HF Dev 1 - The Anti-phoenix

[16:54] {NARRATION} "SAVE US-" Svengald hears in the back of his mind.
"IT HURTS." Hina Lam and Eivor hear the echo.
Kiri Ueda is face first with a phantom; the young woman looked no older than her, a pained expression as her veiled sword slashed towards the kitsune.
Carnation Avincus, Raina, and Delilah hear the whispers each time they trade blows, hauntingly.

But one by one, as the bird of undeath was forced to go all out, these ghostly forms did indeed vanish. One might catch a glimpse of the fiery light as they surge up towards the sky, returned to the stars where they might find peace. Yet these warriors were just one troublesome hurdle the party had to deal with-- as they danced with the heat, quite literally, the battlefield around them soaring, the sands so hot it might become glass below.

'YOU. WILL. REPLACE THEM-'

Wings of a ghastly pale blue beat with fury, talons surging blackflame, flying and dipping low in each swoop. Blows of fire, ethereal magic, holy bursts and more clashing with the bird of prey--

Hina Lam is caught in its hold, deep marks digging in as claws dig, right as its about to bite for her jugular, only to be forced back by her husband. She bleeds. The anti-phoenix was hungry for rich mana to sustain its unlife. (24 Day Temp)

Delilah was next-- she isn't so fortunate, as the talons burned, scorching when digging into the bunny. Yet there is Svengalf, opting to take the blow for her and dive in: practically wrestling with the anti-phoenix to save the Lapine's life. One of his own. (-10 Vit Perm - Requested in by Svengalf)

And he holds strong, keeping the anti-phoenix bound as the others assail and help to finish it off--


[16:59] ** Anti-Phoenix has inflicted an injury upon Hina Lam. ("Claws of the Anti-Phoenix", "Sharp talons caught you on the shoulders as you wrestled for your life, fending off the beast. Bursts of flame and cosmic forcing it back, alongside the aid of those you treasure. It left its mark-- slicing in past fabric, deep, into the flesh and rending skin and muscle, towards the bone. Ouch.", "Temporary", "Duration: Extreme (24 days)") **
[17:19] The staff of Svengalf irradiates with living energies. Be it from the very few nature, or from the mana rich underground. Melding with his own lifeforce by the viridium to soothe his allies in the battle. Dormant mandrakes awake from the sand, brawling upon the enslaved minions of the Anti-Phoenix.
A manifestation of Yggdrassil would grow in those scorching sands, providing a little oasis for his allies to soothe.

The anguish of the damned whispered in his mind. Essences that would be unable to find proper rest and join the Renewal Cycle in such state.

To fight against his foes, the lapine weaves teal colored magic, to shift the sands with the contained mana underground, summon spikes of crystals imbued with hints of green vigurous mana from the emerald. An attempt to counteract the Death with living energies.

Yet, the Anti-Phoenix was a formidable foe. The heat was quick and nimble. The heat would scorch his manifestation of Yggdrassil, and the heat would turn his puddles of Life into death traps.

While his attempts to help his allies sustain the attacks, he would see them falling, one by one, as he stood in the back lines. He needed to remain calm, to keep focus and not become overwhelmed by his emotions.

It was until, the bird of prey would catch the younger girl of her kin. Emprisonned in the talons. While others were more fortunate to wrestle off the attacks of the bird of prey, such grip with the fiery talons could have been fatal. He witnessed it, in front of him. To see such a young life that could be taken away in one blink of an eye, with many years to live ahead?

It was enough. Enough to stand behind and heal others. A primal screech shouts from his throat, as his inner wild rises, instinctive, as his hair rustles.

"GET AWAY FROM HER, SPAWN OF HEL !"

He swipes in, diving forth through the sands at a fast pace, raking the sands with his staff. Thefriction gathers the deposites of mana, launching a row of prismatic pillars to knock the talons away from her !

Releasing then Delilah from the blow, he would then be taken by talons, as another screech of pain digs into his skin, as the tendrils of shadowflames whips his body.
He was not attuned to Holy magic, but instead, he remediates with a mixture of crystal magic to solidify into a protective shell against the flames, sourcing from this will to Live, those survival instincts, and the gathered prayers of the alacritan faithfulls.

He lashes upon the Phoenix talons, angered, wild. Fighting tooth and nails with whatever was left at disposal.
(Svengalf Sandsker)
[17:20] 'IT HURTS.'

In tandem, those voices reverberate.

One by one the fireworks of their essence elevates upward, welcomed by the embrace of the stars, returning home into the cycle of rebirth.

It was emotional; each cast of fiery mana empowered by the detrimental aftereffects of her star's assimilated energy are cast forth.

In the dance of battle between Light and Darkness, she finds herself grasped in the talons of the blackfire Phoenix of Undeath, pinned below, digging through cloth to pierce her shoulders and muscles near the bone. Gritted teeth mute the desire to scream out from agony of its inflictions -

"Burn, by the flames of the celestial Sun!"

And just before its maw hastily opens and goes for her jugular, the Kitsune's impulsive invigoration of stored mana from her earlier endeavor is cast -

A breath of ether, of celestial energies, fixed with pyres are exhaled forth from her throat, and with it? An attempted desire of willpower, built from a pious nature of silent prayers to Jiuweihu - it's soft in its luminosity, similar to what Eivor utilizes in ether, but to a much lesser degree. None of them amalgamate, as its a novice feature, but present in its purifying strive.

Coupled by the sacred magics wielded by her husband that fend it off for the time being, Hina finds herself saved from a more pressing infliction.

Just as Svengalf dives in to save Delilah from a similar fate, other magics opt to dispel the Phoenix while the Illuminated woman struggles to swiftly rise from the glass riddled sands marked from the heat oh the Phoenix and rejoin -
(Hina Lam)
[17:23] A soft growl of anger escaped from the young Avincus' throat as she was forced to bare witness to the tormented souls under the anti-phoenix's control. A disgusting display if there ever was one. A display that seemed to only weigh heavier and heavier on her mind -

… Yet, all the same, enhanced her resolve, as she witnessed the souls dissipate with each strike that they made. Slowly, they were being given peace. Slowly, Pylae's light was guiding them to the afterlife once more... and so, with each soul that she witnessed finally reaching peace?

That golden hue that licked at the edges of her aura grew - intensifying, growing, amplifying as she struck at the phoenix with newly inspired CONVICTION. Her large blade shook the landscape, with large pillars of bone rising from the ground with each and every strike she made against the monster.

Heat burned on the Avincus' skin - yet, she pushed on.
Agony ruptured the girl's body.
Yet, she continued.

"IN THE NAME OF THE LORD -
IN THE NAME OF THOSE YOU FELLED -
YOU WILL PERISH ON THIS DAY, YOU BEAST!"

The girl would muster up that golden light within her - the premature energies that always guided her at her weakest... And struck the creature atop the head, around the same time as Sven made his wild, intense attacks against the beast.

Bone erupted from the ground, stabbing into the monster -
And shadows ruptured through the air, lashing out at it's exposed body.

It was going to die.
She'd make sure of it.
(Carnation Avincus)
[17:24] There was rush to be had in battle; adrenaline pumping through his veins in that feeling he simply relished. Be it each blow he received, or each he delivered, despite the soothing natures of his lightning.

Yet that excitement never finds him so; nor does the smile which often accompanies it. Not with the kind of foes they faced; he hadn't considered those of Audhild his allies. Not after the Crafting Delights conspired with the Fel, not after their warriors teamed up with those of RISE.

And yet... they were not granted the rest amidst afterlife. Their souls tore back, forced to endure the unparalleled agony.

No one deserved that fate.

Not even them.

And so when the gold tinged sparks lash out, their purpose is clear; to eradicate as swiftly, as quickly and efficiently as possible. They're not held back, and there's no pleasure found in the songs of war and combat.

To liberate; to offer fires of salvation. All in the name of his Pantheon, one he considered his father.

And then they had to face the Undeath itself.

Blackflame clashes with his holy magic- amidst the pyres and arts of others. Battle remains chaotic, with Eivor maintaining his distance during the rush, and then charging in on those openings; landing potent strikes whenever he could, wherever he could; the whips of scarlet lashing about.

There's a stutter in his actions, a sudden expression of horror taking over when azure gaze falls upon where the abomination swooped- talons grasping upon Hina, claws digging in and the jagged beak closing in towards her neck ever so swiftly, and-

CRACK!

-the large, potent bolt of gold descends down upon the bird, akin to literal wrath of heavens, crackling and not held back in the slightest- completely enveloped in the magic honed to protect.

Stunning it, even if briefly in conjunction with Hina's own struggles, and then-

Thwack!

-a thick, powerful tendril of crimson lashes about alongside the delayed roar of thunder, slamming right into the beast's jugular and forcing it back, away from his wife.

He'd rush over, briefly wrapping an arm about her shoulders; if only to help her regain that balance before shifting over to the side again- no words, nothing further... not in the heat of the battle. Eyes turn towards Delilah, and then Svengalf, wrestling against the creature, crystal magic made manifest.

There's a glance towards Carnation, and then back in the direction of the Anti Phoenix.

Arms are outstretched, and those sparks escaping him yet once again- to capitalize upon the opening, to engulf the thing of undeath in their fury, heating it up, almost boiling it alive from within to snuff it so- alongside the magics of his allies; the bones that'd stab into it, and the pyres that follow suit.

"IN THE NAME OF UALDIR!
BEGON!"

An attempt similar to what he had done to Lora'ene; what his people and the culture of Ualdir inflicted upon necromancers... agonizing, boiling death upon slow burning fire. Yet he had to make do, for the Ualdir's son wasn't a pyromancer, after all.
(Eivor)
[17:24] Eivor says, "Begone*"
[17:28] The echoes and whispers of the souls that are caught and trapped here do not seem to assail Kiri's senses, but she doesn't seem to need it to see the pain on the features of those she fought.

In fact, Kiri seemed to be doing poorly as the spirits fought on the side of the ani-phoenix, her teeth bared and sunburnt skin red. She'd never been in a fight against a person before, and there was still some inherent part of her that did not relish in the turning of her magic against someone. In a fight, lacking control, restraint was not an option given to her. Every time that it mattered, she hesitated, taking dozens of small cuts, lashes, burns, all to avoid finishing off the suffering young woman before her.

Her magic was used to evade, deflect, deter, blasts of flame to turn aside, aiding her allies but never able to finish them off.

Until that pained slash of a sword, too close to avoid. The fire that billows out in defense comes with a whimpered, "I'm sorry--".

The glimmers of their souls releasing up to the stars is only glimpsed briefly--out of the corner of her eye. It provided some relief to her, but it was only the barest glimmer of hope to sustain in this moment.

"Please, find rest," She whispers with a cracked voice.

She is too far away to do much when the phoenix surges for its prey, first Hina and then Delilah. The debilitating heat oppressive and sapping, was enough to keep her from assisting with the bundle of injuries her inexperience had already caught her. She watches on, struggling forward, flagging, clearly.
(Kiri Ueda)
[17:29] Delilah does her best, using every lesson she had learned under both Proteus and Henryk Equisol. Trying to read and see the movements and attack of the Anti-Phoenix and its soldiers. And while the soldiers were easier for her to help put down. It was the Phoenix she struggled against.

Her tiny body was just too slow to keep up with the Anti-Phoenix. And it showed as she went down, twice, during the fight against the searingly hot beast. Sand turned against her and used by her, though its control of sand was far greater than her own.

Crystals grow upon the ground, and either shatter or melt. Every punch and kick she performs is outmaneuvered by the Anti-Phoenix and she's swallowed by flames time and again. Yet the stubborn little bunny refuses to give up, gritting her teeth and pushing on through the heat and flames.

When the Anti-phoenix comes in for her, she lets out a screech of defiance. Cocking a fist back to try and punch its talons away. Even though her blow misses by a mile. Svengalf leaping in front of her and attacking the Anti-Phoenix in a frenzy of fur.

Delilah looking in terror as Svengalf is injured in her stead.

A rage swelling up within her as she feels the heat of the Phoenix, and the tiny bunny snaps. Calling up a pillar of crystals to slam into the Phoenix from beneath with the intent of staggering it and throwing it off guard. "SVENGALF!!!"

Tears flowing unbidden down her face, a different scene playing before her eyes. The scene of her Mom's death playing before her eyes at first, and then overlapping with reality. Seeing both her Mom's death and Svengalf's being injured in HER place both in what to her is real time.

The tiny bunny shaking and shuddering as she freezes up, allowing the others to get rid of the Anti-Phoenix. A look of sheer terror on her face, as the prey animal within her rises up.
(Delilah Parton)
[17:33] {NARRATION} Hina Lam poured all of her heat, quite literally, into the purging spell that helped to banish the anti-phoenix; she finds her magic was near empty of flame in the aftermath, barely an ember. She is exhausted, weak, and it is a miracle that she can stand, let alone remain conscious. (24 Day Temp + Refund from Fire)

The combined efforts pull through:
The bird of undeath gradually vanished with black smoke, a final shrill let out as it is defeated. In the aftermath, several glowing, pale blue feathers are cast out -- devoid of the corruption of the anti-phoenix, having been cleansed and purged, but containing the creature's ferocity all the same.

What began as a simple bounty turned into something much greater. They had done a good deed today; staving off further damage to the nearby village, and also helping to move on many wraiths left in the aftermath of Audhild's destruction. Burned, exhausted, and bleeding as they are, they could go home victorious...

...and each ten thousand coin richer, too!
[17:34] 'Ah-' The monotonous sound emitted by Raian were quickly disrupted by the ferocity of the Anti-Phoenix. Whilst the Drak had managed to escape unharmed, the primordial source emitted by the avian had struck his allies, a result which he dreaded.

Above all, the beast had chosen to direct it's anger towards a close-friend, transfiguring what should've been the joy of victory melancholic despair. A need to move, a reason to move, he instinctively dashed forward, hoping to support his comrade.

Until the truth was revealed.

The cries of Svengalf halted his progression, falsifying Delilah's dangerous-experience. His allies handling the destruction of the avian, he continued to run forward, the safety of one ally being traded for another.

He was neither a doctor nor a healer, but a child who placed his trust in residents of his home. For one's who's been entirely detached from his father until now, he latched onto the little relations he's manifested over his life.

"SVENGALF!"

He couldn't manifest the proper words, and could only watch the lepidine falter in the presence of the phoenix.
(Raian H. Sun)
[17:34] ** Anti-Phoenix has inflicted an injury upon Hina Lam. ("Extreme Magical Exhaustion", "Hina Lam poured all of her heat, quite literally, into the purging spell that helped to banish the anti-phoenix; she finds her magic was near empty of flame in the aftermath, barely an ember. She is exhausted, weak, and it is a miracle that she can stand, let alone remain conscious. ", "Temporary", "Duration: Extreme (24 days)") **
[17:36] {Item} You picked up Pale Feather. Dropped by Anti-Phoenix..
[17:36] Raian H. Sun exclaims, "Thank you mister anti-phoenix!"
[17:37] {Item} Picked up a bag of 10000 dropped by Anti-Phoenix.
[17:40] A long, dragged out breath, eyes squeezing to a shut as there's a final black smoke, and a shrill which would see the anti-phoenix finally defeated, brought down; courtesy of their combined magics, and mostly that of his significant other's.

There's a shaky exhale, and then another, a single step forward as he'd slowly grip at one of the azure feathers, before walking over to his wife yet once again. Crackles of golden lightning die out, replaced by a gentle aura of similar hues which surrounds him so- and by extension surrounds her as he'd wrap an arm about her shoulders, standing still, supporting her some.

A ghost of smile given, and then gaze wanders around for a bit.

Burns were all upon him, scarlet pooling down below, coupled with the sheer fatigue. But they prevailed- freed the souls of the fallen, and slaughtered the abomination which rose them so.

"...yeah. It'll bea hard walk back to that village."
(Eivor)
[17:41] A firm, shuddering breathe escaped from Carnation as she watched the bird dissipate into smoke - a single feather being caught as it drifted from where the bird once remained.

The feather was gripped firmly, as she stared up at the sky for a little while longer. The Phoenix was finally felled; and now, they had the spoils to show for it. Her parents would almost certainly be proud of the activities they performed here today.

Burns littered Carnation's body, yet... despite that, she smiled. For they were all alive. They were all functional. They were all able to keep marching forwards; for they were victorious.

Today, was a victory.

That golden glow around the girl subsided once more, as a soft sigh escaped from her. Hope had given her the edge she needed. Closer, she came, to finally understanding that feeling of her's.

Soon.

She would bloom.

"... Amazing work today, everyone." The girl grinned.
"Now, let's head back home."
(Carnation Avincus)
[17:44] The lapine still kept wrestling with the Phoenix, until his allies come to aid ! Eventually, he is released from the talons. The adrenaline slowly fadding out, as the older lapine returns to his normal safe. Gritting in pain, as his shoulders and back had deep searing marks from the shadowflames. His arms were trembling, breath panicked.

He reaches for his staff, slowly standing up upon it. He winces, the voice trembling.

"I-i'm-m f-fi-n-ne..."

His mind was cloudy… he reaches for his gourd to satiate his thirst. He looks upon one of the feathers abandonned by the Anti-Phoenix. He looks around : scorch, but at least, peace for now. The essences and perhaps their souls even having joined the Lifestream finally. It was perhaps a little… but every efforts matter.

"T-thank you… I-I ow-w-e you t-this…"

He offers a pained smile. He could stand for now, but his walk was slow and weak on the way to return home.
(Svengalf Sandsker)
[17:45] {NARRATION} (Follow up when ready!)
[17:48] Pulling herself towards the group to witness the banishing of the Anti-phoenix in that last burst of energy, Kiri hovers towards those injured. "Svengalf--Hina, Delilah, are you alright?" She asks them all, sagging once the adrenaline of the situation leaves her, trembling slightly. The journey back would be difficult, no doubt. She offers out her arms to assist in walking back, if needed, breathing out shakily.

"That was--" She doesn't seem to have words for what it was, but her wide eyes are full of thoughts.
(Kiri Ueda)
[17:49] Every tinge of a burning torch within pours into the singular spell, formed by flame, of the celeste, and a touch of a pious essence not yet mastered, rendering it into an embodiment of passionate willpower, but-

That flame tank slowly drains throughout, and she finds that the ember encompassing her fades out of existence from her form, leaving her with an immensely exhausted and weak body; no heats permeated anymore from the Kitsune.

Her circuits felt light, in a way, for whatever that meant in those moments now. No conjuration of pyres could persist for the time being where celestial powers were promimently shown throughout her person, flickering away out of existence for now.

"..it.. it hurts, so much-" her voice cracked from the severity of pain, nearly collapsing in the sands thereafter those uttered words.

A single feather finds her - a prize from the Phoenix, cleansed of the depravity in its essence, purified, yet containing the ferocity of the beast all the same.

"-.. but it's fine, we saved the village, right?" Azure eyes cast gaze upward, finding that the embodiment of undeath no longer persisted, for it had dissipated into a now nothingness.

"And the soldiers of Audhild, too. Their life.. it'll be renewed in the stars." Those were what she had been worried for, rather than the overwhelming pains of her drained circuits, the bleeding claw marks that had seeped within her two shoulders, and the almost healed pain of Togoshi's shadow magics.
(Hina Lam)
[17:51] Hina Lam had been supported by Eivor throughout their long, painstaking journey back home to Frontier!
(Hina Lam)