Atl Part Deux

[17:40] {NARRATION} Shortly after purging the areas of Atl from Xomac's influence, Ohtli knew the next challenge would be tackling the land Katzan had corrupted. Another pride sin, this Chieftain had become something of a god to his people, forcing many to worship him.

Over time his legacy survived, even as Katzan himself had perished in battle and was sacrificed to the Wraith in Cruxati. It would be within his unfinished Hall of Heroes that the Order Magi knew she could find a way to cut off his influence once and for all.

The entrance was marked by a gravestone for the fallen Chieftain and once inside, Ohtli and Windsor were met with a grand area of black and white colors. The space is mostly a corridor left with statues all geared with ancient swords and spears.

Spirits collected here, once adorers of Katzan himself now long dead. The further one goes into the coridor, the more the color in their sight seems to drain and the environment becomes monotone and grey. A final statue of Katzan himself stood at the end of the hall with a necklace type artifact that glowed across his person. A sign over his head reads:

"KATZAN XIZOH, GLORIOUS SAVIOR OF ATL"

It's near this statue that the corruption is saturated, and likely the area in which it bleeds most outward, even if the air of emotionless black and white fills the space as well. Nearing it, however, will cause the spirits to become wary and restless, giving those who approach a warning gaze.
[17:45] Even if it feels increasingly futile to clean the old rot and corruption from Gehenna, Ohtli feels honor bound and beholden to follow through with Atl's purging. To do otherwise would simply not be her.

After Xomac's dungeons, next naturally came the other half- Katzan's halls. From Pride, to Pride, to Greed the leadership of the tribe passed and it showed in the decay that plagued its people and lands.

She enters the halls alongside Windsor, naturally, and can only feel disgust as she sees the shells of spirits that once were the Sin's worshippers. A man that considered himself above the Serpent, Ixchel, and all other deities. Truly, it was the heights of hubris.

Ohtli looks over the hollow reflections of the tribesmen with pity and revulsion, beckoning the astrologist behind her as she nears the statue at the far end of the hall.

"Some damned savior he was," she swears, stopping when she sees the specters turn to restlessly watch her approach.

"It looks like it will get ugly quickly, Starseeker. I trust you're ready."
(Ohtli Tezcacoatl)
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[17:47] The astrologian, as bid by them both, stuck to the Drakan's side as if he were glued to her. Echoing steps emitted from the opening of the halls to its very end. "Hall of Heroes, huh... Guy was pretty into himself." That was made no more apparent than the engraving that hung over his head. Windsor misliked it - he never was fond of overly prideful folk. His lips turned down into a sneer as he took in the hollow hallways in their fullest - like Xomac's temple, this place was wrong.

"We're probably going to expect resistance here from the very first if we're not here to kiss the statue's feet," he acknowledged, looking to Ohtli. "Considering neither of us intend to do any bootlicking, I think you know what's gonna happen next. I'll move at your mark." The astrologian drew out his heavenly measure, staring sternly down the dimly lit halls of the late sin of Pride.

"Yeah. Ready whenever you are, Caretaker." He took in each individual visage of the spectres as they passed - people who may never have had control over what happened to them. If they weren't groveling to a representation of excessive pride, Windsor might have pitied them. Instead, he was about as ready to dispose of them as they might have been him.

"Let's finish this up."
(Windsor)
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[17:50] {NARRATION} One of the spirits stepped forward; a youth from a time long forgotten. He squinted at Ohtli and Windsor, his form whispy and translucent. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out save the sounds of a distant whisper, yet something within their minds indicated what he asked;

"Who are you?"

"Why are you here?"
[17:51] His mouth moves, but she can hear no words. Instead his questions ring within their minds. It's an innocent enough question to answer and naturally Ohtli intends to answer it with nothing short of brutal honesty.

However, before she does, she looks back to the readied astrologist. She decides to prudently arm herself, drawing her blade from its sheathe. As of yet she doesn't strike.
(Ohtli Tezcacoatl)
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[17:52] Ohtli Tezcacoatl says, "I am Ohtli Tezcacoatl. Priestess of the Serpent. This is my husband, Windsor. "
[17:53] Windsor says, "...Hi."
[17:53] Ohtli Tezcacoatl says, "We're here to purge this place."
[17:53] Windsor says, "That's the basics of it."
[17:53] {NARRATION} "Purge of what?"

The whispered reply came. More of the spirits were now converging on their point, the colorless air making them all grey memories of the past.
[17:54] On the bright side, if they're all collected together? It makes them that much easier to blast and cut through. Silver linings and all that.

"Purge of the corruption and the presence of Sin. To make Atl whole again."
(Ohtli Tezcacoatl)
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[17:56] {NARRATION} "Atl IS whole."

Came a chorused response. They were on the defensive, that much was certain, as it became more and more clear that Ohtli was aiming to harm their beloved and worshipped chieftain.
[17:58] Ohtli does what she does best. She cuts in with brutal, scathing honesty no matter how oppressive the presence of the Spirits gets.

"It isn't. It's dying. It's dying and you're worshipping some egotistical and very dead moron. You need to move on."
(Ohtli Tezcacoatl)
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[18:04] {NARRATION} The spirits all let out a screech as Ohtli dared to call their God a moron. A swirling maelstrom manifested as each one darted this way and that, until finally Ohtli and Windsor are suddenly left alone within the chamber. A long pause of silence drags on until one of the statued warriors off to the sides shifted.

Black and white light spilled from its eyes, and then the eyes of another. And another. The spears and swords were drawn and they stepped off their pedestals, ready to defend the land they had died for. And the land they still chose to be a part of.

A dense heat filled the room as grey and purple shadowflame licked the floor from the statues and the earth itself shifted.

They were not going to let their Chieftain go without a fight.
[18:10] Honestly? This is about what she expected. Not from careful research or anything, but more the fact that people, and spirits, didn't like it when you called what they worshipped stupid.

She watches the guardians rising from their slumber and can only smile. Perhaps it's haughty, but she can only feel confident as the statues start to encircle them.

It's close to the homestretch, but the departed Chieftain's worshippers stand in their way.
(Ohtli Tezcacoatl)
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[18:10] "Well, there was no other direction that was gonna go. Looks like they disagree with you, Caretaker." The astrologian snorted, before narrowing his gaze upon the amalgam of spirits leaking into the statues, inhabiting them. They weren't armed to the teeth for nothing - it stood to reason that malevolent shades inhabiting a hall of statues were going to put the decoration to use somehow.

"Stick close to me, Ohtli." There wasn't much else to say for it; battle was goin to be joined, and it was presumably only going to be the first of however many. Ripping up tiles from the ground using Earth magic, Windsor prepared a cluster of stone projectiles, prepared to send them rocketing in the direction of the corrupted spirits.
(Windsor)
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[18:24] The dim lights that faintly flickered within the hall were certainly of little aid in the middle of the battle. Windsor's eyes were already weak enough as they were - he lacked for vision in the dark, which made his struggle against the statue that much more difficult. Despite that, however, it seemed that Ohtli was more than willing to compensate for what he lacked.

While columns of mud and sharpened tiles of stone missed their mark, he found that the Drakanite's performance made up for his own. Seeing his opportunities falter, he chose to befuddle and burden the statues instead. His mud was aimed at clusters of them in an effort to slow them down, while waves of binding energy kept them from approaching his companion and catching her unaware.

Flying about, dodging and weaving through attacks, and sending what support he could from within the darkness was as much as Windsor could do to contribute in the fight.
(Windsor)
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[18:27] Windsor starts the opening volley with tiles flung up from the temple's floor. Thank goodness they're not concerned about defiling a holy place- it's certainly not holy to either of them. At his suggestion she stays more or less close...Sort of.

She stays in line of sight at least, eager to dash in after his starting fossorial fusillade. A blast of telekinesis follows right on its tail.

Her and the astrologist synergize well, which is to be expected for all their years and work alongside one another. He manages to bind and muddy up their advances, keeping strays from hitting her flanks and making others easier to pursue and cut down with blade and gusts of winds.

The last one crumbles, its driving force made inert and its body ripped to pebbles.

"You still dance beautifully, Starseeker. Shall we keep going?"
(Ohtli Tezcacoatl)
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[18:32] {NARRATION} The legion of statues marched forth to attack those seeking to purify their lands and were met with enough opposition to give them a struggle. The statues crumbled one by one as both benevolent arcane magic as well as a bright cosmic glow from Winsor's bursts filled the room. Despite the lack of color, the bright yellow and transluscent rainbow that Ohtli's own Order magic gave off shone through the air.

Once the duo was finished, they were left alone once more within the Hall of Heroes, the army now around them in rocky pieces. The statue of Katzan looked on, the gem within it still causing his eyes to glow a much brighter light than those of his pawns.

The ground shook once more, not allowing for Ohtli and Windsor to have a moment of respite, and the Chieftain himself shifted from atop his pedestal as something horrid emerged from it...
[18:40] The stone of the statue seemed to give way for something more. Slowly, as if emitted by the stone itself, a spirit rose from it-- From the very gems, leaking onto its power, the stone gave way to a single bone that slowly moved out of the statue.

This single bone retorted. It contorted, squirming around its own form, and slowly flesh began to rise from it. And not only that, but bones, a white fluid solidifying as it spread through. It wasn't entirely corporeal -- It was boosted through several alchemical means.

Perhaps an incomplete way of revival. But in the end, there seemed to be a faint pulling from what the Chieftain of Atl truly was. He simply stood there, facing them, yellow eyes staring onto their very souls.

And slowly, he asked. His voice, devoid of any sort of emotion. The black and white ambient soon began to recover itself, as the talking head slowly rose with a body right underneath it.

"You stand before Katzan Xizoh. Speak. Your names, and what you want for coming to me."
(Katzan Xizoh)
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[18:43] "We're standing before our target, actually." Windsor folded his arms and glanced off to the side, quick to express his disapproval of the creature's very being. "You don't need to know my name. I'm nobody in particular. You, however, are in the way of a..." The astrologian stopped in his tracks, scratching idly at his cheek. "Well, mostly pure Gehenna. A--" He thinks about it for a second.

"A Gehenna that isn't as awful as it is currently. There." Might as well be utilitarian about it. "My wife, on the other hand, probably has something better or more appropriate to say. What say you, Caretaker?" He inclines his head in the Drakan's direction, allowing her to speak her peace.
(Windsor)
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[18:50] "Humble as ever, Starseeker," she remarks, hitching up her sword. The Drakan woman faces the Chieftain with her chin lifted. As Windsor rambles he certainly isn't wrong. Gehenna is still far from pure with its current denizens. This is a chance to make it, and the continent, a little brighter.

"This is Windsor. The finest astrologist Agartha knows. And I?

"I am Ohtli Tezcacoatl. Priestess of the Serpent. The two of us are here to end you and your corruption on these lands. For good. No more worshippers, and the only way your name is going to be whispered is in stories about history. -If- that."

She hits where she knows she needs to. Naturally, his pride.
(Ohtli Tezcacoatl)
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[18:57] "TEZCACOATL!" He exclaims, briefly putting off the void of emotions that perpetrated through every word of his. It seemed to be part of him to simply ignore the rest of what she spoke, and instead, while she rambled about him not being worshipped or known any more, he simply continued speaking.

"Y'know, I made Dan Tezcacoatl! Really great guy. Took my blood and everything -- I always wondered how he was. Faithful... He didn't leave me for even a single second."

"Took him out of the slaver, too. Like more than half of my tribe. So, I believe that this is the problem, yes?" He asked, turning towards Ohtli. He slowly moved in close, the suffocating aura of Pride that he carried with him seemingly targeting her.

Windsor was just... Sort of brushed to the side by the other, black-and-white solid mass that accompanied him. A fire, but without heat or any sort of color. It simply ate away at the stone, and left nothing else behind.

"I disagreed with Gehennan tradition. I made sure that the Way of Blood would be respected by my own means. I released all the Valmasian and Jianghese slaves that Xomac amassed, and allowed them to serve under me by their own will."

"Is this the problem? Being so great? Because... Your partner doesn't seem very Gehennan too."
(Katzan Xizoh)
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[19:05] Yeah. She probably should've expected that too. Even Katzan's ghost is far too into himself for any of her verbal barbs to do much good. That's alright. The sword at her side and the magic at their combined beck and call will do much better.

He might try to exert that aura of Pride over her but it can't find much purchase as the presence of Order contends with it. She doesn't take kindly to him brushing aside her partner though, or his patently obvious observations.

"No. The issue is your being worshipped. Your arrogance was another problem that has killed this land. Your ego's doomed this place and warped the Spirits. I'm glad you freed the slaves. That's not something I've ever agreed with either. The rest is inexcusable.

"And so we're here to end you. Simple as that."

She doesn't expect half of it to get through in all honesty. Her sword is held at the ready.
(Ohtli Tezcacoatl)
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[19:11] "Fine!" He says, before turning back. And then, moving towards the other end of the room, he slowly sits down. A throne of black-and-white mass makes itself under him.

"Come, then. But respect your traditions. If you want to purify the spirits, they aren't going to be... Loving you a lot if you just decide to gang up on the mighty chieftain." He speaks, the same emotionless tone overtaking his voice, replacing previous frustration.

It seemed that, in the end, he was simply incapable of feeling fear. And perhaps it was what made him like that in the end -- So legendary, only because of that inability he had.

"My mistake was allowing Idris to live once. And now, allowing your father to live seems to be another. Or perhaps you're not entirely willing to disgrace your family and your heritage?"
(Katzan Xizoh)
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[19:14] Ohtli Tezcacoatl says, "I don't think ending you will disgrace my blood or my family. "
[19:14] Ohtli Tezcacoatl says, "I told him it was my plan to do so. He didn't seem keen on stopping me."
[19:15] Windsor says, "And it doesn't seem to me like a being of pride would even admit to making mistakes. Keep your story straight."
[19:16] Ohtli Tezcacoatl says, "Yes. The 'great and powerful' Katzan...So flawed. And very dead."
[19:17] Katzan Xizoh says, "... The great and powerful Ohtli Tezcacoatl, unwilling to pay due respects to that which saved her family. Unwilling to even... Face me in righteous combat."
[19:18] "I've made a mistake too. That mistake was letting you talk for this long."

She glances sidelong to the astrologist. It's what they'd come here to do, and this looked like the last obstacle.

Ohtli's not a prideful creature, but -that- is a particular thorn. The flinch is momentary.

"You think I'm not willing to face you? It -is- what we're here for."
(Ohtli Tezcacoatl)
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[19:19] Ohtli Tezcacoatl says, "And, in honesty, I never claimed to be either of those things."
[19:19] Ohtli Tezcacoatl says, "But I am not a coward."
[19:20] Windsor says, "Right. I'd be surprised if you let us just do our work without a fight."
[19:20] Katzan Xizoh says, "Oh no. I do intend to give up a fight."
[19:20] Katzan Xizoh says, "I never expected to have to face two. You know... Doesn't seem very good-willed of you."
[19:20] Katzan Xizoh says, "But I never expected anything from the likes corrupted by demonkind, yes?! Traditions mean nothing. "
[19:21] Ohtli Tezcacoatl asks, "...Weren't you just the one talking about defying Gehennan tradition yourself?"
[19:21] Ohtli Tezcacoatl asks, "You want a one-on-one. Is that it?"
[19:22] Windsor says, "I don't see why we'd have to indulge you in that, anyway. Were the circumstances reversed, I don't doubt for a moment you'd take advantage of it."
[19:23] Katzan Xizoh says, "Oh. I never took someone on disadvantageous combat."
[19:23] Katzan Xizoh says, "I could beat anyone by myself. Even that dragon we took down -- I did it alone."
[19:26] He -was- still a Pride sin. Naturally he'd want his ego indulged. She shakes her head. Ohtli will not let her own pride get in the way of possible success this day. That downfall she can't handle.

"No. We're not going to feed you with that. You're leaving this place. Here and now."

A laconic return to form. She glances towards Windsor and begins combat whether or not Katzan wants it. This fight will -not- go on his terms. Enough breath's been wasted talking.

With her outstretched hand a blast of force is sent out to catch Katzan square in the chest.
(Ohtli Tezcacoatl)
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[19:31] It seemed that he hadn't had it his way. Black and white brimmed with FURY on the nearby environment, destroying what remained of the statues. And whatever lied around it too -- The area was open, and slowly the grey flames carved its way through the caves, leaving not even ashes on their wake.

It seemed that when he offered that one-on-one, he was holding himself back. "You DO NOT deserve my true strength. You will learn -- You will kneel. And you will feel the true wrath of the Xizoh."

He spoke out, before the powerful darkness around him moved to attack back at Ohtli.
(Katzan Xizoh)
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[19:44] After seeing everything that the Pride-bearing man had to offer on a conversational level, there was no trusting him. As soon as Ohtli went on the attack, so too did he. To put things plain, indulging him now or at any point was like to be both foolhardy and dangerous. Sticking to the Drakanite's wiser guns, the man surged forward into the fight alongside his companion, the propulsion of gravity carrying him with all due speed.

It was made readily apparent that the sinful man was no slouch, even after gods knew how many years of being sequestered on a physical and spiritual level. However, wrought with alchemical power and the worshipping of trapped spirits all the same, Windsor wasn't about to let him have his day. Not while they were this close to accomplishing their objective.

Hit hard and several times over by a monochromatic display of pyrokinetic magic, the astrologian struggled to stay standing throughout the bout. It was a more difficult fight than he'd like to have imagined - and it didn't help that age was now starting to catch up to him. However, buckling just in light of those factors would result in letting the purifying Caretaker down.

There was absolutely no abiding that.

With that in mind, Windsor moved on the offensive alongside his winged partner, sending a wave of decaying time magic coupled with a ball of oppressive gravity in the shade of Katzan's direction. The balls of flesh-rotting time struck at their foe's legs, while the gravity only magnified its effects.

It was a set up - a set up meant to be capitalized on by Ohtli.
(Windsor)
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[19:51] For not being deserving of his true strength? There was a sudden and violent spike of power when Katzan grew enraged. Perhaps that had been the right button to press. Perhaps not. Either way she didn't feel intent on catering to the whims of a long-dead Sin that styled himself as a god.

The first onrush of darkness she diverts, parting a curtain of purple flame, and she streaks through the opening it makes to the target, their shared quarry.

Years of combat alongside one another gives them unparalleled synergy. This is not their first rodeo, not by a long shot. Time wears on both of them but not enough to keep them from seeing victory today.

Windsor, may the Spirits bless and keep him, lines her up with a final shot, entrapping Katzan in his own uniquely -annoying- brand of magic. It's nice that it's not being used against her this time.

She rises up, then with the tip of her sword aglow, drives down and shoves her weapon through the offending spirit where his heart would have been in life. If Katzan had truly even had one when living to begin with.
(Ohtli Tezcacoatl)
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[19:59] "Cheaters..." He spoke, being driven down to the ground. He crawled, his limbs long since having been removed -- But they regenerate at a few moments, flesh rising after flesh to simply make him entirely. And as soon as she punctured the spirit's flesh, it slowly started to sink in.

It killed him, for sure, but it wasn't the blow. It was the fact that his whole essence seemed to disintegrate -- Perhaps where his heart laid, there was something that was still there. "You took... My life... My wife... And now you come for MY LAND..." The deceasing spirit continued, the forceful forces around him rising again.

"NO!" He yelled out, flesh unable to restore yet again as it disformed. "I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO RUIN HER LIFE. I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO DO THAT WITHOUT ANY PAIN. I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO SEIZE MY TREASURES LIKE THAT GREED FISH SIN."

He spoke, before the flames started to clasp against the very ceiling that stood over his head. If anything, he intended to take this whole building down with him.

At least, the gems that were on his statue had fallen down to the ground.
(Katzan Xizoh)
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[20:01] {NARRATION} And so Katzan was defeated, his occultism and Sin slowly dispersing away as his final grasping remainds of life met their true end. From his statue another gem fell out of the debris; something akin to a mana battery that siphons in energy of all kinds from around it.

The second area of Atl that had been marred with corruption was cleansed of the evil that once ruled it, leaving the land itself to be dealt with without opposition. Pasis had long disappeared, and some of the people who lived here in the present day had even forgotten him. It seemed as if the Chieftain of Cruxati was who was truly ruling Gehenna now, and the people of Atl were under his rule, despite living in their lives that worshipped the past.

All that was left was for Ohtli herself to get to work reclaiming the area for a new and better future.


[20:07] It was over. Another sad story put to an end - the desperation that Katzan fairly brayed out moments before his final disappearance struck a cord with Windsor in a stranger way. Her life. Even as the sinful embodiment of Pride, it seemed that the man had someone he valued. "It's not your land we want," the astrologian frowned, watching as the last eddies of life flickered away from the sinful simulacrum.

"We just needed to get rid of you." There wasn't any moment to ruminate over his story or what might have been, however; the temple was now rumbling something fierce. "Caretaker!" He bellowed over to her direction, dashing her way to check and see if she wasn't too wounded from the fight. Regardless of the result, however, urgency was taking precedence.

"The blasted thing's gonna fall apart! Grab whatever just fell, and let's get the hell out of here!"
(Windsor)
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[20:11] As the Pride sin falls, disintegrating, she feels something mixed in with the triumph. Regret. Not for felling the Spirit himself, but for something more distant and intangible. More and more of the sins Gehenna is built upon come to light even as she seeks to clean it.

Apart from superficial scrapes she's fine, and it's as if she's not quite aware of the impending collapse until the astrologist mentions it. She's that far down in her own thoughts for a few seconds too long.

"Right...Right!" she replies more firmly, snatching the fallen object before turning to flee with the astrologist.

That surely would've been a bitter end if they'd stayed. Cleansing Atl, finally, only to be crushed by the Pride sin's last vengeful riposte.
(Ohtli Tezcacoatl)
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[20:11] {Item} You picked up Nullification Gem. Dropped by TattlesDM. .
[20:17] {NARRATION} As Ohtli and Windsor made their way back outside, they noticed the people had grown confused. A light had flashed out in the center of the area and some sort of concentrated thing had appeared. Upon approach, they find yet ANOTHER gem, this one larger than all the others and much more prismatic in appearance. None of the locals seemed to know what it was, but via some arcane probing, one could discover that it was some sort of source point for the Gehenna land.

Working with it could prove to truly purify Atl for good. Along side it something fluttered in a tree along a branch; a long piece of brown cloth? It flew through the wind toward Ohtli, and for whatever reason it reminded her of the Karadin who had long since left the continent to pursue a happier life.