuri Ru)
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[20:51] Kazko lets the fish hover above him for a few seconds like he just pulled it out of a chest in some other game, but then Ovan lifts it up some more...
(Kazko)
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[21:00] While the group's attention was on the bird of prey, the Nagual allows their strategy to go into play. She slinks back as the group attempts to figure out a plan, and quietly removes a gauntlet. The veins stemming from her shoulder are black, her skin paler, and her blood is tainted with dark ichor. The pain bothers her, but she decides to staunch the bleeding, dealing with the contamination later.

She's not proficient with conventional healing magics, sure... But there is another way to heal. She concentrates on her Occult, letting her dark chains carve small gouges in her useless right arm. Her flesh withers at the touch of the Occultic barbs along those scraping channels. A quiet prayer is whispered.

"My body is Ixchels… My flesh is formed from Her shadow, and I am Her weapon. I will give every drop of blood, every pound of flesh to hunt in your name..."

Then comes her gauntlet, stuffed in her mouth to stifle her cry as the truly excruciating pain comes. To heal with the Occult, you must destroy something to get something else. Her useless arm is badly damaged by those withered lines, but purplish, malformed flesh cover the rents in her shoulder, in exchange, staunching her bleeding. A few quiet noises are made, her visor up just enough for her to bite her gauntlet, while hot tears stream down her face.

It doesn't take too long to finish, sealing the corrupted fluids inside the now blackened veins around her shoulder, but preventing her from bleeding out. Her gauntlet is replaced, and she lowers her visor oncemore, hopefully none of the group the wiser to her little bit of first aid...
(Ixcuiname)
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[21:11] The Garuda continues to fly towards the group-- But luckily, the rainbow colors and probably Ixcuiname's edginess are enough to send them packing, at least for the moment. The Garuda itself seems to be distracted enough by the rainbow colors moving, probably due to some form of its eyes working.

Maybe all it sees is a rainbow moving around, shifting colors ever so quickly, enough to at least distract them for the moment! And obviously, there is only one thing that is to blame for any sort of chance that this wouldn't go right.

It was Sayuri firing bolts of fire away, different from the rest of the group. It doesn't seem to hit him, missing by such a large margin that the Garuda barely seems to notice.

It simply follows on its own path as the rainbow fish plummets down after being sent away by the shockwave of Telekinesis, the same trail followed by it...

... And Ixcuiname's healing changed a -20 perm for a -20 perm.
(Garuda)
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[21:18] {NARRATION} The group follows on, then. The Garuda being away, it means they're free enough to continue on their own path, and shortly enough they reach the top of the mountain.

The summit is a plain piece of terrain, with an observatory residing in the middle. It is simply a building made of stone, risen by magic from the mountain itself, drawing a circle. With the very tip of its round top wide open, in order to give way for... Something.

The lack of doors quickly announces this something. A beautiful machination, of Nyeshk and Arcanium wiring, stands in the middle of the room, marked with Demonic engineering. Whatever their engineers would do, it was gorgeous.

... And in the end, it was obvious where the drill pointed towards. The big, grey orb in the sky, that always resided the clouds -- And those were not long below their feet, with the chilly breezes running through the party.
[20:32] {NARRATION} Ixcuiname drags the wolf's body across the remainder of the path, at least for now. The demons seem to be scared by this fierce demonstration, even if it is simply because the group was powerful enough to kill the one that could more than likely kill them all. That, and the horrible howl that it let out as it died.

"YOU WILL MEET NOTHING BUT DOOM HERE!", the demon's voice echoed upon their heads at its final moments.

And yet, they continued. Pressing forth, they were able to march onwards... Until finally meeting the mountain. Birds of prey flew around its top, circling the summit as they searched for new prey. More often than not, they all seemed to ignore the group as they rose up the mountain.

... Until they were basically halfway through. A single garuda, unfortunately the biggest one, managed to spot them as it circled the spot, the other ones roaming around.

A high-pitched scream, not unlike an eagle, echoed from the bird's throat as it started flying in the direction of the group.
[21:12] Kazko just catches his fish. Truly Ixchel has blessed him today. He drove the bird away and kept his food. He hugs the very-dead trout.
(Kazko)
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[21:27] The floating Nagual floats on, her armored form billowing shadows, while her right shoulder glistens with dried blood and dark ichor. Seems to have healed alright, wound mostly hidden under her Nyeshk plating. Slitted, amber eyes peer from behind her visor, running over this great observatory as she gazes on the machine inside. She holds her functioning arm out, while the other rests to her side, slack, in order to bid the group to stop, before they move through the threshold of the drill-containing room.

Still, she drags that Demon-corpse with her, as well, a dark stain created by its blood as her chain grasps its leg firmly, keeping it behind her.

Focusing her gravity magic, a barrage of small stones is launched through the threshold of that doorless room, first. Hopefully these rocks trigger whatever trap is commonly found within Demonic ruins. She Nagual will observe what happens in response, before, next, the corpse of their sacrifice is whipped gently, letting it slide through the threshold, incase the trap has the ability to sense if something is organic or not...

Provided no dangers are seen, the floating Nagual will speak to her group, not able to recognize arcanium or nyeshk, since she's no craftsman.

"Strange demonic structure... Pointd to moon... Could use as sacred site... Warrior-smith, could you understand what Demon-machine does?"
(Ixcuiname)
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[21:28] Kazko mourned the loss of his fish. A beautiful delicacy, tossed to the wind. No matter if it got the mighty Garuda away from them and potentially keeping their bodies from suffering another fight, it still took a toll on the fish-loving cat. And boy, while they were traveling, he gave them all earfuls for it.

"Why did I DO THAT." He whined, genuinely sounding as if tears were on the way. "Big Sis Ix gives me the sweetest tasting fish in the sea...I was saving it for later..." A weak sob, while he moped along the path. Here he was, complaining about a fish, while his elder Nagual was further corrupting herself in order to try and keep her body from falling apart from the wolf's bite. He knew exactly where his priorities were...and that Ixcuiname wasn't about to care if he worried for her condition too gravely.

The mountain's peak saw their destination--a giant machine, lined with unfamiliar runes and markings. Kazko's brow furrowed at the machination itself, but he turned his head back and forth to survey the remainder of the observatory's innards. It seemed really quiet up here, compared to the rampaging demons and birds further below. He recounted what the wolf's final words had bellowed out...

Even demons hadn't dared to tread this far.

If a machination this advanced existed, Kazko had a feeling he should hover about and scout for any further trappings laying in wait. If his senses were keen enough, maybe he'd be able to avoid any alarms or the like--and perhaps let his team know where to watch their step.
(Kazko)
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[21:28] With . . . whatever had driven what was to be their most recent foe away, the vixen gives pause in those warding flames. A confused moment spent pondering the avian’s departure before she thought better than to question the whims of animals. The vixen’s staff was lowered, but not sheathed as she followed up that summit, biting winds chilly against what scorched flesh was exposed.

As they come to the site of their journey the kitsune gives pause to soak in the immense mass of that towering structure, the spiraling drill the capstone that spired high overhead. They were there, no doubting this construction’s purpose.

The vixen momentarily plants the butt of her staff against the ground, her breath captured as she studied that interposing structure, no obvious entrance offered from her casual observation. A sweeping gaze ran over that assembled party. They’d made it, all breathing, worse for wear, no doubt, but breathing.

The guardian shook her head, hoisting that staff up once again, she did not know what trials still awaited, but she would face them in the name of warding those she cared for.
(Sayuri Ru)
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[21:30] The formation and layout of the observatory reminds him of another - the mountain based lair of a certain necromancer years prior.

While he had not truly been keen of researching it then, it turns out that doing so might have helped him in their current situation. Instead, he looks to Keaka as the expert in this particular scenario and looks around the demonic lab for any traces of traps or tricks.

They really could not afford to have another pitfall incident with Keaka.

His aura acts as a sonar device, pinging out in search of any abnormalities in the area. Well, living ones.

If there were actual traps there, he would need to locate them with his eyes.

"What's the word, Ke'?"
(Ovan Huitzilopochtli)
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[21:32] Keaka could only huff, watching the rainbow trout plummet away. His question had been answered - It was the damned fish he gave Ixcuiname. Pity...

As they approached the summit, hidden eyes would take in the building before them. A strange creation in all truth - The smith had barely seen something that wanted a damned hole in its structuring. That gave way to the elements... Strange.

With a chilling breeze passing him by as the warchief peered within the structure, a low grumble left the man. Volcanic heat would radiate from him at the snap of his fingers, of which promptly gripped onto that branch he had brought with him.

Nyeshk and arcanium… Xiuhtec, he'd tear the damned thing to pieces if their purpose wasn't getting a stone from that pale orb in the sky. His attention turned towards the floating huntress, a slow nod given.

"Damned thing's made of Arcanium and Nyeshk… Most likely it's to be used for mining the moon. How exactly is... Out of my damned mind, peheh."

Keaka's lips would purse for a moment, readying himself at the door. "Right... Figure I head in first, test for traps mh? Follow my steps." A slight tinge of pain was in his voice, there was simply no way he'd be getting over that hole any time soon. Careful eyes looked about the area for any traps, and if he could see none nor would anyone stop him, he'd begin his sweep of the area.
(Keaka Kamauoha)
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[21:37] {NARRATION} There were no traps. The building was abandoned, by far a byproduct of whatever destroyed the demons in their long time ago. It has a slot for what seems to be a spire shard in the middle, right next to a button-- Which would probably turn it on, given the remaining energy on the machine.

Not enough for its full purpose, but it still would happen. Probably enough for mining by itself, and further examination showed the machinery-- It was supposed to shoot a beam straight to the moon, following the shape of the arcanium lining of the drill itself.

But from the shadows, a man appears! Old, but a human, dressed in rags that remained from an armor as ancient as he was. "Beware!", he warned. "Do not turn that on-- They used it to unseal what lies above!", he continued.

A shake of his head towards the group, before a shaky hand rose a rusty, although still sharp, sword. "Y-You aren't with the demons, are you? I've worked all my life to stop them from coming here! All my life... To stop that damned machine to start working!"
[21:41] Kazko thought there would be somethign dangerous lingering about in this poor old observatory...but it's just an old man. He blows some hot air, and rolls his eyes. Not being the best talker, he leaves it to the other tribesmen...who, among them, probably only two of them would be good options for speaking roles...
(Kazko)
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[21:45] The floating Nagual enters the structure after Keaka, grasping her sacrifice and pulling it close to her with one of those dark chains. Shakily, she readies the bladed end of her staff, suspended in the air as one of her dark chains bind it to her, moving at her command. A surrogate arm, of sorts. She's poised to slice open the beast, use its blood to paint a runic marking for Ixchel upon the floor. Something simple, due to her lack of formal knowledge.

But she's paused as a new threat appears! Slitted, amber eyes stare at the ragged man, boring into him from behind her horned helmet, the floating form allowing her bladed staff to remain pointed down towards the carcass, while she turns to face the man.

"Ehehe…

We carry gifts for our Goddess... 'Unsealing what lies above'? Using machine, we will get chunk of blessed moon, bring to world."

She inches closer, staring at the man intensely as she floats above him, her shadows drifting out of her blood-splattered plate, granting her dark-armored form an ominous look to it.

"What lies above? Am curious now..." She states in that rough voice of hers, a coarse, scratchy tone...
(Ixcuiname)
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[21:45] Ovan spends some time examining the elderly man as he walks out to state his case, golden eyes doing everything they can in an attempt to figure out fact from fiction.

His demeanor is unchanged at the mention of the man spending his entire life to prevent the demons from coming in. To keep whatever was up there from being.. unsealed once more?

The Ezmaran is curious, but doesn't make up his mind right away. Instead, a simple question is asked.

"Yeah. What was.. up there?"
(Ovan Huitzilopochtli)
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[21:47] His sweep found nothing, a relief he couldn't entirely put in words. Placing the branch once more into his pack, he'd go about inspecting the machine that lay dormant.

A spireshard powered machine, arcanium lining spiraling up the drill. Perhaps he had been wrong about the methods of how this contraption mined the moon, but it's intention was still true-

Enter the shadowy old man, immediately pulling Keaka's attention from this vile machinery. The machine opened a seal it seemed - Even then, the damned elder seemed... Iffy.

The warchief had experience with illusionists - Sayuri and the black-haired kitsune proved the potency of such magics. Hidden eyes squinted at the ragged form, a meaty hand resting atop the decrepit blade's handle. That hunger began to rise, but he'd do what he could to ignore the intentions it rose from him.

Everyone had their time, right?

"Yes... The hell is up there? We aren't with the damned demons, not by a long shot." Grating and inquisitive, the smith's eyes kept close watch of their surroundings. It was simply too strange that the old one had appeared from the shadows.
(Keaka Kamauoha)
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[21:48] Careful advancement had lead to this, the crest of that mountain, the spire they so endeavored to climb and secure the plunders of that planned hunt. The howling wind cut the pyromancer to the bone, that cold a blissful feeling over those overexerted circuits that ran through her being, a momentary reprieve from that burning.

Care was taken in their advance, the group well learned of the dangers, yet the results of their probes were . . . unexpected. The appearance of man, not demon met their arrival upon that strange monolith, speaking not of threats but of warnings. A hesitant moment of suspicion claimed the fox. The magi was far too familiar with her own illusions to believe lie presented before her.

Golden eyes squint, studying the male for imperfections. He’d claimed a lifelong dedication yet the place seemed . . . empty, no signs of living presented outside, no smoldering fires, no signs of conflict or skirmishes with the demons so prolific below the mountain. Unless the male sought cover deeper within that structure, Sayuri found not honesty in those words.
(Sayuri Ru)
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[21:55] {NARRATION} At least they stopped to try and hear him. It was obvious that there was something wrong in there, but it mostly emanated from the weapon itself-- The man seemed to have aged beyond the point of senility, his gaze empty and too affected by the blindness of his own age to focus the irises upon the group itself.

"Don't you know the legends? Inside it-- Lies all the Chaos that once plagued this land. The spirits locked it inside, and the demons tried to release it again and again. It leaks sometimes, but never totally. Too many..." He said, eyes sliding to face upwards.

And then, he pointed the sword towards Ixcuiname. "You won't get any of it! I have no strength to destroy the machine-- But I have enough to protect it!", he promises, before continuing. "Do you want to risk it? Do you want to do something so selfish and risk the world by it?", the guardian asks.

Obviously, the drill-like artifact would be able to drill a singular small hole into the moon, all the way through its inside, if fed with enough magic. However, what remained of it would more than likely do little more than scratch the surface.
[22:02] "Hey, hey, big sis..." Kazko suddenly spoke up, after everyone had gotten their interrogation out on the aged defender of the observatory. Perhaps he was being disrespectful of the man's wild pleads to keep the machine deactivated.

"We should destroy it, instead. The machine." He nodded, before he explained his reasoning.

"Ixchel would be happier if we made scrap metal out of something created to release Chaos unto the world, right? It's her claws that carved the prison that is our moon, right? Banging on the prison to her enemy sounds like a bad idea. We should blow it up, and loot this place instead!"
(Kazko)
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[22:04] Keaka would stay silent for a moment, mulling the information over as he eyed the group. Two of them were a guaranteed no - The idea of chaos seeping to the land wasn't exactly the best damned thing to hear, let alone playing with the spirits wishes... However, that's where his main question rose.

"How much do you think this damned thing can do in the energy it has left?.. We can shoot the damned thing, get Ixcuiname her piece, and tear it down."

The molten smith's eyes looked the old man over for a moment, a low grumbling trailing on as he finished his proposal. Just one swing... "You aren't exactly fit for it... Though we all are. I'm a damned smith, thus I could dismantle the abomination."

With his suggestions made, he'd look about to the group around him. Cracking the surface would seep some chaos over time, but they'd prevent such a thing from being fully unleashed in the long run by dismantling it over.

Right?
(Keaka Kamauoha)
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[22:05] Golden eyes were held against that herald of doom and gloom, the kitsune’s roaming search for the ‘wrong’ befalling that blade. Rusted, aged, yet far too whole for the man who claimed a life of servitude besides it’s side. Sayuri’s grip upon her staff tightened as the blade was lowered, yet it was not her place to strike, not yet. Their conversation continued and combat not yet upon them.

The guardian was ready, but ever paranoid in the wake of this male’s arrival. He blatantly opposed their presence and goal. Yet the truth in his words were unknown to the fox. Was the moon such a prison? This machine a wicked creation of demon spawn to unleash chaos?

Kazko’s suggestion resonated within the fox, yet to trust the words of someone unknown to her, to the group as a whole was a daunting request. “Your blade, swordsman. What origin of it?”
(Sayuri Ru)
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[22:07] Ovan tilts his head in response to the claim that the chaos that once plagued the land was now sealed away up there. It lined up with some retellings of history that he had heard, but conflicted other accounts.

All in all, he isn't certain what to believe. Despite his own belief system, he was becoming the kind of person that needed to see something to believe it. As such? he doesn't bother talking about what might happen if more Chaos leaked out.

Chaos was everywhere on Agartha. Point blank, period. And unlike some of the followers of Kraus, he understands that one side cannot exist without the other.

The Ezmaran remains silent for the time being, pulling his lips to one side.
(Ovan Huitzilopochtli)
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[22:15] The floating Nagual looks to that blade pointed at her with a certain interest within her eyes. She does know the legends. How the primal Chaos was tricked to allow for the world to be created. She tilts her helmet up, a wicked grin upon her face. Her coarse, scratchy voice is spoken to the man.

"If the world is so weak as to be destroyed by the hands of five hunters, then it deserves to be prey to the primal Chaos.

We hunt for a tribute to our Goddess. We will seek to commune with Her to ask her if we may take a piece from Her work..."

Callous, harsh words, followed by an explanation. She pauses, looking to those around her, the cautious words of Kazko, the considerate words of Keaka, the suspicion present in Sayuri, and the Silence of Ovan. She seeks to take charge with her words, turning her attention to the interloper, as her dark chain pulls her staff closer to her, to point the focal point at him. Threat answered by threat. Her amber eyes narrow from behind her faceplate.

"It is in Goddess's claws if She will allow for us to take piece.

Do you seek to stop us? Will you be a sacrifice to Her along with this Demon?"

Moonlight encircles her staff, joining her chains as that ominous, spectral coating remains, glittering light more visible within the shadows that pour from her armor...
(Ixcuiname)
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[22:23] {NARRATION} "Are you MAD?", the man says. Obviously, there was a speech among all these that stood out, or at least one that seemed to dissonate so harshly from the others that went around.

His greyed eyebrows furrowed down as Ixcuiname spoke the last of it, before continuing to speak. "If you touch that button, I warn you! I -will- make sure that it will do nothing. You are risking too much! All that for... Selfishness."

His courage seems unfaltered. A glimmer of holy energy echoes from him, running through the blade with lightning as it points towards Ixcuiname. "Will you do it, Nagual? Will you render your godess' efforts void?"
[22:25] Kazko looks at Ixcuiname. He already voiced his words of caution...but he trusted she would know what Ixchel would approve of. And even if she made the wrong choice, he'd he here to clean up.
(Kazko)
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[22:30] Much like Kazko, Ovan leaves the decision revolving around Ixchel to the child of Ixchel. As a member of their unit and someone with a bit of doubt in regards to how the scenario should ideally play out, he continues to listen and observe.

Though, the presence of a Holy Magi does make him reconsider the scenario..
(Ovan Huitzilopochtli)
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[22:36] The helmet wearing Nagual takes a breath, turning to face her group. She seems to stand down, relaxing herself as she reaches her free hand to absentmindedly tap her fist against her armored, but pieced shoulder. A soft crack of nyeshk plating against bloodied nyeshk plating as her amber gaze runs over the ones around her. It aches, and still really, really hurts.

Still, her baleful form hovers, shadows ebbing out from her armored form, glimmering with starlight as they pour from seams in her plating, tendrils drifting like a smoky mist. Her darkened chains stretch out from these shadowy tendrils, gripping her staff, as it's no longer pointed at the man, instead, idly swishing, focal point aimed towards the sky.

"Mm... Courage and conviction... A single-minded focus in eyes...

But...

Too much pointless thoughts! Already told you what we will do. Will look at machine, use, then take apart! Now join with that Demon, interloper!"

Then, her posture changes, turning to face him, whipping around in the air, dark chains advancing towards him, while her staff is oncemore leveled at him! She doesn't activate it, yet, seemingly wanting to get rid of this obstacle, first...

"In Ixchel's name, I smite you for presuming to know her will! Die and know your life's work of protecting machine will be over!"

Cosmic light surges as she builds it up, ready to pour it open this senile magi...
(Ixcuiname)
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[22:43] ** DMPrego has inflicted an injury upon Ixcuiname. ("Light's Redemption", "A last effort from a dying warrior. He couldn't stand a chance against her, but the holy lightning that he cast attacked her with all the strength he had remaining. Unfortunately, it was a bad deal for his life. ", "Temporary", "Duration: Short (1 day)") **
[22:52] {NARRATION} The warrior poses no threat to her. The holy lightning echoes throughout his very veins, striking at the nagual that seemed to grow so hostile to him. Perhaps it was this simple feat of his life, a faint effort to exert some retribution upon the one that would risk the world for their own greed, be it misguided or not.

He was a sacrifice, after all. And this much was merely sealing his fate. He died, but not before the holy lightning echoed throughout her body, sending ripples through the fur, a yellowish glow remaining as a consequence.

His life waned, more due to his own magic than hers. There was obviously no more obstacles to stop them right now, and should they will to turn it on either way... They could now.

Was it worth it?
[22:59] Of course that would’ve been the nagaul’s decision. Freedom, rule of might, the freedom to take what is ‘your’s’ through strength alone. Of course this was what Ixcuiname stood for. The vixen’s hands clench down upon that staff, the uncertain kitsune’s continued loyalty to the group held onto by a single thread of her own spinning. Paranoia. There was no trusting in the male, even as a holy magi, words easily lies to befuddle and obfuscate. A weight was held in Sayuri’s chest, as she refused that reality. No, she couldn’t trust him, in the face of ignorance all one could do was place faith in what was known, and to the brunette, that was those besides her.

Yet as the vixen prepares herself for that conflict, it was over. The male struck down in the spark of the combat to be, that elder reduced to naught but a lifeless corpse. Sayuri stared on, the obstacle now cleared. With his death came any gleaming of further information, yet could the fox of trusted anything spoken by the man? His words held next to no confidence within her. Yet even as he fell, the fox thought him not fully an enemy, either.

His life would have to be exonerated, or damned through the kitsune’s own research; she remained loyal to their endeavor, for now.
(Sayuri Ru)
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[23:03] The floating Nagual turns to face her group once she allows rippling pulses of cosmic energy to pour through the old man. Once he's on the ground, the power having rippled through his circuits and left him dead, while his electricity crackles through her nyeshk plating. It's a lingering burn, and only feels worse now that it interacts with her own Occult-tainted heart and the corruption in her shoulder.

The floating Nagual will allow herself to cease her floating, evaporating her chains and shadows, only keeping enough Gravity magic to lighten herself so she can move easier... She'll motion for Kazko and any others to assist...

"Carve up bodies... Offer sacrifice to Ixchel before anything else..."

And with that, the Nagual seeks to slice up the Demon and elder Magi, to arrange their blood, together in death, into the configuration of a rune devoted to Ixchel.

"Could alter machine... Have it aim for side... Skin edge of moon..." She suggests to Keaka, before sitting next to the rune arranged around the drill in the center of the observatory. From then comes a quiet rite, devoted to Ixchel, the others invited to sit alongside the rune.

The Nagual pours cosmic energy into the blood-rune, speaking quietly with her helmet removed. Her face is pale, and obviously pained, while dark veins creep up the right side of her neck, but a faint grin remains upon it...

"Ixchel, we wish for your blessing and guidance... Allow us to use this Demonic machine to take piece of your creation, to use to honor you...

Give us sign if you permit us to do this, we have brought this sacrifices for you in return for your judgement and blessing!"

And with that, Cosmic magic extracted from the starlight bearing down on them, poured through the armored Nagual and into the rune, she awaits a response or sign from her...
(Ixcuiname)
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[23:06] "You don't have t--" Before he can finish his sentence, the exchange happens.

Ixcuiname finds herself being hit by holy lightning while the 'sacrifice' finds himself outright murdered in the line of duty. Ovan's head tilts as a life is lost, and he suddenly realizes that he really should have asked for more information on this hunt before signing up.

Regardless, they were too deep in now. And while his hands would only be used in offerings to Huitzilopochtli, he does remain present, studying both Ixcuiname's ways as well as the machine and the moon it is pointed at.

"Mm. Are you certain about this? If he really was a guard, and has been keeping those demons at bay for some time.." He is more or less thinking out loud at this point, trying to fill in the missing puzzle piece.
(Ovan Huitzilopochtli)
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[23:10] Hungry, hidden eyes eyed the old man's corpse as it's riddled with cosmic-laid chains. Ixcuiname didn't go unscathed from the looks of it, however, holy lightning rippling through her body.

Xiuhtec, it was damned weird to see the Nagual with a bit of glow to her.

There would be no feast for the warchief yet, a low grumble of disapproval at such a thought. With Ixcuiname's suggestion in mind, he'd give a slow nod. How the hell would he tilt the thing?..

Effectively, a slow dance about the machine was done. Cracks formed a platform around its firing stage, allowing a person to stand on the rim of this platform before touching the machine itself. With it separated from the observatory itself, he'd carefully shift the earth as to tilt its aim towards the moon's side - leaving enough room for it to hit without it piercing the very center of the moon.

The button was thus pressed, and with the machine whirring to life he peered up towards that pale orb in the sky as he waited for the results... He'd have his damned Nyeshk soon enough.
(Keaka Kamauoha)
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[23:11] Ixcuiname will stop Keaka from pressing button, calling him back as they commune!
(Ixcuiname)
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[23:21] {NARRATION} The button is pressed. Try to interrupt it as you want, it is simply pressing upon a button. Interrupting it is way harder than it looks like, specially given that the action in and by itself is extremely quick.

And a laser of cosmic energy goes firing off towards the moon itself, a yellow flicker of light firing off against the grey surface of the moon. The earth below shakes, the machine absorbing the very energies from the ground to power itself, and soon...

... A scar is visible upon the moon's surface. There was no sign of approval, no sign that what they did was actually -right- to do. Whatever this was, it was obviously the work of demons, and the vigor that the laser perfurated through the surface...

If it was lasting only a bit longer, it'd do much, much worse. It would drill through the surface, and into the endless pools of chaos that reside within. But for now, their goal was a success.

Three shards from the moon's surface land upon the observatory, crushing the bodies that Ixcuiname used as sacrifice, and soon enough, they start glowing with a reddish energy, their occult presence taking a form between all three...

And soon enough, a creature arises from the union of the corrupted energies, leaking corruption from its very form.

There was no way to describe it other than as a moving shadow of Chaos.
[23:22] Kazko says, "..."
[23:34] The button had been pressed, a chain quickly wrapping about his hand as the action is done. Cosmic energy had fired off into the moon, a visible scar now atop his surface.

What exactly had he done?

Shards of the moon rained down, soon covering the gathered sacrifices as they pierced into the observatory. Corrupted energies seeping from those chunks, the form came forward.

Xiuhtec, what the hell had he done?

Keaka was positive he'd get an earful from the all those present. There was little to be said on this matter currently, however. Nothing could change what he had done as of now - They simply had to fight.

With the decrepit blade drawn from its sheath, he readied himself into a battle stance. He'd deal with the fallout from everyone later - There wasn't a damned way they'd fall here with him present now.
(Keaka Kamauoha)
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[23:38] An irritated hiss slips from the now frustrated Nagual at her plan not going as it should have gone. The button is pressed before she could prevent it, and a scar is rent in the moon without the approval she was seeking from her Goddess. All in all, her grin is more of a grimace, but is covered up with her horned helmet, easing her pained body to her feet with a agonized growl. Her attention is on the moon though, watching those shards fall to earth, and then that presence oozing between her sacrifices.

Within her frustrated form, she levels her gaze on the creature present.

"Fine... Will be this way... Corrupted creature, we will fell you, and then I will devour you...

I will take your strength into mine, and be weapon of goddess until I return to soil!"

She floats into the air, chains whirling around her balefully. Was this a dream anyway? This freedom of hers she fought for so hard? Her childhood prayers coming back, desperate, spoken out of the window of her personal prison.

She'll have to see, to take and to gain more power to ensure her freedom never ends, or die and be devoured, no longer bound to this life.

Freedom either way.
(Ixcuiname)
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[23:39] The fox’s mind churned, but when did it ever not? This particular storm revolved around that most recent killing. Yet those thoughts turned worse when killing turned to ritualistic sacrifice. Wide golden eyes watched over that ritualistic maiming of the bodies as they are twisted and contorted. Lips part in some silent objection as she flashes back upon that first execution she witnessed, given to Huitzilopochtli, the ‘victim’ a knowledgeable and willing enemy, corrupt, deserving of such a fate.

But did that elder deserve death? Does he deserve this sacrifice?

The vixen fumed. No, this wasn’t what she was here for. There was going to be communion, communication with the gods; and offering of -beasts- not man. As fragile the vixen’s own belief remained within those ‘all seers’, there was to be divination guiding their hands. Teeth were grit as she bore witness to that ritual. The fox couldn’t stand by.

“Cease, this i-”

The ground stirred.

Machines of demonic invention whirred, sparked to life. Flaming eyes turned to the control panel as the most ‘Ghennan’ among them betrayed the hunting party’s intent.

There would be no divine direction.

Only blood.

Blood on their hands.

The swift delivery of those previous rocks heralded a foe unexpected, the seething taint of chaos too strong to neglect by that exorcist, enough to send the vixen’s concealed tail to stand on end. This was a being that shouldn’t exist, in a place it didn’t belong, summoned to this land. Summoned to this land by their actions.

A low growl filled Sayuri’s chest as her form combusts, the holyfire magi enriching those strained circuits as she stares down that inevitable conflict. “Gaze upon the failure of your ways. Burn back the contagion before it takes root.”
(Sayuri Ru)
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[23:40] Kazko immediately felt immense regret for allowing his elder "sister" to activate the device the moment it was activated. Destroying it would have easily been the proper course of action, but that was not what happened. In front of them now, was something truly more awful than they could have ever thought possible.

He'd have some very strong words for Ixcuiname and Keaka alike later, but for now, he knew there was a job for him to do--to clean up the mistakes he'd made for his lack of action. For not doing more than raising his voice against Ixcuiname's intentions. But now, things were so far off the rails, there was nothing he could afford to hold back.

"Big sis--...no--no, no...Ixcuiname--KEAKA! you IDIOT! Why would you...!" Kazko was interrupted by the formation of something endlessly corruptive...the very enemy of his existence. This was past undead. Past Oscuri. Past Azrael. His instincts as a hunter were even put aside, in favor of his duty as a descendent from Ixchel.

That's where the black started.

"You--brought this here...!" From where it had wrapped about his arm in a simple tattoo.

"...to get closer to Ixchel...?!" His head shook from side to side, ragged designs of a tribal nature slowly creeping across the his dark complexion. Linking, chaining, intersecting. Like ichor taking him over.

"...now I have...to CLEAN UP..." Chains from his arms pooled onto the ground at his sides, at last, released from his body. The blades slung onto his back fell all the same. Where there was bright blue light emanating from his raw magical power, came all-consuming darkness. His very essence removed light from his surroundings, engulfing Kazko's vulnerable mind and strong body in black. From behind scruffed, darkened locks, was the piercing azure glow of his eyes. The Nagual's posture hunched over, digits stiffened to match his claws.

"...this MESS!"

It became too clear, at one glance, Ixchel had trusted him to stop this from happening. And now, whether it cost him his life, he became Ixchel's claws...to shred the miserable pile of corruption brought unto them by his fellow hunter's foolishness into ether.
(Kazko)
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[23:41] Ovan takes a second to process all that was happening as it happened.

Chaos energy was flooding the room and giving birth to something truly awful. Something horrific. And it was all happening because the decision to kill a man had been made by the group.

Blood was on all of their hands, but if it was for a pilgrimage for the members of Vindicia, he would allow it. It was a part of the mentality that revolved around trying to adhere to and respect the culture of those that sided with him.

But this was not that.

Instead, they had been pitted against something so vile and evil that there was no option but to destroy it. Such a thing could not be allowed to roam Agartha.

"I can feel your corruption. We've made a horrible mistake this day, Ixcuiname. Let us see to it that it will be fixed."
(Ovan Huitzilopochtli)
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[00:10] {NARRATION} The corrupted presence is powerful. It is fearsome, so much to the point it inspires fear within the heart of those that are on this room simply by looking at it. It takes the forms that they can only fear the most, a different one for any of them-- The only thing that remains still is the fact that this is for sure a humanoid form that looks like a shadow.

Its cosmic energy is a example of the powerful cosmic energy that went onto the moon's surface. The three slabs that landed on the corpses are no bigger than a greatsword if stacked one atop the other, and still they were powerful enough to spawn a creature like that.

Yet, it goes out with a yell. "You fools! You allowed us to free-- It is only a matter of time until Chaos takes hold of this place again, and again!"

A faint whisper crosses their mind. "Do you think this was worth it?", and yet, it vanishes quickly. Except...

... For poor Kazko and Keaka. The whispers do not leave their minds -- Whispering of failure. Of how they made the world worse. Invisible to themselves and to one another, there is a scar of shadow upon their back, the result of a singular strike from the unveiling shadows right before it vanished away.

It'll pass away in time, obviously.

Yet, there was relief in all that. The slabs of moonstone that were around are, at the very least... Purified, for now. They still possess a pure cosmic essence, remainder of the time it spent above the skies.

All that remained now was the machine in the middle... And the faint impression that the rising rays of red on the horizon are from slabs that were perhaps lucky to fall too far from them.

[00:16] {NARRATION} (The voices torment Kazko and Keaka for a year, -20% vit for 4 days-- The effects may not be full, but the darkness looming in is sure to weaken them.
[00:17] ** DMPrego has inflicted an injury upon Kazko. ("Wound of Darkness", "Whispers do not leave their minds -- Whispering of failure. Of how they made the world worse. Invisible to themselves and to one another, there is a scar of shadow upon their back, the result of a singular strike from the unveiling shadows right before it vanished away.", "Temporary", "Duration: Medium (4 days)") **
[00:17] ** DMPrego has inflicted an injury upon Keaka Kamauoha. ("Wound of Darkness", "Whispers do not leave their minds -- Whispering of failure. Of how they made the world worse. Invisible to themselves and to one another, there is a scar of shadow upon their back, the result of a singular strike from the unveiling shadows right before it vanished away.", "Temporary", "Duration: Medium (4 days)") **
[00:18] The battle had taken him by surprise - Where he found vampiric fools, Nyeshk golems, and even Archons easy to take this cosmic horror was beyond his strength. Beyond most of their strength.

Keaka's hunger had waned, the decrepit blade long since sheathed as he found himself winded and beaten during that fight. His pride, Xiuhtec, his damned pride was gone - He had failed to protect those he swore to.

What the hell was wrong with him? What the hell had he done?

Silently moving towards the machine, he began to dismantle it slowly with his head hung low. His ego was shattered, the stalwart image of the perfect warrior tarnished to those present. He'd aim to get as much metal as he could from the machine, a molten tomahawk slowly picking away at this vile machinery.

Xiuhtec… Why the hell did he do that?
(Keaka Kamauoha)
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[00:23] Kazko used tooth, nail, and feet for this fight. He made every necessary sacrifice to his body and soul to rid the earth of this impure essence of raw Chaos. He'd been part of the problem that brought it to Agartha, and he'd be the reason it was wiped clean from the land. The Nagual became a shadow just as dark as the enemy he was facing, but only for the sake of justice in his patron's name. Retribution for his lack of action...

...was yet to be paid in full.

With the Chaos within the callings Ixcuiname and Keaka had jointly brought to the earth cleansed, came a price. Kneeling, Kazko was forced to cling to his sanity for dear life. Clawed hands dug at his scalp, trying to silence the deafening whispers covering his thoughts in guilt. Why...didn't he stop her? Why didn't he stop Keaka? They were his friends...and he trusted them to make the right decision. But all they had given him in return was this pain--this pain...

He sacrificed for them both, today.

But he was of no mind to make any good of it.

"No--no..." Kazko wept. "I'm sorry...! I'm sorry...you--you blessed me, and I...I'm sorry--...!" He responded to the whispers no one else would ear, eyes wide and crazed. He likely wouldn't be able to be walking home on his own, with the curse of Chaos fresh in his brain. Of course, the brightness in his energetic magic soon returned, once the adrenaline of defeating Chaos wore off at last. Kazko would have other things to suffer from, from now on.
(Kazko)
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[00:23] As it all comes to a decisive end, Ovan comes to a halt in the center of the room with both of his bleeding hands raised up.

"We.. this cannot be allowed to happen ever again. I'll have to see to it myself, Ixcuiname. Please understand."

It was the only warning the man gave before tapping into his attunement with the lifestream and begins to use this force to pull the machine apart, part by part. Piece by piece.

And while he handles it with enough tact to not damage the parts, he would ensure that no one would be able to rebuild it ever again. A final push of his aura is given, hopefully working to purge the area of some of that which had tainted and corrupted it.
(Ovan Huitzilopochtli)
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[00:27] During the battle, the Nagual's shadowy aura falters, dispelled easily through lack of concentration as she gazes upon the figure before her. To her, it's naught but a simple looking man, dressed in what constitutes finery in the jungles of Gehenna, gleaming jewels and gold adorning him. His garb is elaborate, beautiful embroidered tribal wear with depictions of his ancestors fighting great battles.

And yet his form is not whole. It drips with blood, illuminated under the red light of a moon not present in the sky, a cruel grin upon his lips, while his eyes burn red. His clothing is stained, bloodied with innumerable gashes that cover his form, blood that gleams with motes of light within it, while a feathered spear, broken in two, is held. He walks like a man possessed, and all that slips from his lips are laughter as his eyes never leave hers.

The child in Ixcuiname is afraid. Terrified of this figure, and she can barely fight him. The only thing she ever did to fight him was voice those fearful prayers to the moon, a promise that she'll do anything to be free given to it.

Once it was defeated, the Nagual laying on the floor of the observatory, beaten and battered, she crawls towards the lingering shadow of that man, fading away. She doesn't care for its words. This is her punishment, and it has come to reap. Her childhood prayers where not to Ixchel, no. For Ixchel helps the strong. She was not strong. Maybe she'll never be strong.

Atleast she can be free.

And so, with a quivering arm reached out towards those moonstones, she seeks to siphon any and all of that corrupted cosmic energy, pulling the stones towards herself with hands and Gravity. They're comforting, in a way. This is her end of the bargain for that childhood deal. The dream is over, the idea of having a purpose and being part of the tribes is shattered with it.

She stares blankly, once her siphoning is done, stowing the rocks safely and gazing up at the moon quietly, as she did before.

No responses are given to Ovan, aside from a hollow, dull;

"Yes, Chieftain..."

The words mean nothing, though.
(Ixcuiname)
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[00:28] Wide golden eyes befall that polymorphic foe born of chaos and corruption. The holyfire magi ready to defend and destroy against that twisted entity's activity, yet in that role the fox gave pause, gazing upon a likeness she didn’t expect. Lip part as she stares upon the face of her mother, that elderly kitsune morphed and twisted, the embodiment of everything the fox abhorred.

Of abandonment, of love lost, deprived, or useless futility of begging to a figure so long within her own delusions.

A jagged breath stained the air as that foe struck a telling blow against Sayuri’s heart without so much as moving. Yet as she rose to defend, she did not falter as combat came forth true. Holy flames scorching earth and foe alike. What rage the fox could not convey through flames were delivered through illusionary strikes, the fullest extent of the kitsune’s ire delivered in strikes and blows to the mind in shattering, debilitating blows. The exorcist fought, fell, and foughtuntil all that remained was twice burned ash.

Rage bubbled within the pyromancer, spurned only by her teachings. Golden eyes leered over that defeated foe, the entirety of the day’s hunt coming to a conclusion.

A conclusion rejected by the fox.

That frenzy required outlet, the timid fox no longer as those eyes befell her ‘companions’. “Gaze upon this, the faulty manifestations of your boundless freedom. Of your rule of strength, of your . . .” Frenzied golden eyes follow that once revered smith falls upon the machine, not out of rage was that construction dismantled, but the noted pocketing of those resources made. Enough to send the fox’s encircling flames into a solid sheet. “OF YOUR GREED!”

Trembling fingers clutch down upon that gleaming staff in her hands, painfully hot even for the pyromancer to wield. “This was not what I’d come for . . . I’d not come for human sacrifice, of the death of righteous defenders . . . there -was- to be guidance before your allures of ‘freedom’ demanded even that which you worship so fervently to be cast aside.”
(Sayuri Ru)
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