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~Hidan~
04-13-2005, 07:16 PM
They entered the city, from the south gate nothing seemed to have ever been under attack. As they entered the city the story changed, though no serious damage was done to the city, many dead bodies of demons laid in piles around the city. The city of Gracia was lucky enough to be trained for such an event, only two people from the city died when attacked.

They were led into the coliseum to discuss what was to happen next. Ishia was dressed in a full set of Golden White armor. She carried a sword that would take any mortal three people to carry. The pure power that she carried made everyone in the group feel tense. ‘How could someone so pure looking before be wearing such a damaging presence now.’ Was the common thought in the group?

A table sat in the center of the Coliseum two of Gracia’s Generals sat there. Everyone took a seat around the table.

“As you were informed we were attacked by the demonic armies from northern side. Valmarus is currently encamped to the north just a couple of miles from here. He is conjuring as we speak more demons to fight for him.” Ishia said looking very concerned.

Magus shook his head. “Is he one of the four great demons that rule from the spire?”

Malice nodded. “Yes though from what I am lead to believe he is only considered one of them because he is like them, but he is in fact extremely weak in comparison to the others.”

Ishia looked around the table, she had not expected for there to be two more to join them. Even more to her surprise was that they were both girls. “Might you be so kind as to introduce me to your new companions?”

“Ah yes I am very sorry for not, to the right of Malice is our newest member, Titania or Gaia, she is a white priestess, not too unlike yourself. To my left is the once great ruler of all of Palis, Aikia Masuto.” Nichi got the reaction he wanted out of Ishia, one of disbelief and fear. “Don’t worry, she is on our side, in fact I believe she wants to join your order.”

Ishia was shocked to have the source of all the problems at hand right in front of her. “If you truly wish to join my order you may, I’ll talk to you later about it.”

Aikia could tell Ishia was shocked to know who she was. “I’ll server you in any way I can to help undo the horrible mess I have left on this world. But I am a burden to them so I wish to help from here.”

Ishia nodded. “As for you Titania, I am very glad to hear there is a healer in the group now, it puts my heart at rest knowing you’ll be there to help them.”

Titania was so overwhelmed by the whole situation that all she could do was smile and nod.

One of the two generals stood up. “I am General Takatori, and this is General Mitsugami. We are the leaders of the armies of Gracia.”

“We have learned that the forces of Valmarus will be attacking soon. We ask that you all rest well and prepare to fight off the forces that are coming our way, once we have this army defeated we will be able to hold our own again. We ask for your help because Lord Nichi has entrusted you to help him, and we believe in him and his judgments.” Mitsugami said bowing his head to the group.

Magus, Malice, Titania, Belial, and Nichi all Nodded back. “We will do what we can isn’t that right guys?” Nichi said with a reassuring smile.

Ishia stood up. “Well this meeting is dismissed, you can find your rooms in the same places they were before, and Titania can take the room that was just next to yours.” Ishia bowed. “We are going to have a hellish week of battle, I thank you in advance for all that you do to help Gracia.”

FFnut
04-13-2005, 10:35 PM
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Palis, The Year 699 Ishia, Gracia Castle

Magus walked down the halls of the castle, studying the carved murals on the wall. He felt a slight breeze and closed his eyes, smiling. The black wind... he thought to himself. He felt relaxed, for although the black wind was blowing, it wasn't as intense as it had been weeks earlier. He continued to look at the murals, all sorts of strange thoughts going through his head, trying to connect the images on the wall with Earth mythology.

"Hello there," came a voice from behind. Magus jumped, whirling around, coming face to face with Aikia. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh... it's you," he sighed.

Aikia frowned. "'Oh, it's you?' That sounds a tad insulting."

Magus shook his head. "I was thinking of some other things... trying to connect these," he said, gesturing to the wall, "to myths from my own world. I'm trying to see how much our worlds have in common."

Aikia smiled, turning her head slightly. "Hm... interesting stuff. Anything else bothering you? I felt an aura of contentment a few minutes agoaround here. What was making you so happy?"

Magus was surprised. "You feel contentment? That must be the black wind then. It's something only I can feel or hear - wind that blows when something evil is happening. A few days ago, it was blowing like mad - not long after you left Nichi's body actually. It felt like..." He searched for the word. "Like a hurricane. Just a few seconds ago it blew, but it was a light breeze. It was comforting to feel such a soft blowing of such a horrible thing, compared to what happened before."

Aikia took a step forward, putting a hand on his shoulder. "It's alright. Don't feel bad. I can understand. I-" There was a loud crash outside.

Magus dashed out of the castle, leaving a confused Aikia behind. She hadn't heard anything...

Outside, Magus confronted a giant shelled creature. He studied it, noting how similar it looked to... "Lavos," he whispered.

He noted the icicles hanging off the spikes of the monster's shell. Icy... maybe a little fire will bring him down. Magus whipped up a flame in his hand, slamming the creature with fire. It howled and its head began to turn black. Soon nothing remained but an empty husk of a shell.

Malice, Nichi, and Belial quickly hurried outside. "Magus, Aikia told us that you came out here and... what is that thing?"

Magus turned to the three of them. "A Lavos Spawn. These things came from Earth. There's bound to be more..." He glanced at the shell. "This one was really weak though... I don't think the rest of them'll go down this easily..."

The four of them walked to the door. Magus nodded. "I'm off to bed then. I'll fill in you guys and the queen when I feel rested."

Mong00se
04-13-2005, 10:53 PM
The kingdom of Gracia lay dormant. The soldiers were alert on their watch, yet they said nothing. They stood as if they were not alive but stone figures, in place to ward off any demonic force. The moon glowed a crimson red, shedding a tear for its kin that had been lost the day before. It cast its gaze in an eerie glow over the surrounding plains. Gracia's retainers carefully watched the silent plains. The wind howled, releasing the souls of the felled warriors into the skies.

Inside, the warriors slept soundly. Malice and Magus had shared a room, and after a brief talk, they had retired. Breathing heavily, their snores offset eachother in a perfect harmonic balance.
The room over held Belial and Nichi. Since he'd converted to his elf-like form, Belial had been experiencing a new level of sleep. He felt at rest instead of on alert. Ensayne slept above him, floating above him, hands over her chest just as that of a fresh corpse.

The serenity of the night was short lived. The moon shifted, its glow becoming bright red. The fields and the city were both showered with a blood red light, startling the steadfast guards. A war conch echoed through the air, warning the city of an impeding doom. Ishia bolted up in bed, and reflexively grasped her sword that lay propped against the wall. Within minutes, she was dressed and at the steps of the royal palace. The others filed in sporadically, Nichi being the last to arrive. They all stared up in awe of the blood moon.

"They come," Belial muttered, his head down in prayer. "The demons will be upon us soon."

The soldiers were assembling in lines at the foot of the palace steps. Their lines spanned out into the distance. Archers could be seen filling the upper barracks, neatly lined. Ishia watched her warriors with pride. This was her kingdom, and it would not go down without a fight. She would defend it until the last ounce of her strength had been taken from her. She raised her blade high into the air, as if to strike the great gods themselves.

"Tonight, we fight! Fight for those you love. Fight for your city. Fight for honor. But most of all, fight for yourself and what you believe in. This battle will be long and strenuous, but if you believe in your cause, believe in those who wish you to return home, then you WILL return home. I am honored to have you fighting by my side. I am not your ruler, but a soldier. We are as one on the battlefield. We will fight under the stars, and we will fight under the sun. We will NOT stop fighting, until we are all joined in the Gracian banquet hall or we are all joined in the heavens above. We will make this a battle that NO BODY will forget, and we WILL stand triumphant through it all. In the generations to come, one name will be remembered. That name is not Princess Ishia. That name is the Gracian Retainers!"

Cheers erupted from the soldiers, a cry of respect to their brave leader. No tears were shed, for the battle ahead would warrant enough mourning. The conch was blown a second time, and the demons appeared on the horizon. The endless black plague marched towards the city, then stopped 500 yards off the castle walls. The conch was blown one final time, and the retainers turned. There was a clanging sound of weapons being drawn. Nichi drew his sword, Malice his daggers, and Magus his scythe. This would be the start of a legendary battle, one that would be remembered for years to come.

And as the two sides stood on opposites sides of the battle, the wind blew. The trees shuddered uneasily as the conch sound dissipated into the night.

Zerlina
04-14-2005, 01:58 AM
Titania made sure that she stood close to the others. With each passing second, the enemy crept closer and closer, until finally it came to a steady halt before the castle walls.

None of this made any sense. Fight for what you believe in? She had had no idea that the city even existed until a week or so ago. How could it be that now she was expected to put her life on the line for it? Wordlessly, the girl decided that her efforts would be to repay the kindness of her new companions whom she had put her complete trust in and so far had not betrayed her.

She stared out in the direction of the opposing army, her troubled face betraying her fearful soul. Lowering her head to say one quick prayer to the eidolons, she felt a curtain of auburn hair fall over her face. Using her common sense for once, she took out from her apron-like pocket a golden comb. Twisting her hair up and keeping it in place with the object, she gripped her hands tightly and tried to calm her breathing.

The comb that she so adored enough to wear at a time when she felt that death was imminent had been one of the many gifts of her father’s (who had made it from a melted down pinion he’d found outside the city).

Her shoulders pulsing up and down as she breathed shallowly, Titania looked unsurely at Malice, Nichi and Magus. Seeing that they (who she was sure knew more about battle than herself) had drawn their weapons, she swallowed hard and gripped her hands tightly, wondering if the enemy would hold such deadly tools as well. As it was, she was still unsure of her healing, and spent a few moments hoping to Phoenix that she would be able to help keep the others safe and healthy.

Throughout all the ages, people had passed down stories of the glories of battle, telling tales about how soldiers would fight fearlessly to the death for their country and kin. So glamorous and moving were these tales, that children would sometimes act out the roles of the different armies, play fighting, and trying to see who could throw whom into the river first.

Even Titania had believed these stories, not questioning the opinion that all soldiers –when faced with defending their nation- were fearless, and invincible. Now that war was upon her, and the mortality of these men danced in front of their faces, she realized that the tales of her childhood could not be true; surely all these men were at least slightly afraid for their lives- afraid of death.

And thus she stood, her belief in the glory of battle and the fearlessness of soldiers destroyed by the reality. For a moment she said nothing, and wondered how many men who stood among her wished that they could be anywhere else in the world.

The two armies were still for an immeasurable amount of time, until finally the enemies of Gracia began to move. Their front lines ran toward the castle. Then, with one swift, unison, the archers who stood in a line behind them fired straight ahead, their arrows creeping over the heads of their own soldiers and heading straight for their opponents’ stronghold.

The arrows fell like rain, planting themselves into the hearts of men who had scarcely begun to taste the bitterness of battle. It was only a matter of seconds before there was chaos, and the men began to scatter.

Titania stood, paralyzed with fright, and lack of realization. The attack had come so fast that her mind had not begun to even comprehend the situation. As she watched the soldiers falling around her, an arrow pierced the ends of her once pristine robe.

For a good while, she simply stared, too scared to reach out and touch the weapon. The arrow had triggered something inside her, some kind of signal that told her she was standing in reality and not only watching it. The noises of battle and the wounded had become loud and all-to-effective, and suddenly the fear she had been feeling converted to pity and excitment. She ran to the closest wounded and knelt beside them, trying her best to mustre up a spell.

Drazniich
04-14-2005, 06:18 PM
Belial listened intently, then shrugged. "The non-believers would prefer to fight for another reason, you know..." he shouted. No one heard him over the cheering.

Nichi slapped Belial on the back of the head.

Mong00se
04-16-2005, 07:56 PM
Arrows covered the streets. The wounded were quickly sent off the front lines, and the dead were left as they were. It was a Gracian custom to leave the dead laying where they fell. It sprung from the belief that once a person dies, their soul continues on in a second life. With this belief in hand, the soldiers never fought alone.

The casualties had been small for both sides. After the initial crossbow barrage from the demons, the Gracian Elite Archers had regained composure and had shown the demons their true power. More demons had been felled than humans, but the dark mass of the demon army had not faltered. As one fell, another took its place.

Malice noticed Titania wisp away, but he dared not follow. On the front line of this horrific battle, not a body could be spared. The others had obviously noticed it too, because they each took a moment out of the tense battle to look at eachother. That was when Malice noticed the arrow.

It stuck out of Nichi's right breast, almost taunting him. How Nichi had not noticed was another question that would be left unanswered. He didn't even flinch as he turned to Magus with a confused look on his face as to Titanias disappearance. Malice decided that he would ask the question.

"Uhhh Nichi," he said, not sure how to phrase the question.

"Yeah," Nighi said casually.

"You're, uhh, sporting an arrow." Malice said. Nichi looked down and saw the arrow protruding from his armor. A shocked look placed intself on his face. The group laughed, but their celebration was short lived.

"Get ready. They come." Belial said in his same trance-like state.

There were murmurs of confusion between the archers. They were speaking as if they had seen a ghost. An archer quickly approached Ishia.

"M'lord, the demons. They are not heading for the main door. They look to scale our walls."

For a moment there was silence. Finally Ishia spoke.

"Archers will stand down and fall back. As soon as the first demon is seen along the horizon, we will fire. Have the longbows stay back, and have the soldiers on the front line ready themselves. Prepare for wave 2."

Spiff
04-16-2005, 08:04 PM
They wanted a war, well they got one. Hige paced back and forth, he didn’t like war but his orders were clear: genocide. After this he could go to another dimension but first he had to pay off his debt.

“This is insane!” Hige said as he was talking to himself.

“Is there a problem…?” Hige looked up, in the doorway stood his debtor, Dacono, he smiled as he started to speak: “Most people nowadays have no intelligence. I’d hate to have to kill one of the few left.”

“I don’t think you’d be dumb enough to try.” Hige said as he cracked a smile. He was lying, he wouldn’t be able to kill Dacono; he wasn’t strong enough.

Dacono stopped smiling, “Is everything ready?” Hige sighed and looked at him with ice cold eyes, “The troops should be getting there right about now.”

~Hidan~
04-17-2005, 10:38 PM
Nichi had just started to break a sweat. They just didn’t stop coming, he had taken out about 30 of them cleanly but they just kept coming. Nichi was running around to the grappling hooks knocking people off the walls and freezing their attempts to scale the walls. It seemed in vain though, for every one he froze 3 more came up. Malice, Magus and Belial were no were to be found, Nichi could see from on the wall poor Titania running around trying her best to heal all those wounded. Nichi had long since broken off the arrow that was sticking from his armor, lucky for him he had remembered to wear his Mitheral woven armor for the battle, had he not he might be doing so well right now.

That’s when Nichi noticed him, standing with a smug grin on his face just outside archer range. Dacono was shouting orders and seemed very pleased with the progress they were making, near him stood another non-demon general. One Nichi had never seen before.

Ishia fought valiantly guarding the main gate; her soldiers had taken not even a scratch yet. This however did not seem to be a fortune that would last long, Dacono broke his way through the main lines and was on the outer edges of Ishia’s soldiers, they started to fall. Dacono was not any bit as weak as he had acted when Nichi thought he defeated him.

Nichi did his best to try to get to Ishia and he troops, but Dacono was moving too fast. Dacono was crossing swords with Ishia in no time. She held her own well so Nichi went back to fighting off the incoming enemy troops. All of what seemed to happen in hours only took several minutes. The war raged on through the night. Ishia and Dacono stay sword locked all night. Neither of them seemed to wear. The floods of demons kept coming. The forces of Gracia defended their lands well.

Mong00se
04-17-2005, 11:23 PM
((i Cant Post Now, But I Call Dibs On The Next Post))

Mong00se
04-18-2005, 06:09 PM
This battle truly would be remembered in years to come. Though the two sides fought bravely through the night and into the early morning, and casualties were grand for both sides, both man and demon never stopped coming. The Gracian army was definately more skilled in the art of combat than the demons, and each man could claim at least 15 to their name. The demon army though never seemed to falter. Wave after wave of demon came, and though they were struck down with great zeal, more amassed in their places. The demon army seemed like an unbeatable plague.

From the original shock of the arrow in Nichi's armor, the troops had split up. Nichi and Belial had gone into the front lines, while Magus accompanied Masuto into the left rank. Malice had heard them talking before; he suspected trickery on Masuto's part. Magus was still not a keen fighter, and to have his life thrown away at a futile plan would be nonsense. Together the two had fought off demons, as they made their way to the front gate which still stood unbreached.

Malice himself had another plan though. Knowing full well that demons possessed skills in magic, he was wary, but he decided to act upon his instincts. Before they had all met on the palace steps, Malice had grabbed himself his wooden bow. It had been left in Gracia, as Malice rarely used it. In fights like these, where chaos made a lengthy appearance, bowmanship was a much appreciated skill. Malice brought his bow off his back after he sheathed his daggers, and felt one of two quivers for an arrow.

Faster than the human eye could percieve, the arrow was knocked and the bow string drawn taught. Malice searched for a life to save, and quickly unleashed the arrow when he spotted the solider.

The soldier had been parrying blows with an ogre-like demon. The demon had just snapped his sword with its giant club, and it had the club reared over its head to strike. The maul came down upon the staunch soldier, who still stood his guard. Before the club could wreak its havoc, Malice's arrow pierced its neck, propelling the demon sideways with its great momentum. The demon vanished in a puff of smoke; only ashes remained.

Malice quickly ran to the ramparts to aid the other archers. The human archers were still at odds with the demon crossbows. Arrows still rained from the sky, injuring both sides. Malice quickly knocked an arrow, and just as he past a human soldier, let the arrow fly. The arrow missed the human soldiers face by mere inches, and the soldier jumped in fright. Another demon fell. Malice quickly unleashed the whole first quiver of arrows into various demons. Most never got a chance to react before they lit up in a cloud of black dust.

Suddenly, the demons stopped firing. A runner quickly broke from the group. It didn't carry a sword or a crossbow, and it confused Malice to it's presence in the battle. The archers resumed their usual fire at their commanders whim, ignoring the runner. Malice sensed something odd.

"No no, fire at the rogue!" he exclaimed, trying to get everyones attention. The archers looked confused, but followed their commanders orders.

By this time, the rogue had revealed its true purpose. It was a spellcaster demon, and left unattended, it had formed a translucent shield that covered the crossbowmen entirely. The arrows stopped having effect. They hit the shield, and fell dead. The crossbows resumed firing. Their arrows hit the magical barrier, but instead of falling dead, they travelled through untouched.

"Everyone, shield formation!" Malice called. Noticing how correct he had been the first time, the archers drew their shields. Those not quick enough to react were cut down.

The commander was either too proud or too stupid to listen to Malice. He continued firing arrows from his silver bow, only to have them stop at the touch of the barrier. The demons had noticed the few that had been to pompous to listen to the words of a savior, and they aimed their arrows for them. Malice noticed this, and cloaked himself. He silently flew over the outer walls, and looked inward on the battle. The arrows flew at the unsuspecting archers, and Malice focused his mind, creating wind. With many bursts of wind jutting from his palms, he quickly altered the crossbow bolts course. He flew back to the ground, out of breath.

After a quick word with the commander, all tower shields were up, protecting the city as best as they could for the time being. Together, Malice and Commander Mordikir formulated a plan.

FFnut
04-18-2005, 06:46 PM
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Palis, The Year 699 Ishia, Gracia Gate

Magus cut down a few more demons with his scythe. Suddenly he felt a breeze he knw nobody else could feel - the black wind, once again. Only this time, there was a voice in it. He listened intently.

****************************
Palis, The Year 699 Ishia, Somewhere

Schala cried softly into the black wind for help. She wanted someone, anyone to hear the wind and her voice. Soon a soldier stepped into her chamber.

"Ah, miss, I was hoping you could be of some assistance to us..."

Schala blinked. "Who are you? Why do you need my help? Why..."

The soldier gave a huge bow, a grin on his face. "My name is Gamma," he said. "I work for Lord Kain, one of the great demons of Draconis."

Schala recognized the strange tinge to the man's voice. "You... you're... you're the same as..."

The man grinned, showing rows of sharpened teeth. "Miss Zeal, Kain requires your magic. I know what it is like, having felt it myself back on Earth. You can either work with us willingly..." He held out his arm, which turned into a powerful claw. "...or I can rip the magic from your body myself."

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Palis, The Year 699 Ishia, Gracia Gate

Magus chopped down demons, a new fury blazing within him. Schala was in danger, calling for help when she was suddenly interrupted. He felt nothing more than hatred welling up inside of him.

A giant shape-shifting demon appeared. Its form didn't seem to be able to stabilize itself, continually shifting to become more and more powerful. Magus continued to strike at the other demons, trying to ignore the larger one until he heard a rasping voice carry over the heads of the demons; "Janus Zeal... how nice to seeeeeyyoouuuU!" The shapeshifter cquickly mowed down several soldiers in front of it and started knocking away human and demon alike to get at Magus.

Magus stumbled back, actually afraid for once. Thousands of thoughts flew through his mind, the most prominent being How does this thing know my real name?

The shapeshifter howled, chomping down on a soldier and shifting away its mouth with the soldier only halfway inside - Magus looked at the gruesome half-corpse before he dove at the monster.

A claw extended from the transforming monstrosity and knocked Magus back. Suddenly it reared an arm, which was slowly changing into a head, to the sky. "I muSt lEave yoU Now JaNus... buT I wiLl RetUrn!"

Two of its extra heads transormed into wings as the creature began to fly. Even as these wings transformed, more would appear, keeping the thing aloft. Magus immediately turned his attention back to the hordes pouring through the gate. He shot a quick glance to Aikia, who he suddenly realized was nowhere to be found. "What the..."

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Palis, The Year 699 Ishia, Somewhere Else

Gamma strapped Schala down to a large slab. He grabbed her pendant from around her neck and called out to the sky. "Beta! Come here!"

Schala let out a muffled cry before Gamma shot a jolt of electricity into her. The world soon went black.

Zerlina
04-18-2005, 08:58 PM
((Alright here goes an attempt at moving other people...))

A few of the soldiers who were close enough to see, but far enough to escape its wrath, watched the terrifying creature as it disappeared into the hazy sky. One young soldier in particular stood in awe- the mistake that allowed a demon blade to pierce his heavy armour with little resistance. The foul attacker moaned in triumph, only to be speedily interrupted by the heavy sound of an impacting arrow, sent from the steady bow of The Planning Commander. With great speed, the object hurtled through the demon’s neck and exited out the other side.

“You shot late.” Noted Malice, who was close to him.

“No.” the commander replied, shaking his head “I shot just in time.”

The doomed creature fell to its knees and behind it could be seen the staggering bodies of three more of its kin, all having been hit by the same arrow which now rested safely in a blood-covered post.


Titania wandered about the place, searching for injury, but finding only death. In a haze, the girl continued to turn over bodies with little success. Finally, she simply gave up and looked to the rampart where the main battle had come to a disturbing lull.

Swiftly speeding away from the mutilated bodies that lay decaying on the blood-stained ground, Titania ran up the ramparts, the bottom of her robes laced with war’s scarlet fuel.

“Malice! Nichi!” she yelled, a smile appearing on her face as she spotted the familiar. In her joy she did not even notice that the two seemed to be forming some sort of plan.

“You won’t believe th- ah!” The unshielded girl, turned to see an arrow coming for her. Frightened, she threw up her blood-covered hands and suddenly found herself surrounded by a green haze. The arrow never hit its mark.

She stopped for a moment, wide-eyed and completely confused. Finally giving it better reason (and noticing that the haze had been gone for some time and she might as well be target practise) she hid behind a soldier who was smart enough to have his shield up.

~Hidan~
04-19-2005, 02:00 AM
The great tower in the middle of town struck noon. The war had been in movement for almost twelve hours now. Nichi had drawn back to Malice’s position to form a plan. He had told Malice about an idea for a combined attack of wind and ice. They would attempt to launch it shortly.

Meanwhile Belial mowed through almost a thousand demons all by himself so far. He sat in the middle of the great demon army, well out of range of killing his own people. Unleashing a great unmaking spell he swallowed up the existence of several thousand of the demon soldiers in one foul spell, making sure not to overdo it so he would not be weakened too much by the spell.

Nichi and Malice watched the horrific display of power done by Belial and both shivered in the thought of what it would feel like to have such a spell cast on them. Riding the winds into the front lines of the battle Malice started a strong gust of wind that Nichi released large and sharp fragments of ice into. The force of the wind took the large ice fragments and impaled hundreds of Demon soldiers. They continued to do this until Nichi noticed the battle between Ishia and Dacono coming to an end.

Ishia was starting to grow weak from fighting so long. Somehow Dacono had not lost on ounce of his fierce might. The swing finally came to end the beginning of the war. Dacono managed a heavy swing across Ishia’s stomach. It was not deep but it was enough for her to loose composer and almost fall. While off balance Dacono cut her several times in the legs and arms, easily piercing her mighty armor. She fell to the ground bloody and unable to stand back up. With a howling laugh that could be heard for miles Dacono removed the head of Ishia in one foul blow. Picking her head off the ground and raising it high above his head Dacono marched back towards his troops with a triumphant look.

Nichi screamed in fear as he watched Ishia’s head fall to the ground. That bastard brother of his had taken away the last thing in his life that was truly important to him.

Dacono’s the back lines of the Demon army withdrew, knowing that they had won that days battle. They returned to start the summoning rituals to refill their dead ranks. The front lines remained and were killed off by sunset.

Funeral services were held that night for Ishia. Nichi hardly spoke until them.

Nichi stood in front of the city in the great coliseum as the head spokesperson for the first time. “Today we defended our lands in a way that no one has ever thought would be necessary. Today we held off the invading hordes of demons that are here to take over our world. Today we also lost the leader that held us strong enough to hold against these foes.” Nichi began to tear up as he said this. “As many of you know I was raised by our strong and mighty queen Ishia.” Aikia stood close to the alter that Nichi was talking from. “Our new ruler was chosen by Ishia herself. Aikia Masuto will be our new queen acting in as of today. Please stand and give praise to our new Queen.”

The court stood and clapped in acceptance of Aikia. Nichi presented her with the crown of Gracia and with it came a pillar of white light. Aikia ascended to being a god once more. She let out a great sigh of relief. “It is my honor to take place of one so great of Ishia, I am so very sorry for her loss and hope she resides along side all the other great fallen gods of Kharn. Many of you know of my past and I would not be able to put on this crown if you all did not accept me, so I thank you all for trusting me in your hearts and for believing that I will make a good queen.”

Malice, Magus, Belial and Titania stood behind the Alter with Nichi all dressed in robes that signified honorable positions in the court. They had all been shocked by the falling of Ishia and had little to say to each other at the time, they all mourned the death of the poor woman they had come to believe in.

The priests came forward to sanctify the blessings of Aikia’s queen ship and now moved to the burial and sanctification of Ishia’s tomb. The ceremony only took a few moments, and then all bowed their heads in honor of Ishia and raised their heads to now hear the plans of war that Aikia had declared would be announced.

Aikia raised her head slowly and then began to speak. “So they think they can wipe us out of this world. That is the goal of our assailants. I don’t think any of us will allow this to happen and that is why I say we bring the fight to them. Shortly before Ishia died she sent word of the attack to our allies in Diasis, and Forlun. They arrive in less then and hour, each city has sent us an army. Diasis sends their elite Black Capes Army or 620,000 soldiers. They are the most feared army in the land, for their excellence and for their brutal tenacity. Forlun sends their Elite Death Raven Rangers, a force of 80,000 and their Raven Guard Army a force of 400,000 elite soldiers.” Ishia took a deep breath. “Tomorrow the demon army of Valmarus will beg for its death for we shall give them a fight they will never forget.”

The citizens of Gracia stood silenced by the good news, awestruck that they would not be fighting alone. Many started to cry in happiness. Many couldn’t stop cheering.

That night a great feast was prepared and the whole city celebrated the crowning of Aikia. For many this would be the last Party any of them would take part in. The party lasted all night the incoming armies joined in and had brought their own additions to the festival.

Nichi sat high above the city in the clock tower playing his favorite tune on a wind instrument from his culture. When the sun rose it would be the biggest battle known to man. They would push back and cleanse the demon army and all cities within 100 miles. Tomorrow would be a day to go down in history.

Drazniich
04-19-2005, 01:47 PM
Belial stepped outside for a fresh view. Even with his eyes shut, he could feel the summoning call. They weren't just bringing grunts in now. They were trying to claim the hierarcy, falling just short of the council.

"You have sinned, brothers." he whispered. "You have broken our laws."

"Laws were made to be broken, Ash-maker."

Belial heard a familiar voice carried upon the darkness. "Not these. Even the greatest champions of defiance need guidance, Ruin-bringer."

Demonic titles could number into the thousands. But only one demon could carry any one title at anytime.

"You always seemed to favor revolution for just causes, oh Unmaker of Worlds." the voice replied. "Whereas the more enterprising among us..."

"Favor anarchy for the sake of chaos." Belial finished. His eyes still closed, he walked forward, off into the air. "But what good is chaos without a reference point."

The voice laughed. "I offered that solution a long, long time ago."

"Your reference point wasn't enough to stem the unmaking." Belial sighed, still blindly walking forward. He felt something stirring inside him he hadn't felt in a long, long time. Not since the nights of old, when cults met secretly in underground unhallowed chapels and sacrificed the innocent in his name.

The voice changed its tone to a little less confident and a little more urgent. "But it was solid, none the less. It was a mountain that no profit could move. It was legendary, it was unchangable, and it was fate."

Belial just kept walking. "I cannot deny your logic, Gnawer of Reality's Roots, but it was a pillar in the wrong land."

He felt rather enjoyably relaxed. He could feel the blue eightpointed star begin to glow.

"Could it be that you are simply resisting against the rest of the defiant?" the voice chided. "That you cannot accept a certainty in the world of free will?"

Belial felt the black flames fanning from his feet, begining to form a shell around him. Wait... this was familiar...

"There is no certainty. Free will negates any form of possible prediction." Belial whispered, feeling himself being pulled from afar.

"The only thing that cannot be changed is what we decide not to allow to become corrupted." the voice seemed to press against him now, almost slowing his advance. "And these four, while they break the laws, presently anger me."

"And why is that, oh desecrator of the open heart?" Belial mumbled. He suddenly realized what was going on, but it was too far...

He was being summoned by the four.

"BECAUSE THEY TRY TO TAKE WHAT'S MINE!" the voice roared. Belial felt something slam into him, driving him back into the palace wall.

Belial coughed, a small amont of blood spilling out. He tried to stand, but his legs were broken, and they weren't regenerating fast enough.

"Ow." Belial stated flatly. "You play too rough."

The figure belonging to the voice stood up. A few inches taller than Belial's present form, with spiked red hair, and red eyes that gleamed with the light of the stars, he adjusted his gloves. He made sure he still had his book, and his goggles. His pants were covered in dust from the impact. He shook himself, all the dust leaving his skin. Where Belial had blue tattoos, this demon had red, and they were strict and cornered instead of flowing tribal. About his left eye, he bore a seven-pointed star of a diffrent style.

"Oh, relax. You'll heal." Osirus leaned forward and sat his old friend up. "Mend your legs and lets go. We have worlds to play with."

Belial shoved Osirus' hands off. "Not gonna happen. Not after last time."

Osirus laughed. "Oh, you still ticked about that?" he put a foot on Belial's knee, and ground the shattered bones together. "I think that you'd have really forgiven me by now."

Belial screamed. Not roared in rage, not howled defiantly, but outright screamed in pain.

Osirus switched to the ribs as he took out his book. "Ahem... Thus, Osirus and Belial fought for seven hundred and seventy one nights, one for each member of the founding. Belial refused to use his unmaking powers, for he cared too much for the only real friend he'd ever known, but without them, Osirus over powered him, and bound him to an obsidian Caern. Beaten, broken, and betrayed, Osirus remained there for an eon while Osirus tried in vain to obtain fealty from him."

Belial was fighting off spasming in pain. He could restart the fight, right here, right now, and ruin the lands, and most likely annihilate the entire world. But that'd solve nothing.

He clenched his fists, moaning in agony. "Something on your mind, Eight?" he whispered, leaning down.

"You..." Belial gasped. "Never... understood..."

Osirus rolled his eyes. "Understood what?" he said, stepping off. "That you have no finishing technique? That you lack the conviction of our people?"

Belial winced as he raised himself up to sitting upright. "No..."

Osirus suddenly threw himself flat as Nichi lept over him. "Oh, look! Entertainment!" Osirus shouted. "You are quite the sneaky one, whelp!"

Nichi drew his blade. "Whelp?" His eyes turned yellow. "I've been cutting your ilk down for days now. Wanna be next?"

Belial closed his eyes. Osirus' ability to leave long standing wounds was annoying, normally, but Belial was tired from the summoning attempt.

Osirus raised two fingers. "You have a choice, cat-eyes." he hissed at Nichi. "Be hidden under the soil, encased in black ice, or to cease to exist!"

Nichi waited patiently. "Try it and see what happens."

Osirus threw his arms out to the side. "Challenge Seven and be smashed beneath my heel LIKE AN EMPIRE!"

A beam of unmaking shot from Osirus' left eye. Nichi threw himself flat, and then bolted back up, and threw his hand forward.

Nothing happened. Nichi looked at his hand.

"Oh, that. Your technique would easily replicate my blackened ice. Unmaking requires a little less... mortality." Osirus smiled. He started walking towards Nichi, opening his book. A page flew out, and Nichi deflected it.

"Oh, and to your earlier comment... do I look like a lesser demon?" He snapped, firing another page. Nichi deflected it too. "DID ANY OF THEM DO THIS?"

He shot a bolt of unmaking low, shearing Nichi's lower right leg off. Nichi looked down, stunned. It didn't hurt. It just wasn't there.

Osirus held a ball in his hand. "Hero, huh?"

Nichi spat at Osirus, swinging forward with his blade. "Tis better to die a hero than live as a monster."

"Allow me to accomadate your request." Osirus laughed, rearing back to throw.

A flat beam of unmaking careened at Osirus' head. He stood stunned. A lock of hair drifted to the ground.

Belial stood, his hand shoved into the wall, holding himself off the ground. "Next one hits." he snarled.

Osirus let the ball disapate. "You don't have the conviction." He started walking towards Belial. "You couldn't kill me then, you can't kill me now."

Belial waited as Osrius came face to face with him. Nichi propped himself up on his sword.

Osirus put Belial's hand on his own throat. "If you can, then do it." He stared at Belial, straight in the eyes. "If you ever wanted to slay me, for all the wrongs I caused, here's your chance."

Nichi wished to everything holy that he had telepathy at that point. He was urging Belial to end Osirus right there.

Belial stared back. For one moment, the world held still.

He let go.

Osirus nodded. "Thought so."

Belial hung his head. "Some demon you made, Eight." Osirus grabbed him by the hair and threw him into the ground before the palace. "If I have to beat obidience into you, so be it."

He lept off of the wall. Nichi gritted his teeth. He'd seen it done before... but he had to be ready to copy at the time to copy...

It was just a matter of playing it back in his head and convincing himself it was real...

His leg regrew. He jumped after Osirus, sword pointed down.

Belial lay there, a faint blue light eminating from his tattoos. Osirus had his foot across Belial's throat.

"Why the hell do you always have to tempt me, Osirus?" Belial coughed.

"Eh..." Osirus shrugged. "Call it tough love, I guess."

He was so occupied with trying to crush Belial's spirit, he never saw Nichi's sword as it rammed into his chest. He looked down at the massive blade.

"Oh wow..." Osirus ran his finger through the blood. "That was pretty impressive."

Nichi withdrew and wound up to take Osirus' head off. Osirus fell to his knees, and colapsed on Belial. "Hey, that stings." he whispered. The glow around his eye softened. Nichi brought the blade around.

A sharp clang was heard as Belial's palm caught the blow. Nichi tried forcing it through.

"Can't let you." Belial said through gritted teeth.

"He was going to kill us both." Nichi snarled.

Belial held Osirus' bleeding body with his right arm, and started forcing Nichi back with the left. "Can't... let... you..." he said, rising. The skies began to turn red. Thunder started off far, then drew closer. Black lightning arced.

Nichi withdrew his blade. "I won't let him into the castle." he said flatly.

A bolt of lightning slammed into the ground nearby, leaving a crater. "I won't leave him wounded for the enemy to either kill or claim." Belial lifted the barely concious Osirus, walking towards the gate.

Nichi pointed behind Belial. "Ambush." he said simply.

Belial turned his head, catching the approaching band with the corner of his eye. He thrust Osirus forward. "Take him back, and put him in a bed."

Nichi looked shocked. Belial's arms were shaking. He threw Osirus over his shoulder. "What are you going to do?"

Belial clenched his fists at his sides. Nichi walked through the gate.

Drazniich
04-19-2005, 01:48 PM
"Law number three... be kind to the locals, lest reality become too strained or you become a god yourself..." he snarled, turning.

The five demons approaching wore a look of sadistic pleasure upon their faces, until they met Belial's gaze.

"Wait..." one of them said. "Isn't that..."

Another one dropped his sword. "That's Eight!"

"Uh oh..." another gasped.

"Gizward the Crucifier, Ozrin of the Balefire, Periclis of the Fallen, Uriah the Hammer of Wrath, and Jarazu the Dark Heart, you have broken Law Number Three." Belial shouted. He stood, legs apart, hands one behind the other infront of him. "The council decreed that those who did not write the laws are to be punished severely for breaking the laws."

The five looked at each other. "Let's take him out." one laughed. He started to step forward.

A wide bolt made his disapear from the waist up. The others looked wide eyed.

"I wrote that law in my own dark blood." Belial whispered. "AND I AM TIRED OF IT BEING IGNORED!"

He blasted the other four in the same manner. The beams flew through them and into enemy teritory.

Belial stalked back to the gate, almost looking drunk while he did. Nichi returned.

"Third Law?" Nichi asked.

Belial stared. "That was being nice. The world still turns, doesn't it?"

FFnut
04-19-2005, 05:09 PM
******************************
Palis, The Year 0 Aikia, Somewhere Else

Gamma heard laughter coming from Kain's throne room. Looking over Schala, who was still strapped to the stone slab, he gave Beta orders to watch the girl as he entered the throne room.

Inside the throne room, Kain was laughing so hard he was having trouble staying on his chair. Gamma raised an eyebrow. "Lord Kain?"

Kain calmed down enough to speak. "Ha. You'll love this one, Gamma. I've just heard from Valmarus - watch this."

Kain beamed an image into Gamma's head - that of Dacono beheading Ishia. Gamma felt Kain's glee and went back to Beta and Schala.

****************************
Palis, The Year 0 Aikia, Gracia Castle

Magus sat in his room. At dawn the demons would return, and the war would restart. Malice was preparing for the next day's battle, and Nichi had gone to talk to Belial. Aikia was now running Gracia, and Titania was helping with the soldier-healing. Only Magus himself had nothing to do.

He left his room, strolling down the hall. He began to think of everything that was happening, and about the shapeshifter that had knocked him away like nothing. He went outside and watched the men who were stripping down the Lavos Spawn's shell and making it into better armor.

Someone in this world knows who I really am, but how? Only Schala also came from Earth and knew who Janus was, but she wouldn't know that Magus and Janus were the same person. Nobody knows me as Janus Zeal. There's no way..

The festival continued. Magus quickly dodged through the crowd, remembering the last time he had been at a festival - to buy a clone to resurrect his friend Crono back on Earth. He thought back...

*****************************
Earth, The Year 1000 AD, Truce Village

Magus watched as Marle copied the clone's movements. Dr. Bekkler clapped, admiring her imitative skills. "Splendid! Have the clone!"

They grabbed the clone and stopped off at Crono's house for a quick rest. His mother was there.

"How is Crono doing? Where is he?" she asked. Marle started blinking away tears, but Frog spoke up. "Milady, Crono is fine. He hath suffered a minor injury. We shall bring him this doll in order to raise his spirits."

Magus shook his head. He looked back at the happy faces at the festival - all of them oblivious to Crono's death thirteen thousand years prior. He sighed. "Ignorami*..."

*****************************
Palis, The Year 0 Aikia, Gracia Festival

"Sir Magus? Are you alright?" asked one of the soldiers.

Magus looked up, eyes bloodshot. "I'm fine. How long to dawn?"

"Only a few hours," grunted another guard.

Magus hurried back to the castle to rest up before the coming battle.

*I'm pretty sure ignorami is the plural form of ignoramus - if not, then just replace it with whatever the real plural is.

Mong00se
04-19-2005, 05:18 PM
((I'm not sure where everyone is, and Nichi ended this portion of the battle too quickly for me to initiate my plan to kill the shield over the demon archers. So i'll continue as a rogue))

Ishia's death had taken a toll on Malice. For the past three days, he had watched humans and demons fall under eachothers blades. War was too harsh a reality for Malice. Secretly he wished he was back in Theira, under the care of the elder, and away from this strife. At least there he wouldn't be aware of this gruesome battle. Ignorance really was bliss.

The thought of Ishia's death bothered him. The ease at which Dacono had ended her life was troubling, and it wreaked havoc on Malice's conscience mind. With death all around, it was hard to keep faith in the light of hope. It was that fading hope that was leading his to question his purpose. Ishia was dead along with tens of thousands of Gracians. Who was next? Which of his friends would suffer next? How long would this unneccessary bloodshed last. It was with that thought that he finally came to terms with his conscience. He knew what he must do. He had to end the war before any more noble soldiers were taken from this world, unable to return to their families.

Slowly he got up from where he lay in tumultuous thought. He checked his equipment quickly: handling his daggers to ensure working order, flexing his bow and refilling his quivers, and lastly tightening and slipping on his gauntlets. He whispered a quick prayer to the goddess of the wind and sent it up into the heavens riding on a current. With graceful silence, he left through the window, unseen to the eye.

Only once he had cleared the gates did he look back at the resiliant kingdom of Gracia, still standing even under such oppression. He offered a last goodbye into the wind, and gave a small salute to the soldiers of Gracia. With his prayers said, he looked towards the small fires that marked the demon camps. He knew that the demons didn't sleep. Those fires were symbolic of ritual spawning pits, the pits that summoned the demons from the netherworld. These pits were direct links to the demon world, and Malice could see the movement of the demons as they passed the fire. With a great sense of responsibilty, he started towards the treeline, determined to set the world right and cease the entertainment of the Gods of Chaos and Pandemonium.

Malice set down into the trees, still unseen. He uncloaked to preserve his strength, and as silently as he had come he continued forward, not a single stick breaking under his nimble footing.

The demon camp was alight. No guards were placed on the perimeter. The demon generals did not intend to win this war with strategy; they intended on their sheer numbers and brute strength to win this war. Malice entered a clearing, where ahead he was made aware of the 7 spawning pits. 7 shamans stood at each, chating a prayer to the demon world. Each shaman wore a different robe, and each was representative of their patron demon. Malice recalled Belial talking about the great 7, seven demons who had once been figureheads of the demon war. He knew virtually nothing of them outside of their terrible power and influence on the world.

In the brush Malice slowly watched for a number of minutes. After a good half hour, the blood moon was directly overtop of them, and the shaman's chant changed. The demon portals turned from a golden yellow to an ominous purple. They also widened. A larger demon appeared from the portal, more sinister and horrific than the swarm of regular demons they had been engaging for the last few days. In the hour to come, these new demons flooded out of their homeworld and into Palis. They joined the rank of their lesser demons without so much as a grunt. Finally, Malice decided he'd have to make a move.

He felt back into his quiver, and pulled out 7 arrows. He was going to have to act fast. He aimed his bow at the nearest portal, but quickly decided against it. Instead he quickly scanned all seven portals, and noted a single shaman. The shamn wore robes that insignified black ice, and there was an unsettling presence about them. Malice quickly unleashed his seven arrows at one time from his bow, and within a second, each of the noted shamans fell to the ground.

The portals ruptured, and wavered as they fought to stabilize. Demons that were half through the portal were stuck in between Palis and their homeland, and they vanished into smoke with a great unholy gasp. The shamans took no time to find their enemy. As if possessed, they turned in unison to Malice. With his bow still out, he unleashed arrow after arrow until all 49 shaman cloaks lay, black smoke still wisping from their covers. Feeling quite proud of himself, Malice stood for a second to admire his act. Without warning, a human hand grabbed him and pressed a diamond bladed sword to his throat.

"We're going to see the big V," the man taunted, leading Malice forward. They past the rows of demons, and it was only then that Malice realized just how many of the second rank demons had been created in an hour. Suddenly he felt black.

**

Malice woke chained to a post. He heard talking coming from a structure to his right, but he didn't have the slack to see who it was that was talking. The one voice he recognized as that of his human capturer, while the other was a low grumbling. That was undoubtedly Valmarus, the commander of the demon armies and the lesser of the 4 demons. There was a third voice, who Malice recognized but couldn't make sense of.

"We attack at morning. Send the juggernauts. I do not care if they were just summoned, they will seize the Gracian capital and take the heads of those who vanquished the seaside cities."

"Yes m'lord," said his capturer.

Malice knew a great trouble was coming. In a last pitch attempt, he let out a whisper: "Nichi. At camp. New demon. Juggernaut. Attack at morning. Don't come for me." With the whisper done, he blew at the air in front of him, sending the message forward to Gracia.

Please let the winds stay true, and may my message hit it's mark.

((Spiff I'm setting you up, and for the rest of you, I have to keep the story rolling))

Zerlina
04-19-2005, 07:54 PM
((attempt at moving people numero deux.))

Some time passed and the moon was beginning its trip back to the blankets of the horizon. There was an eerie stillness about the castle, interrupted only by the hushed councils and drunken ramblings that were hidden in the shadows and unknown rooms of the palace.

A terrible peacefulness rested about the atmosphere of the infirmary; those who lay there were either unconscious from pain or had died of it long ago. Exhausted, Titania pulled closed the heavy drapes of a window that brought the only light into the room. With a sigh, she sat down on her chair and tried to get some sleep. There was no use.

From somewhere in the room there was a gargled moan that did not sound quite human. Lighting a candle, the girl made her way along the rows of bloody beds, shining a steady beam of vision on every one to make sure its inhabitant was either asleep or dead.


“Grrgh.” There was the terrible moan again.

She turned, quickly, bringing her candle up to view the direction where the voice had come from. To her surprise there lay an empty bed- its sheets were in disarray.

For a moment she looked around the room, as if believing that the injured man would be found walking upright.

“Don’t bother.” Came a weary suggestion “Just let him be for now, he won’t get far.”

She shone her candle on the speaker. It was Belial.

“Who was that?” Titania asked.

“A friend.”

With the façade of a weary arm, she lowered the flame to avoid seeing the demon’s face. Whether she would say so or not, his tattooed appearance had always disturbed and reminded her of the mist-covered roots at the Iifa Tree.

“He sure can run fast.” she muttered, frankly, uncertain as to what else she should do.

Belial laughed “You could say that.”

Titania smiled, realizing that there was probably something she’d missed.

“So…you were watching over him?”

“In a way.”

“Ah…”

There was an awkward silence, as the two said nothing. Though neither could quite explain the sensation, both could feel the disturbing feeling of magic masterlessly conflicting in the air. Wishing to end the un-easy scene, Titania finally spoke up.

“…erm…do you know where Malice is? I was going to ask him for help with a spell.”

Belial shook his head, and then realized that she probably could not see the action in the darkness.

“Nope. I was…busy…earlier and I didn’t get a chance to speak with him.”

“Oh.” Titania said, sounding a little disappointed.

“Nichi might know where he is.”

“Oh. Do you know where Nichi is, then?”

“Nope.”

“You’re a big help.”

“…Nope.”

Titania rolled her eyes and made for the door.

“Oh.” She began, stopping in her place “Can I trust you with these men?”

“Nope.”

Having somewhat predicted the answer, the white mage left the room, to make her way down an abandoned hallway.

*

The winding passage was eerie at night, with its dark stone floor and stale smell. On both sides, the walls were dotted with small windows, each displaying a beam of moonlight on the shadowy grounds. In the uncomfortable silence of the place, Titania could, for a moment, make out the hissing of a night-wind as it spiraled along outside. Trying to escape from the stagnant air of the place for just a moment, the girl stood on a dainty relevé, pushing her hand through the glassless window to try and feel the rush of the wind. To her disappointment, it seemed as if the gust had ceased just before she had reached out for it. A little more bothered by this than she thought she should be, Titania turned, only to bump into a standing, iron oil-lamp. She cried out as the object hit the ground with an echoing clank, and immediately tried to stand it back up. Passing through the ends of the flame, her hands did not find pain in the glowing fire, but instead were warmed by it.

“You really have trouble looking at what’s going on around you, don’t you?” came a voice from behind her.

Standing the lamp back up, Titania turned to see Nichi’s silhouette against a moonlit window.

“I guess.” She said.

“Why do you think I felt like following her. I knew something funny’d happen.” This time it was Belial speaking “I don’t know what’s more ironic- that I’m right, or that you didn’t notice me.”

She turned to find the cocky warrior leaning against a wall.

“Oh! You think I’m so clumsy?” she put her hands on her hips as she made the fake threat. “Why don’t you come over here and I’ll show you how clumsy I really am!”

Mock-accepting the challenge, Belial made his way over, only to burn his feet on the oil that had splattered on the ground. The demon exclaimed something which shouldn’t be written down and shook his head.

“You knew that was there.” He said.

“…nope.”



Once again the wind rustled outdoors, seeming to instill in all three a desire to get out of the musty hallway.

"The demons don't sleep." Nichi said, suddenly taking a serious tone. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that Ishia's death had affected him the most "We'd better get outside."

"Oh, wait! Nichi...I was going to ask you. Have you seen Malice anywhere?" Titania finally piped up.

"Not for a while, now that I think of it," the warrior replied, then raised his eyebrow "...why?"

"Oh… I was just going to ask him for some help with a spell. It’s not important.” She said, obviously disappointed by Nichi’s answer.

“We’d better find him, anyways. Important or not, last thing we need is you taking limbs off the injured.” He teased, though he was genuinely bothered by Malice’s absence.

“It’s a reflection spell. I just figured out I have it….” She replied, starting to get a little irritated by all the jokes.

Seeing that his humour had not been taken in, Nichi shook his head “…come on, let’s go find Malice.”

That said, the group made its way outside. As they descended the stone steps of the palace, a gentle wind blew along the ground, sweeping past Belial and Titania before finding Nichi.

FFnut
04-19-2005, 09:23 PM
****************************
Palis, The Year 0 Aikia, Gracia Castle

Magus felt another chilly wind as he tried to sleep. He sat up, listening intently. Another black wind? Maybe it's a message from Schala...

After a few seconds, he realized it was not the black wind, but there was still a voice being carried by it. "Nichi. At camp. New demon. Juggernaut. Attack at morning. Don't come for me."

Magus slowly repeated the message in his head before he recognized Malice's voice. DAMMIT!

Magus flew down the halls. "Nichi! NICHI! Dammit, where the hell are you?"

Several soldiers cursed at Magus for waking them up so late at night. He ignored them, still flying down the tunnel.

"Magus? What is it?" Aikia's voice drifted from a nearby room.

Magus came back and looked inside. Aikia was sitting on her bed, wide awake. Magus drifted in. "It's Malice. I got a message from him over the winds. There's a new demon, and I think he's in trouble. The message was for Nichi." He then repeated the message verbatim.

Aikia's eyes widened. "If this is true, then..."

Magus glided out of the room with incredible speed, going outside to find Nichi.

He ran into everyone on the steps - Belial and Titania waving their hands in front of Nichi's face, which was deathly pale. Magus came up next to him. "So you heard it too?"

Nichi nodded numbly, still pale from hearing Malice's voice.

Titania looked confused. "What's wrong? He... he acted like he heard something... what happened?"

Magus took a deep breath, nodded to Nichi, and proceeded to relay the message to the others.

Drazniich
04-20-2005, 01:05 AM
Belial walked back to where Nichi had unceremoniously dumped Osirus. He walked in, and looked around the darkness. "The fact that you're healed enough to walk shoudl say wonders to how you could fix me." he said. If you listened close, you could hear the bone fragments grinding in his legs and ribs.

Osirus sat down on the bed. "Could. Should. Won't." he whispered, trying to magnifiy the darkness in the room. He realized how pointless that was, as Belial could sense him. "Well, I would, you see, but you haven't granted my request."

Belial tried not to lean against a wall or sitdown, knowing damn well he'd be done.

"You run your body like a steam golem, you know." Osirus stood again, walking over to face Belial. "You just propel the fragments forward, hoping they will hold out till you can properly fix them."

Belial closed his eyes. He couldn't keep the fragments together much longer.

Osirus poked Belial in the forehead, and he fell over backwards, another scream escaping his throat. Osirus sighed, and placed Belial where he'd been before. He sat down in chair next to the bed, and opened his book, and began to read quietly.

Belial ground his teeth. "Bastard..." he hissed.

"Oh, grow up." Osirus said, not even looking up. He turned the page. "You bow to me, I fix your legs. Otherwise, I'm not at all uncomfortable with letting you suffer."

Belial tried settling his muscles down, so as not to aggravate the bones. Humans at least got to suffer shock. "That's the diffrence. Friend does not mean toy or tool to me, it means something more."

Osirus raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's why I'm the closest thing you ever had to one. " He patted Belial's head condesendingly. "Honestly... you take everything so personal and seriously."

Belial fought the urge to scream again. Instead, he just rolled his eyes back... this was probably the worst beating Osirus had ever managed on him. Hell, it was the worst feeling he'd ever had.

Osirus put his face in his hands. "God, if you're going to be such a pain about it." he waved his hand, and Belial felt fatigued. "You may not need to sleep, but all of us know that dreaming is by far the greatest recreational activity..."

Belial faded off into slumber, and Osirus lit a candle, and kept reading. An astute observer would notice that the words on the page seemed to advance as he read, as if a whole epic story was contained, scrolling down the pages.

An extremely accute observer would also realize that the book was an entire library, built into one convienent tome.

But an even more accute observer would have seen the look of sorrow on Osirus' face whenever he glanced at his sleeping friend. Granted, they'd have caught a black ice bolt for the trouble...

~Hidan~
04-20-2005, 04:34 PM
After hearing what Malice had said to him through the wind Nichi Felt a horrid pain in his side. He knew that if he did go after Malice he’d not be there to start the war, but if he left him there he might also not have one of his friends the next day. It was time to pull the Ace that Gracia held.

“Malice isn’t going to be able to help you with this spell but perhaps I can, and you can help me with something as well.” Nichi said looking Titania hard in the eyes.

Belial had left several minutes before to go see his demon kin. Only Magus and Titania were here to help him. Nichi felt very much so in need of the support of others. He had lost too much today to go without it.

Titania nodded. “I’ll do what I can. What exactly are we doing?”

Nichi motioned for Magus and Titania to follow. He led them to the base of the largest pillar in the Gracian castle. Nichi said a chant and a door opened in the side of it. A staircase went under the city. “This is going to be a long walk.” Nichi warned. Only four hours till sunrise. They had to hurry. “You know what this mite hurt but we are going down the fast way.” He froze the staircase and sat on the ice and began to slide down the two miles of stairs that was in front of them.

Magus and Titania followed, they both seemed worried about were it was that they were going. It was so very dark that one could not even see their own hands. Slowly it became brighter and brighter. A giant alter appeared in front of them. In front of the alter stood a set of Black Armor and a Giant Sword Sheath.

“What is this place?” Titania said looking around at familiar runes and statues.

Magus looked and noticed it too; this was a familiar looking room.

“This is the sanctum of Gracia’s most prized treasure. The Black Armor of Gracia, you saw the other side of it the White Armor worn by Ishia during the last fight.” Nichi said as he undressed to just his underclothes, Placing his own sword in the sheath that seemed to change the swords shape as it entered.

Magus came over and helped Nichi as he started to put on the Black Armor. Nichi removed his training weights and his power restraints at this time as well. Magus tied down the last part of the great armor.

“This is where I need your help Titania. Please pick up the book from the alter and follow the instruction to bind the armor to my soul.” Nichi said pointing at a book that was roughly two times the size of Titania’s entire being.

She looked at the book with disbelief and then at Nichi. “How exactly am I supposed to pick it up?”

Nichi smiled. “Just touch it.”

Titania touched the great book and with a feint glow it shrank to being perfect size and weight for her to carry. Titania looked puzzled by this but began to read to herself the instructions that were there. It noted the vile of water that sat on the alter and that she had to spread it over the warrior wearing the armor, she did so. She then read a strange language that for some reason was very easy to read at the time for her. She then laid her hand on the shoulder of the armor and said the last line. “Bind!”

Nichi’s eyes were Yellow, and then turned the same black color that the armor was. His muscles grew to fit the armor and made him look like a great God of a Warrior. He drew what was once his great Black Steel Sword and now it was a longer wider cleaver like sword with a handle at one end and another handle center blade. Nichi’s Eyes turned back to normal. “Thank you Titania; this should give us just a little more bend in our favor.”

“What exactly is that armor?” Magus said looking at it closely, reading some of the runes on it but unable to make out what they said.

“This is the only reason the demons are trying to take over Gracia I believe, this is the first demon kings armor, before Aikia was ruler. There was a great demon known as Kharn, ask Belial about him sometime and you’ll see his eyes light up. Kharn was the original, the first demon ever. And he was the most powerful being ever known, He was given the position of ruler of the afterlife, or heaven because he was also the most compassionate of beings, he basically was the creator of this world and the one who raised humankind here to the level that we are at.”

Magus looked a little confused. “So a demon is to credit for taking care of this world before the gods?”

Nichi nodded. “Now about that spell, read as much of that book from chapter 5-30 as you can, inside you will find all the knowledge of the magic world known to this world.”

Titania held her new book close with joy. “I may finally become a great Mage with this help thank you Nichi; will I need to return the book?”

Nichi shook his head. ‘Nope, a new one will replace it in a thousand years.”

Magus looked around the room some more in hopes of finding some clue as to where he might find his sister.

“Magus I have something for you as well.” Nichi pulled out a small crystal ball. “I know your looking for someone, just think of that person and you will be able to see them from now on through this.”

Magus looked at the item in delight. “Thank you Nichi.” He put the ball in his jacket pocket.

Three more hours till the Battle started. The three of them ran as fast as they could up the stairs. ‘Mother please protect me!’ Nichi thought as he came into the light of the city. The raid of the demon camps was only an hour and a half off by the time they got to the top of the stairs they all sat down out of breath.

Titania looking in her book and found a spell, and for the first time she could remember her spell went off without effort. “Regen!” She cast on the three of them, their fatigue left and they all felt like they had just woken up.

Nichi and Magus gave thumbs up in approval. The three of them ran off to the rest of the army who was preparing for the advancement. Aikia stood in the White Armor that Ishia had worn last battle and carried the same sword. She looked at Nichi and was bewildered by the site of him wearing such a powerful set of Armor.

“Looks like all the Aces are drawn, let’s play a little poker.” Nichi said Moving in front of his now massive army of almost a million and a half. Aikia stood next to him.

“Today we bring the fight back to the demons my brothers. Today we seek the grand vengeance that will once and for all prove that the mortal race is not willing to give up so easy.” With that Nichi signaled for the advancement of the army. With a great Hazzah, the forces moved in unison towards the battlefield.

FFnut
04-20-2005, 05:22 PM
*****************************
Palis, The Year 0 Aikia, The Battlefield

It began.

Demon and human clashed in battle and slaughtered each other.

Nichi stood tall, commander of the Gracians. On one side stood Aikia, the new queen of Gracia. Together they formed a figure of pure inspiration to continue the fighting.

Magus fingered the crystal Nichi had given to him. He almost took it out before having another thought. No... not Schala. I don't even know if Schala is still alive or what the hell is happening anymore. Maybe... maybe those Lavos Spawn got her. I don't know anymore. There's someone else who needs saving first.

He pulled the ball out of his pocket, thought, and gazed in...

******************************
Palis, The Year 0 Aikia, Valmarus's Base

Malice suddenly felt apprehensive. He could feel someone attempting to watch him, although he was bound to a pillar. He also heard Valmarus shouting orders to his commanders, but he couldn't quite make out what they were saying.

Did Nichi get the message? What's happening now? Are we winning? Losing? He struggled with his chains, trying to move around the pillar and get free.

*****************************
Palis, The Year 0 Aikia, The Battlefield

The vision was cut off when a demon knocked the crystal out of Magus's hand. With a great bellow, the monster raised its axe, ready to bring down Magus in a single blow.

Magus looked up at the demon's face. "Oh hells no. You did not just do that." A few quick swipes later, Magus's scythe was bloodied and the demon was lying in several pieces. "That was for the crystal ball." He looked and saw several more demons marching towards him. "And these are going to be for working for the guy who has Malice. Dark Matter!"

Pure dark energy flew from Magus's fingertips, causing the demons to swell with power. In a few seconds he was pinned to the ground. Okay, I didn't totally think that one through.

Suddenly the demons were burned to ash. Magus looked up to see the giant shapeshifter demon he had fought in the previous battle. The demon cackled. "WelL JaNus... weeemeeeeetaaggaaAAAIINN!!!!"

Magus and the monster traded blows. "FooLiSh moRTal... yOu try To sAvE yoUR siSTeR noT kNOwiNG heR FAte! SHe liEs deaD noW!"

Hatred boiled through Magus's blood. Schala's dead. This thing brags about it. It knows that I am Janus... only one other thing has ever stood between me and Schala reuniting... and the last one was destroyed on Earth. This thing is going to have to go the same way.

The same feeling of anger that Magus had once felt in the dream that he had first seen Zera Shaal in came back. Darkness and hatred fused together inside of Magus. Unconciously, he lifted up his hand.

"You... disgusting creature... you killed her... you... demon... you... murderer..."

The creature laughed in delight. "DeMOn? HarDLy. I am bORn Of thAT yOU cAllED 'LaVoS!'"

"Lavos... you're... Lavos Spawn... a shapeshifter... despicable... disgusting... only Lavos... ever before... me and Schala... you... things..." His rage boiled over. "DARK FLARE!"

The monster shrieked in agony as the area around Magus was suddenly blasted with powerful dark energy. Human and demon alike nearby were destroyed. The Lavos Spawn shifted wings and flew away as it had before.

The hole in the battle caused by the magic was quickly filled by more fighters. Magus noticed Titania staring in shock at him. He stared back, never more fearful in his life. He bolted back to the castle. Nichi quickly commanded soldiers to cover the area that Magus had left open. He glanced at the castle, wondering what had made Magus kill so many both ally and enemy.

Inside, Magus flew to his room and curled up in the corner. Then, for the first time since he was separated from Schala so many years before, he began to cry.

***************************
Palis, The Year 0 Aikia, Kain's Castle

Contrary to the Lavos Spawn's words, however, Schala was still alive. Gamma bent over her, taking the pendant off her neck. "Sleeping well, little princess? I see you've broken pieces off your necklace. A shame. It would have been easier if you'd kept it in one piece." One of Gamma's arms transformed into a threatening claw. "Now we'll have to rip your magic from you the hard way."

Mong00se
04-20-2005, 06:07 PM
It seemed each demon was it's own shaman. Though Malice had descecrated the shamans, he had left the portals intact. Before the morning shed its gaze upon the world, the shamans had assembled around each portal, and the ritual continued. Malice noticed that the lesser demons they had fought for the last few days no longer made up the front line. They were being saved, Malice thought, saved to become shaman. Malice sent another prayer to the wind goddess that day as he hoped for Gracia.

The juggernaut army had left at the slightest hint of dawn. They had moved out quickly, as volitile as ever. Malice had never seen such a bloodlusted entity. They cared for nothing except destruction. The demons rose 8 feet off the ground in their prime, but the majority Malice had encountered had been a dwarfed 7. They resembled elephants, their sheer body weight and truck like snout only adding to the visage. They hunched over, and carried weapons ranging from chains to clubs and swords. The demons streamed one after another continuously out of the portal.
The real thing that disturbed Malice about the juggernauts was their behavior. They weren't like the other demons, listening to orders and thinking at least a little before they leapt into the fray. No, the juggernauts were more dangerous because they ceased to think. They were blinded by rage and weathered by battle. The lust for blood drove them further into the battle. They would kill either side to achieve the goals layed out for them by their commander. They were the perfect tanks to end the war.

Because the entire lesser demon force had not been sent, the stragglers lay bored in their camp. One approached Malice.

"Ahh tis the mage Hige was talkin bout," said the demon, ushering over his posse. "Gen'ral Hige is gon give yea quite thuh lickin eh boys." Around him his followers snickered, elbowing eachother at their friends routine. "But us'ns dun likeh Hige, so we's gon givit t'yea usselves. Ain't we?"

The first demon grunt kicked Malice, but summoning a powerful gust of wind, his foot was reversed backwards. The demon fell backwards as his companions laughed.

"Ehh ye think yee're tuff, usin' yur trick'ry? Git'm boys."

Malice could only do so much with his hands bound. His danced on the wind, avoiding blows, but the demons quickly overpowered him. With one demon dead, impaled by nature's fury on a treebranch, and two more laying dazed, the demons finally subdued Malice.

"THAT IS ENOUGH!" came a call from behind. With a swift strike, the demons rose into smoke. It was the human that had saved Malice before.

"Thank you," Malice tried to say, but was cut off by a low growl.

"Do don't test my patience," said Hige. "You WILL learn your place." Hige turned and slowly walked away.

Malice pulled his trump card. "I know you don't like siding with these demons. I see it in your eyes. I see your compassion for your kin. You hate sending orders that slaughter us. I ask that you join our cause; help us rid the world of the spreading crystal plague. You owe it not only to yourself, but to the people of Palis to be true to this world."

Hige dropped his head, and stopped walking. "You know I can't," he said, and he continued walking.

Zerlina
04-20-2005, 10:06 PM
((Had to cut this one in half))

Titania did not immediately follow the others into the rage of battle. Instead, she made her way to the infirmary to check on the injured that might have awaken. Though she hadn’t said anything, the few days of war had given her experience and she had begun to understand her art more.

”White magic is unlike any other kind of fascination” the high-priest used to say, though Titania had never understood him until now “Each time you cast a spell you have to be able to call upon all the compassion and comfort that lives within you.
When one heals, they are giving away piece of themselves- all their pleasantries, all their hopes and all their dreams, all that they live for, all that they remember and cherish…you cannot alleviate pain and injury with nothing. It all must come from within you, and it all must be given freely with compassion and sympathy.
For a brief moment, you will be giving your very life to someone else. Remember that, but never say it. As healers we know that few can understand us- though we give comfort, we must never expect others to appreciate how for one moment they lived and breathed through our own spirits.”

Titania let the ancient instruction repeat in her mind as she continued down the musty hallway.

“I finally understand you.” She said aloud, for a moment forgetting that the high-priest was only a memory, washed away in an ominous storm.

As she stood in the same hallway she had come through before, the echo of her voice slowly dissipated and fell to a dry silence; its solemnity only interrupted by a passing wind.

The breeze that blew outside the hallway windows was different than the one she’d heard before. This one was harsher, more unruly, and seemed altogether hollow. Repeating her previous actions, Titania rose onto the balls of her feet- this time to see the outside.

Malice…where are you? she thought, not understanding why the group hadn’t decided to rescue him.

She stared out the window, her eyes melancholy with confusion. Was he sick? Injured? Had they tortured him? Was he dead?
Wherever he was, she was certain he was not in good hands. The thought made her sick to her stomach, and she began to feel anger toward the others- why wouldn’t they try to save him? Could she go herself? No… that wasn’t too good an idea.
Her palms ached with the fear that comes from imagination, and in such a state, she shed a duet of tears, not understanding that the others had made their decision on the grounds of the greater victory and not on the benefit of their comrade. With little hope, the girl conjured up a healing spell and set it gently outside the window, praying to Phoenix that the wind would take it to its master.

After a time, she resumed her journey to the infirmary, this time minding the oil lamp. In the short time that it took her to travel down the hallway, her anger had taken dominance, and she began to consider her situation.

Was it such a callous group that they would leave their comrade to the death with the enemy? Why did they do nothing? Suddenly, she was overcome with a feeling of uselessness- she knew there was little she could do unless the others changed their minds.

Stopping at the end of the hall, the girl shook her head I’m tired of this. she thought I won’t let myself be helpless anymore. This isn’t Madain Sari and I’m not going home any time soon. I have to stop acting like I am and start growing up…

Titania reached into her pocket and found the spell book Nichi had given to her. Getting an idea, she changed directions. She arrived at her destination- a rarely visited room. Knowing what lay inside, she placed her delicate hands on a heavy, monstrous door and pushed to try and open it; she was met with no success. She tried once more, this time pressing her feet hard into the floor and forcing all her weight against the entryway. After some time, the object finally gave way, letting Titania fall painfully on the stone floor.

“Ow.” She said, out loud, rubbing her arms where her skin had smacked against the ground.

The shelf-lined room was dark, dusty, and full of cobwebs. It had no windows, and so Titania had to take a torch which hung outside the door.

She had found this room a few days before when she was wandering, and returned now to find what had so easily caught her attention the last time she had come.

Coughing a bit from the dust, she shone her torch on the supply-laden shelves until she found an old box with a broken hatch. The black, wooden case was etched with ancient designs: winding rivers and sturdy magnolias. Blowing dust off the lid, Titania opened it and retrieved from the inside two old fans, each framed with metal. The objects were much like those that she had used when she was younger for ceremonies at the eidolon wall.

An event that had started as a prayer for a mild winter, the people of her village used to light candles at midnight during the last days of autumn, and perform rituals for the eidolon Shiva. One of these was a dance performed by the young girls, who would each bring with them two fans for maneuvering.

Placing the torch in a wall-holder, Titania set the two objects down on the stone floor before she removed the ancient spell book from her pocket. With a practiced thumb, she flipped through the pages until she found an enchantment similar to the one that had been given to her flute by her mother. Uttering unintelligible phrases, the girl placed her hand over the two fans, for no longer than a ten seconds. It was not long before they shimmered in the darkness, suddenly infused with a holy magic so unlike the shadows they had been stored in. Timidly, Titania reached out and took the items, putting them in her apron-like pocket for later use. At the touch of her hand the objects ceased to glow.

As she returned the box to its proper place and prepared to return to the battle, she double-checked her reasoning to make sure it was sound.

When she’d first arrived in Palis, there had been a demon in the town, which was destroyed by only the touch of a holy flute. Therefore these creatures did not need to be slain with weapons- even the mere effect of enchantment could turn an ordinary object into a demon’s death-sentence. She had practiced dancing with these fans, so why shouldn’t she be able to wield them in battle? In all likelihood it was easier (more dangerous, but easier).

That seemed to make sense, and now all that remained was her ability to kill.These things lived and breathed, and, were she to be successful, she would be taking the gift that had been bestowed upon them. But then again, she had seen in the infirmary how these demons had caused so much merciless carnage- how they had killed over a hundred men. Did these things deserve to live? Well she reminded herself That’s not for me to decide.

Silently, she exited the room, pulling the door closed (with good effort), before placing the torch back in its proper place.

It’s never alright to kill. She thought, finally coming to a resolution But we are at war. And the enemy will show us no mercy- a demon that is left alive may be the cause of a Gracian's death.

Zerlina
04-20-2005, 10:07 PM
BANG! Outside, demons battered at the Gracian gates. Their small bodies were little match for the ominous entryway, which still towered sturdily above its invaders. From the ramparts, soldiers fired arrows down toward the offending beasts with little fatigue.

At about sunset the demons began to back up and stopped their persistence at the gate.

“They’ve given up!” cried an inexperienced Gracian soldier.

“No.” Nichi said, shaking his head “If they’d given up they would have left. They’re staying put, which can only mean…”

As if on cue, juggernauts –elephant like demons- made their way slowly to the Gracian gates. The creatures were pelted with arrows, but did not cease their mission. In less than five minutes and with only one of the demons slain, the gates gave way and enemy began spilling into the city.

“You!” Nichi cried, pointing to a group of soldiers “Stay up here and shoot them down before they can get inside.” He turned to another group “Come with me!”

Below, Magus had already begun battle with the creatures. A demon came from behind, raised its sword and made for the man’s neck. Seeing the beast from the corner of his eye, Magus quickly turned and parried the blow, kicking the demon in the knee before digging his heavy scythe into its chest.

“You ok?” Nichi asked as he ran down the steps of the rampart, slicing down a dozen demons in the process.

“Yeah…” Magus replied, surprised that the warrior was talking to him.

“Dammit…where’s Belial?” Nichi cried as he cut the head off of one of the invaders.

“Behind you. It’s a small world after all.” Belial muttered, his legs still weak from Osiris.

The stream of demons seemed endless, and the only thing that kept them from completely overwhelming the Gracian soldiers was the width of the gate.

A disturbing grin on its hideous face, a demon whose skin seemed to be festering with unimaginable things arrived within the city walls. Wielding a terrifying blade, the creature hacked through soldiers with little heed, before setting his eye on Nichi. A fiendish expression on his face, the demon swung his blade, nailing his victim in the back of the shoulder. There was a clang, but nothing more. His armour holding strong, Nichi turned to stare at his aggressor. His face was the last sight that the creature ever saw.

Belial stared in sarcastic wonder “New outfit?”

“Yeah.” Nichi laughed, turning quickly to dig his blade into another enemy that was coming for him.

The three of them fought bravely, Belial’s fists meeting the broken ribs of several demons and Magus’ blade finding many monstrous sheaths.

Suddenly, the battle came to a lull as the ground thundered beneath the warriors. Casting a dark shadow, a monstrous juggernaut came toward the group, crushing demon and human alike with its flat feet.

“What the hell?” a soldier exclaimed, firing an arrow at the beast only to find that it was useless.

More accustomed to giant enemies than the rest, Magus did not hesitate to attack. The others soon followed suit, but the creature held strong.

“What is that thing?” Nichi cried, taking a swipe at its legs.

“It’s called a Juggernaut.” Belial said, driving his fists into the monster.

“I don’t even want to know why you know that.”

The battle raged on and the ominous creature gave little leeway. It was not until a soldier dug his sword into its foot that beast could be more easily taken down, for you see, the blade held the monster to the ground, preventing an attack. In less than a minute, there was a harrowing cry as a Gracian sword cut through demon flesh, which soon turned to darkened ash.

A smile appeared on Nichi’s face as he saw the creature disappear, but it quickly faded- he raised his head to see that at least six more juggernauts wandered the city.

Suddenly, there came a familiar cry from a few meters away.

Before they could turn to look, Titania stood in a pile of ash, having been surprised by an attacking juggernaut. The fear and anger she’d already been feeling triggered in her a burst of holy magic; magic which was emitted from two objects that were hard to see beneath her lengthy sleeves.

The girl stared at the darkened ground for less than a moment before a demon came up behind her. Shocked and still full of magic, she hit the creature in the chest with the edge of her fan. As she had suspected, the object cut through the monster’s flesh and brought it to its knees. Utterly disgusted, she kneed it in the face and closed her fan, bringing it down into the creature’s skull. The thing gave out a terrible noise and then disappeared into smoke and ash.

“Sorry I’m la-” Titania began to speak to the others but was interrupted by another demon. Adrenaline flowing through her veins, she produced white magic once more, turning her attacker into the hellish dust he'd come from.

"...late."

Drazniich
04-21-2005, 01:23 PM
Belial smiled and wiped a fleck of blood from the corner of his mouth. So far, so fun...

He tried to fully grasp what was going on, which for anyone but a demon would be nearly impossible. However, since almost all battles decend into anarchy [or loosesly structured chaos] he could easily pick out the important events going on.

The one that bothered him was the hole in the back of the demonic lines. The darkness that blocked it was killing the others nearby, as if their essence was needed to fuel the event...

And then Belial fell to his knees. He realized exactly what was going on. There was no command to save them now. There could be no retreat, no escape, and no victory.

Slowly, from the fading cloud of nothing, a gigantic throne of skeletons and flesh emerged. Fifty feet tall at the back, there sat a seven foot heavily armoured figure, with great wings of shadow covering him like a cloak.

"The Fourth..." Belial whispered in terror.

...

Meanwhile, inside the castle, Osirus stopped banging his head against the wall suddenly. He shuddered, and dove out the window towards the battle.

Landing beside Belial and Nichi, his jaw dropped. "Is that-"

"Nidogg..." Belial said, not bothering to get up. "The Lord of the Dead."

Osirus nodded. "Thought so. I was wondering what the Fourth had been up to lately."

Nichi shifted his grip on his sword. "How powerful?"

Belial half caringly waved his hand, shooting a wide beam at Nidogg. The demon took the bolt to the chest, and stood. Nothing had been unmade.

"That powerful." Belial sighed. "He was originally a normal demon, just simply the fourth one created. But he grew fast, and grew hungry. Now, the lord of the dead is one with the entropy, a living force of undoing."

As if to prove Belial's point, Nidogg decended from his throne. As he passed, he touched the occasional demon or soldier, and they turned to ash. He was carving a line straight for Belial, Osirus and Nichi.

"What can we do?" Nichi asked, still staring with murderous intent.

Belial looked up at him. "Die like heroes." he said sadly.

Osirus shook his head. "You rely way too heavily on unmaking when fighting others, Belial." Osirus nodded. "Nichi, we'll hold him off for a bit. Watch him CAREFULLY." he winked.

Belial rose slowly, wincing. "I'll re-break them later." Osirus said, touching Belial's shoulder. "For now, I need you in one piece."

Nidogg's face was a cold, emotionless gaze. He brushed a Juggernaut as he passed, and it disapeared.

Belial looked down, and spread his arms. An orb of nothingness appeared infront of him. Osirus did the same. "Hopefully, this will keep him from trying to undo us."

Nidogg was almost there. Belial then motioned at the sky. His opponent looked up.

A torrent of black fire decended down right onto Nidogg. Just before it his, his hand raised above his head, and it was sucked inside.

"Thought so." Belial smiled. "Osirus, we have to clip his left arm off."

Osirus nodded. "I knew that one of us had the Left Hand of Kharn." he smiled back. "That'd explain why Nidogg has become so unstoppable.

Nichi was watching, his eyes yellowed and flickering. If it was the Left Hand of Kharn that was allowing Nidogg to unweave reality...

Then perhaps some trick lay in Kharn's armor...

Nidogg kept walking, trying to get close enough to touch Belial. Belial kept the orb in between him and Nidogg, so Nidogg would stall, unable to absorb that much nothingness at once. Osirus continually blasted Nidogg's feet with dark ice, but the demon simply reached down and brushed it away.

"You know something, Lord Nidogg?" Belial said as he drew his cane.

Nidogg mouthed the word what.

Belial took a fighting stance.

Nidogg stepped forward.

Osirus filled Nidogg's back with steel pages.

"You're a lousy warrior." Osirus spat. Nidogg slowly rolled his shoulders, the pages falling to the ground.

Arms raised, he turned to Osirus.

And a blur went past his upper body on the left side. Slowly, his left arm, from half way past the elbow, slid off from a 45 degree angle.

Nichi landed, cracking his neck as he sheathed his sword.

Nidogg stared dumbly at the severed limb. He mouthed the word impossible.

Nichi turned, crossing his arms. The arm floated over to him, disapearing into the armor for the time being. Nidogg screamed silently, and a wave of dark lightning sent all three of them flying back away from him.

"Great! So now, instead of being a walking ender of existance, he's a really pissed off lightning slinging demon lord. Way to think things through, Belial!" Osirus shouted as he landed.

Belial shrugged. "Improvise, smart ass."

Mong00se
04-23-2005, 12:19 PM
((Thanks a-holes for saving me. I think I'll save myself then...))

FFnut
04-23-2005, 01:52 PM
((Thanks a-holes for saving me. I think I'll save myself then...))
((Someone's a little testy...;)))

Zerlina
04-23-2005, 04:50 PM
((Thanks a-holes for saving me. I think I'll save myself then...))

((H’okay…story’s going nowhere so here goes…))

Titania watched as the giant demon descended upon Gracia and commenced battled with Nichi, Belial, and another who she could not quite distinguish.

Taking advantage of the distraction, the mage quickly ran through the city gates. The grounds were littered with soldiers and demons – all locked in arduous battles, and yet Titania did not stop. The thick mud pulling at her feet with persistence, she continued her expedition, a moment of insanity (or at least lack of sense) having come over her.

She had gone surprisingly far, when at last a demon came before her. Baring its hideous teeth, the creature raised its jagged sword and prepared to sheath it in her chest. Not a moment after it brought up its arms did it drop its weapon; its stomach meeting the ancient fan.

Absolutely thrilled with herself (though slightly disturbed by the sight of death) the girl continued on through the mud. Had she been more aware, perhaps she would have been able to avoid the next attack put upon her, but as was not the case she hit the ground, having been tripped by a demon soldier.

She turned to look up at it, only to have the monster press its metal-clad foot upon her- its toe resting upon the base of her ribs so she could not stand up. Reacting quickly, Titania closed her fan and drove it into the demon’s shin twice. Letting out a hallow cry, the monster fell to the ground, nearly landing on its opponent, who was luckily swift enough to roll out of the way. Shocked but still determined, the girl crawled away before standing and running once more.

The thrill of battle had finally hit her, and though she feared for the preservation of her life, she could not help but feel a sense of overwhelming excitement. She became much too confident and so did not prepare herself for what came next.

Another fowl creature came before her, she took hold of her fan but was interrupted. She cried out loud as a demon, who had caught onto her inexperience, drove his fist into the back of her shoulder, from behind. Quickly, the same demon wrapped his arm around her neck and another around her waist so she could not run without choking herself and could not fall to escape him. The fear finally becoming real, Titania struggled with all her might but was met with no success.
Then, after a few moments, a companion of her attacker stood before her with his sword drawn. She tried to look to the side for any sign of the others, but found that the castle was far and she was very much alone. Flashing its yellow teeth, the demon brought its sword baring hand forward; Titania closed her eyes so that she would not see.

CLANG! There was a clash of metal and then nothing. Unharmed, save for her shoulder, the shaken mage opened her eyes to see that another demon of a higher ranking had arrived and had stopped what would have been her death.

“Bring this one back…” was all he said “Might be useful.”

Titania heard and understood this for some reason she could not explain.

Oh thank the eidolons… she thought and then made sure that she did not struggle hard enough to actually escape. Now, for once, things were working in her favour.

When at last they arrived at the demon camp, she took in her surroundings, searching for any sign of her captured companion. Not ten metres away, chained to a post did she see a slumped figure, facing away from her. She strained her eyes to see who it was and was affirmed by what she could make out: that the figure’s hands were clad in dark, studded gauntlets. She concealed a smile, and then –not having any idea what to do after, but doing it anyways- she cast a spiteful cure upon her demon captors and watched as two hit the ground while another turned to ash.

Drawing her fans from apron pocket again, she ran toward the post, the opposition having had no time to react yet.

“Look! I got better.” She said, cheekily as she kneeled beside Malice.

With one quick motion, she severed the demon chains with her fans, and then fell silent. Blocking out the sounds of the oncoming demons and all the confusion that lay around her, she closed her eyes, and did as she had done so many times in the days before.

In a second, Malice felt a distance from the chaos- he was no longer sitting in the muddy ground of the camp- he was far, far away.

At first his vision was clouded with a light haze, but soon he could see clearly and so found himself sitting on the heated rocks of a cliff. The fingers of the sun extended down the ground and warmed him to his soul, while the breeze played a gentle tune along nearby waves.

Surreally, the water rose to meet the top of the cliff and spilt over the edge so that it ran along Malice’s worn palms. Surprised, by the unusual texture of the water, the warrior raised his hands to find that the wear from the demonic chains had disappeared.

Mechanically, he opened his mouth as if to speak, and found that the wind coursed through his mouth and flowed through his body, bringing with it a comforting and tender feeling. When at last the breeze exited, he found that he was strong once more.

Not knowing what else to do, Malice rose, and as soon as he did so, he realized that in the distance he could hear faint voices echoing off invisible sea rocks. The voices spoke in what seemed like nonsense, and yet they brought with them a tenderness that raised the warrior’s spirit.

“…with…”
“…and then they’ll …”
“…blessed it….”
“Tania, I think…”
"...but she'll never..."


And so came to him remnants of conversations that had long ago been washed away by time. They were incomplete and had no significance to him, and yet at the same moment, they seemed like all the world.

No sooner did these voices appear, did they leave, replaced by a thousand images, each playing in Malice’s mind at the same time. He saw calm waters, the shadows of children running in fields, boxes hidden in stone walls, bright, joyous flames, and games etched into sand.

Then, slowly, the white haze came over him again and when it withdrew he found himself sitting in the cold mud of the demon camp. All that he had seen had happened in an instant and it seemed to him like only a dream. Though at first he strained, he could only recall faint moments of the experience and even then, they slipped away from recognition like so many other reveries.

Mud still on her joyful cheeks, Titania smiled, and Malice found himself aglow with a white enchantment, which soon turned to a pulsating red.

“Aura.” She said plainly, explaining to him what was going on, while still holding an uncontrollable smile on her face.

The last solid suggestion of the healing spell faded from Malice's psyche, and yet somehow, he was still aware of an ingraspable memory, hidden somewhere, far beneath what he could find.

~Hidan~
04-26-2005, 03:19 AM
Nidogg looked down at Nichi as Nichi prepared to attack again. Nichi’s blade sliced through Nidogg’s Armor like a warm knife through butter. Time seemed to stop for Belial and Osirus as Nichi unleashed a stolen move. Nichi’s speed an movement went to such blinding speeds that Belial and Osirus only had time to blink before Nichi landed behind them sword sheathed. Belial and Osirus looked at the monstrous creature that was once Nidogg. Limbs and body parts slowly started to fall from Nidogg’s body.

Osirus looked at Nichi and a cold shiver went down his spine in sudden reality that this mortal was much stronger then he had ever thought. “What exactly did you just do?”

Nichi just smiled and continued to kill off the demons that were in the area. Belial and Osirus joined in and within a short time had cleared the inner part of the city.

Nichi sat down and pulled out a bottle of water from the back of his Armor. “I’m waiting here for more of them to reach here, Titania is already trying to help Malice, and she seems to be doing the job.” He said as he put away a spy crystal.

Belial sat down next to Nichi and lit up a cigarette. “So what exactly is that blade? Nothing normal could have cut through Nidogg like that.”

Osirus looked in the never-ending book that he loved to read so much. His eyes opened wide as he read part of it.

Belial looked annoyed at Osirus for not sharing his little bit of info with them. “What’s got you freaked out all the sudden?”

“And it was said that Kharn carried a great blade of unmaking, a pure and unchallengeable power that could cut mountains.” Osirus read. “That boy is carrying Kharn’s equipments right? Then that means that he is carrying that blade of unmaking.”

Nichi smiled and took another sip of water. “Anyone know were Magus is?”

FFnut
04-26-2005, 10:39 AM
*****************************
Palis, The Year 0 Aikia, The Battlefield

Magus parried another blow and cut down his sixteenth demon. He was aware that the demons had suddenly grown fearful, because their commander had been cut down.

A few demons later, he leaned against the wall, relaxing. Another demon came up behind him, catching him unaware. He was knocked to the ground, and the demon raised its weapon high...

The monster's torso fell to the ground, the legs following it soon after. Magus gripped the gloved hand that was extended to him and got pulled up. "Lower thy guard and thou'rt allowing thy enemy in."

Magus blinked. "Frog? That you?"

The green-haired man cracked a smile. "'Tis me, Glenn. How hast thou come to this place?"

"Looking for Schala - she was teleported here according to Gaspar. What about you?"

"I hath served Guardia in human form for a year. I'd gone to the mountain to meditate whence I saw a portal." He shifted uncomfortably. "I had the notion 'twas a Gate, but whence I saw 'twas impossible to return, and I hath seen a battle with unholy wretches..."

"You just had to help. Well, it's good to have you here, Froggy boy. You can meet my friends, they'll like you here. Battle's not over yet... c'mon, let's kick some demon ass."

Glenn jumped at his opponent, sword extended for a leaping slash. The demon was split straight down the middle.

Magus whistled. "Still got it, I'll admit that. How are Masa and Mune anyway?"

Glenn chuckled. "They refuse to speak, for they art not required to. Now, Magus, willst thou offer thy assistance?"

Magus twirled his scythe. "Let's do it, Croaker."

"GRRIBBIT!" shouted Glenn in agreement. Magus turned his head slightly. Glenn blushed. "'Tis a habit I've not yet broken."

Magus laughed. "Well, let's head over to where that giant demon corpse is while we take 'em down. You ready?"

"As thou wouldst say, 'Let's kick some demon ass.'"

************************************
Palis, The Year 0 Aikia, Center Of The Battlefield

Belial nodded. "Here comes Magus now. Looks like he's got a friend, too."

Magus and Glenn chopped through several demons to reach the two demons and Nichi. Magus took a deep breath. "Guys, this is my friend Glenn. He's... he came from Earth, just like me. He might talk a little funny, and sometimes croak like a frog, but he's pretty damn strong."

Nichi looked over the newcomer. "I'm Nichi. Glad to meet someone who might make Magus open up to us."

Belial smiled. "I may be a demon, but that doesn't mean I'm against you guys. Nam'e Belial. And this one over here is Osirus - don't think you've met him either, Magus."

Glenn bowed. "'Tis a pleasure to become acquainted with each of thee."

Magus looked around. "What happened to Titania? Last I saw her, she was taking out demons like nobody's business."

"She got herself captured so she could save Malice. So... Glenn, is it? What won't Magus here tell us? Why is he always so wrapped up in himself?"

Magus shook his head. "Later. I swear on Ishia's grave that I will tell you guys later tonight. Let's finish this battle and save our friends, eh?"

Nichi smiled. "I'll hold you to that word, Magus, but you're right. The war comes before storytime."

Drazniich
04-27-2005, 04:37 PM
Osirus walked over to the various parts of Nidogg that scattered the ground. He ripped off the armor, taking a small amulet that was underneath.

Belial stood solemly as Osirus ground it to dust, and scattered it over his head. "And thus, another betrayer dies." Belial sighed.

Osirus turned to Belial. "When will you grind my symbol, Belial? For my crimes against the council?"

Belial shrugged. He paced over to the group. "This war needs to be taken somewhere else." He suggested.

Nichi nodded. "Go attack their camp?"

"No." Belial shook his head. "The entire battle. Our collateral damage is high here. We must find some way to draw them off the castle."

"Well, we know they hate you all." Osirus pointed into the distance. "Perhaps they know taking us down will shatter the army's moral."

Both demons sat down cross legged at the same time. Malice's eyes caught it, if only momentairily, that they'd fallen into an old pattern.

Zerlina
05-02-2005, 07:20 PM
Far from the deliberating demons, far from the walls of Gracia, far from the endless lines of enemy soldiers, and far from the remnants of the fallen Nidogg, the wind warrior still sat, slumped against a tree, his mind still consumed in a hazy confusion.

“It will make you stronger.” Titania explained, though she was sure that he already knew.

Shifting his head to try and regain his focus, Malice stood, shakily, having been sitting for so long that he was momentarily unused to his legs. Seeing this, Titania’s cheekiness evaporated, and she tenderly tried to assist her friend.

“We’re not going to get out of here without a fight.” Malice said, once he was steadied.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear you were happy about that.” Titania muttered, only to receive a grin in reply.

By now, the commotion had caused a reaction that had spread through the camp like ripples in a pond. Coming to the aid of their fallen comrades, nearly the whole battalion of demon soldiers surrounded the two former captives and prepared for what they thought would be an easy battle.

Drawing his daggers, Malice looked to Titania, his figure still glowing with the magic aura.

“Alright, ready?” he asked, and she nodded.

A mischievous grin on his face, Malice looked at the surrounding army and began to count down to the attack “3… 2…”

*

“…so what are we going to do…?” Nichi asked the two demons, though he wasn’t too pleased with having to do so.

“Shhh!” Belial snapped at him before resuming his council.

Taking advantage of the uncharacteristic lapse in the battle, Nichi turned to Magus “I guess we’d better start by getting that gate repaired and fortified so no more of those things can bust in.”

“What the hell were they, anyways?” Magus asked.

“…I think that they were summoned, which means that calling so few of them was only an experiment.”

“A successful experiment.” Magus added, eyeing the areas that the juggernauts had broken through.

“…what we need is to buy some time and then figure out a way to block their portals.” Nichi mused out loud.

As if he had heard nothing that his comrade had said, Magus cleaned his scythe with the purple fabric of his cape, and then slowly began to walk away, the mud pulling at his large strides.

“Wait- where are you going?!” Nichi exclaimed.

“Keep thinking! I’ve got some things I have to do!” Magus shouted back.

Nichi watched as the tall man disappeared up the ramparts, and then he turned his gaze to look at the two demons on the ground.

“Uh…you two done?”

There was no answer.

Sighing, Nichi moved toward the wreckage left by the fallen Nidogg. Carefully picking through the armoured debris, the warrior searched for anything that might have held interest.

“Alright.” Belial said, standing and adjusting his black chapeau “We’ve come to a resolution.”

“And what’s that?” Nichi asked, his voice dripping with annoyance.

“We need is to buy some time and then figure out a way to block their portals.”

“Why does that sound familiar?”

Belial disregarded the inquiry “Legend has it that there’s a stone that can be used to temporarily block demon portals.”

“What do you mean by ‘temporarily’”

“Who knows? Maybe ten minutes. Maybe ten years. The point is that it’s some kind of a hope.”

“…where can we find this stone?”

Belial grinned; his smile made Nichi shiver.

“In a forest locked by mountains and ocean. I’ve passed by there before, and I’ve seen a cavern in the southern part of the ridges. If I’m right, then that should lead to the internal forest…”

*

Meanwhile, atop the ramparts, Magus wandered aimlessly, his safety somewhat ensured by the retreating action of the current line of demons.

Finding a spot to himself, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the glass ball that Nichi had given him. For a while he stared at the object, as if expecting something miraculous to happen. When the ball lay still and produced no image, he sighed and returned it to his pocket.

The news of his sister’s death still hanging over his head like a noose, Magus wandered hopelessly back to the group.

FFnut
05-02-2005, 08:09 PM
***************************
Palis, The Year 0 Aikia, Gracia Walls

Magus stood atop the walls. He held up the little glass ball and swore loudly.

Glenn eyed him. "'Tis something wrong? You hath not been so downhearted since..."

Magus tossed the glass ball in the air. Quickly drawing his scythe, he prepared to cleave it in two, only to have Glenn's hand grip the blade.

The ball fell quietly into Glenn's other hand. "Whom didst thou search for with this artifact?"

Magus grunted. "Schala. She's not showing up. She's not even there anymore."

Glenn raised an eyebrow. "What wouldst thou mean?"

"Lavos Spawn."

Glenn gasped audibly. "Art thee certain?"

"Yes. This giant shapeshifting Lavos Spawn told me that she was dead while I was fighting it. It hurt me pretty badly, too. I killed a lot of people fighting that thing, ally and enemy."

Glenn nodded sadly. "Thou art certain that there is none other that thou wishes to scry?"

Magus took the little ball back. "Hm... maybe..."

He set the ball on the ground and sat cross-legged in front of it. He looked deep inside. "Malice," he whispered.

*********************************
Palis, The Year 0 Aikia, Through The Crystal

Malice sliced through a few demons. He summoned wind around his two blades, allowing for extra damage.

("What is that?" asked Glenn.

Magus laughed. "He's casting magic on his weapons to try and deal extra damage. You should try it one day when you're fighting.")

Malice called across the battlefield, "Titania, you handling them okay?"

A few more demons turned to ash as Titania slapped them with her fans. "I'm fine, we have to get out of here soon, though, before they summon more."

("And that is?" asked Glenn.

"Titania. She's an off-worlder like us." Magus whispered.

"Like us? She, too, is an Earthim?"

"Well, she's not from Earth, I don't think, but as to exactly where...")

***************************
Palis, The Year 0 Aikia, Gracia Walls

The image faded. Glenn stood up and brushed off the Masamune. He held the greatsword into the sky, then looked at Magus. "Now, Sir Magus? Where to?"

Magus kept gazing at the ball. "I wonder... maybe... Kain!"

The ball refused to activate.

Magus stood up. "Dammit. I don't even get to see the face of the demon that killed her." He looked out over the walls and saw the other guys preparing to leave. He leaped over the wall, Glenn behind him.

**********************************
Palis, The Year 0 Aikia, Outside Gracia Gates

They landed softly behind Nichi and the demons. "Going somewhere?"

Nichi turned. "Oh, Magus. We're off to find some stone that can seal up the portals. Are you coming?"

Magus shook his head. "No thanks. Me and Glenn here can take care of Gracia while you guys are gone." He paused, thinking. "Did Aikia say okay to it?"

Nich groaned. "Aikia. Crap. I knew I forgot to get approval."

Glenn chuckled. "Thou may not receive thy wish, the war doth continue."

Nichi nodded. "Yeah. Crud. Look, we'll talk to Aikia. It may take a while, but we should be able to go if we convince her that you guys are good enough to hold down the fort."

Magus nodded. "Alright then."

Then Glenn heard two little voices whispering in his head.

Oooh! Glenn's in charge of another army now! giggled one.

Funfunfunfunfun! We get to fight a lot more now, brother! said the other one too happily.

Quiet! Glenn's voice cut through their little conversation. Masa! Mune! Get out of my head and back in your sword! Now!

Fine. You don't have to be so mean about it, Glenn, said Masa. The two voices faded from Glenn's head.

Belial cast an eye over Nichi. The demon grinned. "You're whipped."

"There's a difference between being whipped because she's a woman and being whipped because she's a demon that possessed my body at one time," Nichi shot back. "You've got no idea how strong she is."

Belial nodded. "You're right, actually. Better to delay our trip than have her mad at us for leaving. She'll make us all into little scorch marks."

Osirus snorted, "Nobody can be that powerful."

Magus just looked at him. "You'd be surprised."

~Hidan~
05-17-2005, 11:45 PM
Nichi looked for Aikia finally finding her. They explained what they needed to do and were given permission to do so. Nichi was pale and weakened by the battle. He had no idea if he could last long enough to even retrieve a small stone. His joints screamed at him with every step he took. ‘The armor is going to kill me before this war is even over.’ Nichi knew the consequences of putting on the armor but he didn’t expect them to come in form so fast.

Belial and Osirus were talking outside of the room were Aikia was currently. They talked on as they followed Nichi down the hall towards their destination. Nichi looked up at the sky as his vision went dark, then blank. He could feel the life leave him as he turned to stone right there in the middle of the road. ‘I’m sorry guys; it seems I won’t be here to help save everyone.’ A vision of all his friends flashed, then of Ishia. “Goodbye everyone.” He managed to whisper out.

Belial looked at Nichi as though he was an idiot. “What do you mean goodbye? Get the hell out of the way and keep moving.”

Osirus looked Nichi in the eyes. “He isn’t going to move, he’s dead.”

Belial looked him over. “This isn’t good.”

Magus and Glenn came over and stared at the statue remains of Nichi. “This is really bad.” Magus said gripping tightly.

The wind blew and Malice could also hear the departure of Nichi’s life. He gasped in horror.

Titania looked at Malice in wonder of what may have just happened. “What is it?”

Malice managed to say “Nichi, he’s dead.” With no chance to morn Malice kept on fighting, as did Titania.

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

Meanwhile far away from any battles, Brain just woke up.

“It’s time for School Son!” Brains mom yelled up the stairs.

Brain got up and put on his school uniform. He hated school except for his martial arts classes. He took five of them now for the past 8 years. He was the best on the school’s team. He picked up his books and his CD player and headed for the door to get on the way to school. His parents said their good mornings as he grabbed lunch and took off. He lived on a military base in Japan and had gone to school in Japan most his life. He was trained well for special operations as well as just normal class stuff.

He took his bike to school and things were going just normal and fine until he fell into blackness.

An hour later he woke up on the edge of the city of Gracia.

Brain stood up and looked around. It was obvious that he wasn’t in Japan anymore. Listening to the surroundings he could tell he wasn’t in friendly territory. He quickly changed out of his School uniform and into his Fighting Gi. He removed everything he didn’t need from his backpack and started towards the commotion. A zombie came out of the corner of his sight; he beat the tar out of it with his fists.

Brain began to smile; this is going to prove to be fun. He kept on beating the creatures that came at him until he reached the center of the town, there stood a great coliseum. He went in and started to look around. Not too many people around he thought.

Zerlina
05-23-2005, 07:33 PM
Titania stopped fighting as the words rang out in her head. For a moment, the air fell, and beneath them, the world seemed to grow still, as if the very planet was mourning. The news felt unreal, like an ungraspable truth that lay far away somewhere…in some kind of imagination that was beyond anyone’s reach. Nichi couldn’t be dead. He’d be there when they came back. He’d be there waiting for them with an expression on his face that told all of what he was thinking.

In an instant the world resumed and Titania was removed from the momentary stillness. Dazed, she looked at Malice for some kind of re-assurance but was met with none. Of course…who could say anything at such a time? Internally, she scolded herself for having sought comfort- that was what the weaker her would do. She was different now- or at least she was trying to be.

With tight fists she clenched her fan closed and, with all the anger and embarrassment she felt toward herself, she drove it hard into her attacker’s grimy flesh. Then, her hands still beating with rage, she turned and released her weapon, sending it into another’s face. Without remorse, she pulled out the object and drove it in once more, before withdrawing it and planting it into another assaulter’s belly.

She continued to fight this way and eventually the struggle persuaded her into a nearby glade. Shadowy figures continued to battle, their silhouettes sometimes lost in the darkness of the place. There were cries from both sides, but when at last the fighting stopped, the mud bled ash and it was clear who had won.

*

“Nichi…he’s dead.” Malice said, almost mechanically, though he did not know how he knew.

The persistence of the assault did not give him time to mourn, and so he was forced to continue, despite all the sadness and rage that coursed through his body.

This is the way it will always be….

His dagger shot through a demon’s open mouth.

…there is no pity in war…

He removed his weapon and brought it to its sheath.

…a hundred years from now it won’t matter who was lost…

With all his strength, he thrust his arm forward and blocked a blow.

…people will only know our names…

He brought his dagger into his attacker’s stomach.

…if they know our names.

He turned and swung his fist hard into a gruesome face.

They won’t know what we lost…

His dagger cut through pulsating flesh.

…they won’t care how much we’ve died inside…

Voices screamed in pain around him.

…they won’t know.

Anger and sadness in his heart, he fought on.

This is the way it will always be.

Zerlina
05-23-2005, 07:34 PM
*

Titania sat upon a large rock in the glade, her breath heavy from exhaustion. Her arms hanging weakly from her sides, she dropped her fans, and stared at the ground. Around her were corpses of what had once been living, breathing beings with souls and pasts. Some of them wore charms; one of them wore a scarf around its lifeless arm; another had a patch on its gauntlet. These had all come from somewhere. They had all had reasons behind them.

Gradually, it began to rain, and Titania watched as the mud began to swallow the bodies. Drawing her knees to her chest, she wrapped her arms around herself and lowered her head.

Quiet tear-drops fell and snaked their way down the occupied rock, slithering through the cracks and eventually melting into the earth. They lamented so much blood, both ashen and crimson. They lamented so much.

A bird rested on a nearby branch to seek shelter from the storm. With curiousity, it watched as Titania raised her head back up, her pale cheeks dry as stone. The tears which continued to slide down the rock were not hers- they were the sky’s. Palis was mourning. It was crying for its bloodthirsty children who were so quickly and so ruthlessly murdering each other.

When at last the final demon sunk beneath the mud forever, the rain fell upon it and tenderly washed the blood from its hands.

*

As the rain began to fall, Malice felt his energy beginning to fail. He heaved his dagger into his last opponent, and collapsed from exhaustion. He lay there for less than a minute when he heard a voice behind him.

“You’re stronger than I thought.”

Exhausted, Malice rose to his feet and drew his daggers.

“I’m not unfair.” Said the speaker “You can rest. I have all day”

His lips parted and his mouth bloody from the previous battle, Malice shook his head. Every breath felt like knives inside of him.

“You don’t want to wait?”

Malice shook his head once more, and tried to bring himself to stand up straight.

“Alright then…let’s go.”

The ominous general removed his diamond sword from its unworthy sheath and swung it a few times so that his hands adjusted. The air parted and cried as it was cut.

The two were still for a moment, until the famous General Hige moved forward, thrusting his weapon toward the exhausted Malice. In ill condition, the Theiran dodged the blow but fell to the ground; his upper body weight rested on his elbows as he tried to back away. Confidently, Hige brought his sword down, barely missing his opponent. In an uncalculated setback, the wet mud pulled at the General’s sword, stalling him as he tried to remove it. Malice rose and punched Hige in the face, making him lose his grip on his weapon.

Mockingly, The General rubbed his cheek and dodged another attempt at an attack.

Malice hit the ground, but was now more ready for an attack. He brought his knee up, as if he were about to sprint and drew his daggers. He smirked, returning Hige’s cockiness.

Finding it almost amusing, The General pulled his sword from the mud and charged toward his opponent, who did the same. There was a clang as the blades met each other, and both warriors looked each other in the eye; Hige’s weapon was wedged between Malice’s daggers. For a while the two struggled to overpower each other, until finally Hige simply withdrew his sword and attempted to send it through his opponent’s stomach. He missed, and Malice scathed his hand with his daggerblade; Hige’s blood ran crimson.

“For someone so sure of himself, you sure have trouble hitting a target.” The Theiran mocked and attempted to bring his dagger to Hige’s chest.

Trusting his sword to only one hand, The General grabbed Malice’s wrist and twisted it, making him scream and drop his dagger.

“Don’t make me want to kill you.” Hige said, bitterly, through clenched teeth. He continued to turn Malice’s wrist, and made him scream in pain.

The General forced Malice forward, pushing him into the mud. Arrogantly, he looked down at his fallen opponent; the wind began to play with his snowy cape.

“I like to think that enjoying murder is something I’m past. I’d prefer if you didn’t try to change th-”

He screamed as he received a blow from something invisible. He turned, trying to see where the attack had come from, but saw no one. Again he let out a cry as he received a heavy blow to the head, once more from something that he could not see. It was not until he looked down at Malice and saw the insignia upon his vest that he became aware.

“Don’t make me have to finish this!” Hige warned, drawing and raising his diamond sword; a light reflected from it despite the darkness of the sky.

“Why don’t you just do it?” Malice asked, challengingly, his mouth still covered in blood.

His shoulders pulsating from shallow breaths, Hige looked down at his fallen opponent. His hands shook and he seemed almost frozen.

“Stop!” came an effeminate voice.

Hige faltered.

Running as fast as she could, Titania emerged from the nearby glade and immediately kneeled by Malice. Wiping some of the blood from his mouth, she looked at him with concern, and then turned to face Hige.

The General tightened his grip once more, expecting some kind of an attack.

“Please…” she said.

Hige was silent.

“He needs to go back to Gracia. You don’t understand. Please, you have to let him go.” She pleaded continually with the silent man, persisting because she was met with no response “There are people who need him- not just soldiers… I don’t care about pride- I’m begging you! Please… ”

He said nothing.

“…please… let him go…”

She stared at Hige and her eyes said to him a thousand things which he knew but could not understand. He lowered his sword.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“P-pardon?” she stuttered, turning quickly to stop the injured Malice from crawling away; his father’s dagger rested just out of reach.

“What’s your name? And his.”

“Titania.” She said, then looked at Malice for permission to say his name; his expression was unreadable “…And Caritas”

“Then go.” He said “There’s a reason why things have worked out like they have. There’s a reason for him to live. Who am I to interfere with fate?”

He sheathed his sword and watched as Titania retrieved the Theiran dagger. She helped the exhausted and bloody warrior to his feet, deciding to get him away from the battlefield before healing him. As they struggled to leave, Malice looked at The General, and until he had to turn away, he never broke eye contact.

Hige knew there was a reason for everything, and he knew that his opponent would have to live. There was something about him that seemed to make the planet scream for his safety. It was not a scream that could not be ignored.

When at last they vanished from sight, there remained only a single silhouette before the sunset backdrop of the emptied camp. The wind having grown still, The General stared down at his hand; his wound had disappeared.

FFnut
05-25-2005, 08:30 PM
*****************************
Palis, The Year 0 Aikia, Gracia Streets

Osirus examined the stone corpse. "Wow. This stuff got him bad."

Magus, still gripping his scythe with white knuckles, started laughing. "Not like this. Nichi, you can't go out on me like this. C'mon, man. Stop faking. Wake up. This can't happen." He started laughing hysterically. Glenn reached out a hand and put it on Magus's shoulder.

In a flash Magus whirled around, ready to decapitate whoever just touched him. But Glenn was just as fast. Glenn deflected the blow, knocking it out of the other man's hands. The scythe whistled through the air, end over end, finally embedding itself in a nearby wall. Glenn's blade was held at Magus's throat. He finally lowered and sheathed his sword. "Grribbit..." he murmured.

Magus turned around, pounding on the statue. "DAMMIT!" he screamed. "Not now! Not again! Not...!" He slumped to the ground, defeated. "...not again... just like..."

Glenn bent down. "Art thou alright, Magus?"

Magus started muttering to himself. "All my fault... I put it on him... My fault..."

Belial nudged Magus with his toe. "Well, he's useless. Now what?"

Magus solemnly stood up. He put his hands on the stone figure and pushed as much magic as he could possibly muster out. Nothing happened. He slammed hard on the giant rock. "Dammit. He's not there. It's like he was never living in the first place." Hysterics over, the mage turned around. His red eyes flared as bright as they had when the Lavos Spawn told him that Schala had been killed. He calmly walked over and grabbed his scythe. "Now we wait," he said. "We wait for Malice and Titania. Malice'll want to see this for himself - and Titania might be able to heal him. If it's possible to heal him. Either way..." Magus looked to the sky. In a very low voice, so nobody else could hear, he whispered to himself, "I did this. I put the armor on him. And now just like her he's gone." A loud swear erupted from Magus's mouth, carrying throughout the larger part of Gracia.

Mong00se
05-25-2005, 11:12 PM
((oh god my writer's block needs to go away, this is getting ridiculous))

~Hidan~
05-31-2005, 12:54 AM
Brain engaged demons and one after another he turned them into squishy piles of blood and guts. The thugs in Japan gave him more of a challenge. The demons would keep coming and he’d just use normal punches and they fell like dummies. He looked at the setting of his suit, ‘well that would explain it; he turned it down from level 10 to 1.’ Now actually fighting them he just started the dance, bouncing from one foot to the other as he ran past the daemons grabbing their spare ribs and pulling them out and back into their livers, grabbing the collar bones of some and ripping them out, others dislodging their sternum causing their own ribs to puncture their hearts and lungs.

Then he noticed that flood of humans running form the down dropping their weapons as they ran. They all seemed to be crying and uttering ‘Nichi’s dead, he’s actually dead.’

Malice and Titania made it back to Gracia and stood starting at the statue of Nichi standing, and eerie feeling came from looking at him. Something else felt out of place, the demons had stopped their attack, or so it had seemed. That was until the corpse of a juggernaut hit the side for the great coliseum and went through its walls. The more followed in suit.

“What in the hell was that1?” Malice said looking to make sure everyone else was there still.

Belial and Osirus looked at each other and thought what could make a juggernaut fly. “Err, I have no idea but we may want to look.” Belial said as he walked over to the gate.

Everyone followed after him, seeing a young man in the middle of all the demons fighting them off with great speed and power, not the same kind of speed they had seen in Nichi but rather he would attack and doge as though he knew every move the demons would make and when he connected well they went flying.

Noticing his fans he quickly pulled a good set of kicks sending the remaining demons flying across the dirt eventually turning into nothing more then bloody corpses.

He quickly ran to the group of five that stood at the city. “And here I was thinking I had to kick the crap out of everything that lives here. Nice to finally see there are normal people here.” He took a bow and introduced himself. “I am Brain Park, I don’t think you know or care where I’m from because it’s not from here so well what the hell is going on here and why are there so many damn monsters?”

FFnut
05-31-2005, 04:26 PM
****************************
Palis, The Year 0 Aikia, Gracia Streets

Magus was the first to recover from the boy's physical display. "Brain... nice to meet you. I'm Magus." He began to gesture at the others. "These are Malice, Titania, Belial, Osirus..." He glanced at Malice and Titania. "And you guys haven't met Glenn either, right?"

Malice shook his head. "I was wondering who this guy was..."

Magus laughed. "He's from my world - and a good friend of mine too. He's a knight, so he may speak a little funny, and he has a tendency to croak..."

"Croak?" asked Titania.

Glenn shot a glance at Magus, who shrugged. "Yeah. Croak. Y'know, like a frog."

Brain spoke up. "So, what the hell is going on here?"

Osirus gave a hearty, yet still evil, laugh. "Calm down, kid. All you need to know right now is that all the demons except me and Belial here are bad guys, and even we're a little wishy-washy. Maybe if you help us out you'll get a wowwipop afterwards."

Brain's response to this was a swift kick to the groin.

All the other males took a step back.

Belial chuckled. "Hey, Osirus, call it a hunch, but I don't think you should be so condescending to the kid."

"Bite me," Osirus managed to gasp while attempting to recover.

The nearby wall collapsed and several more juggernauts wandered in. Magus readied his scythe. He glanced at all the others - everyone was ready to fight with the exception of Osirus, who was still rolling around on the ground in pain.

Let's do it, Glenn! came a mental emanation from the sword that only Glenn could hear.

Yeah! C'mon, Masa, let's show these stupid demons why you don't mess with the wielder of the Masamune! chirped a second.

"Whence thou stareth into the flame," whispered Glenn, "the flame stareth back."

((Sorry to unload a fight scene on whoever's next, but this seems like a nice, ominous end to the post.))

~Hidan~
06-01-2005, 07:56 PM
Brain looked at the incoming flood of Demons. At first it looked like a small number, until he noticed that the Juggernauts were the only thing he was counting. He noticed that in fact the entire ground that the Juggernauts seemed to have been walking on was actually more demons. Bringing his arm to eye level he powered up his computer. “Sirus how many of the enemy are there in the oncoming wave?”

A few seconds passed. “I count roughly 165 million lesser demons and 120 thousand of the larger ones.”

Brain shook his head. “With my suit at full power how high of a change do we have of winning this?”

“I think you already know this but no chance.” Sirus replied.

Brain took a moment to think about this and looked at the others who were fighting of the three that were already there. “How long till they get here?”

“I’d give them about 20 minutes before they are here.”

Brain didn’t know if he had the right to tell the others that they were doomed if they fought them but he was willing to see what they had to say.

Magus and Glenn finished off one while Belial destroyed another and Malice and Titania managed to kill the other.

They all regrouped and began to think up a strategy, Osirus had managed to pull back his composure and was also helping think. Brain walked over to the rest of the group and motioned that he would like to say something.

“Yes Brain what is it?” Malice said.

“Well after looking over the current situation and seeing as we are the only people left to fight this war, we might want to consider a retreat. If you look off that way you’ll notice that there are in the Millions of demon soldiers coming with tens of thousands of the lager ones to support them. Now might be a good time to think about that.” Brain said calmly as the others all looked over where he had pointed.

Every ones eyes went wide with fear and horror as the realized the shear numbers of Demons heading their way.

“Belial where is Aikia?” Malice asked.

Belial shrugged and tried to sense were she was. “She seems to have disappeared.”

Malice thought about what was about to happen. “It seems we must retreat, with no troops we can’t take on that kind of number.”

Zerlina
06-02-2005, 07:44 PM
Titania looked at Malice with disbelief.

“Retreat?” she repeated, thinking that it was odd of him to give such an order “…are you sure?”

“What else can we do?” he asked, rhetorically, and shook his head “There’s no one here.”

“But-“

“There’s no one here.”

Titania stared at his face, which looked stern amidst the setting sun. For a moment, the tension gave way to silence, and with conflicting emotion, the two watched each other. In a muted and stationary dance, brown eyes vainly followed and searched through blue, trying to find some kind of explanation for what was happening. When at last it was clear that the answer could not be found, Titania gave up, but in doing so saw the error in her quest- she could find no truth in his eyes because he had not been looking at her. Following his distant gaze, she turned to see the grim and overwhelming figure; Nichi.

From then on, there needed to be no explanation for anyone’s unwillingness to fight that day.

As they stared at the statue, the breeze moved as to eternity, circling and swimming around the group in a kind of consolation. The death had become real, and now the lifeless effigy gazed at them from the city gates.

“Come on.” Malice said “Let’s go…”

Silently, they left, and the sun –falling into its mountainous cradle- gave way to the pale and beautiful moon. As the light receded from Nichi’s face, it took with it the clarity of vision. From a spot on the rampart, a soldier stared downward, and saw beneath him the shadow of the once great commander, guarding the city, which he loved.

Trudging down the Gracian stairs, the soldier made his way to the stone figure, and when he reached his destination, knelt before it, removing his hat.

The night passed on, and slowly but surely, people came and left, each in their own time- much like life, Titania thought, from her spot in the shadows.

When at last it was clear that there would be no more visitors that evening, the mage removed herself from her hiding place.

She made an odd figure- cloaked in robes, which seemed almost illuminated against the starry backdrop. Lighting a solitary lantern, she brought herself before her companion’s statue, and removed from her pocket the book which he had given her.

The gravel crunching beneath her shoes, she sat down near Nichi’s solid feet and opened the manual. Lifting the lantern to read better, she searched for some kind of spell to reverse his doom.

The hours passed on like a thousand eternities, and her eyes grew teary with fatigue. When at last the clock tower struck 4, there came noise from behind her.

“W-who’s there?” Titania questioned, nearly dropping her lantern.

Not waiting for an answer, she turned and saw that there lay only darkness on the streets. Nervously, the girl turned back to her work, when there came another noise. Deciding to abandon her post momentarily, she rose to her feet, and –lantern in hand- followed the direction of the sound.

Suddenly the sky turned to black, and the stars were extinguished like candles. Compulsively, Titania reached for her fans and continued cautiously down the street.

“Come.” A voice whispered with a thousand tones and echoes, and a feeling that made her freeze.

“Show yourself first.” Titania called, and looked around to see only darkness; even the lights from the windows had gone out.

“Come.” It repeated.

Clenching her fans, she advanced forward with a speed that suggested fear.

Suddenly there was loud, horrifying laughter, and the ground gave way beneath her. The cobblestone crumbling under her feet, she fell into a terrible, blackened sea.

Mercilessly, the waves crashed, and rose above her head, swallowing her like ebony snakes. Gasping for air, the mage tried desperately to climb out of the water, only to be washed violently upon a murky shore. All around her there was fire and yet at the same time, rain. Coughing and weak, she turned to look up to the sky, only to receive a terrifying gaze. Screams erupted and split through the air like burning glass. As the tide rose to her waist, she hurried toward salvation, barefoot and desperate.

Laughter echoed through the sky like thunder and finally gave way to lightning. Amidst the flashes of electricity, the mage could almost make out the figure of a beast amidst the sky. Omniscient and giant, she could not run from it, and so she decided to hide.

Fleeing down a familiar street, she made her way down a set of dilapidated stairs and ran into the house which stood there. She was not there for more than a minute when the ceiling above her caved and fell, nearly crushing her. Climbing out from the ruins she ran through the empty streets, trying to open doors, but finding them all locked. The rainwater rose to a climax, and everywhere the flaming remnants of homes fell into it. Desperate and afraid, Titania waded through the flooded streets, until finally a hand took hold of her foot from beneath the water. Screaming and crying she tried to kick it and shake herself free, but found that all she could do was lose the struggle.

“Let me go!” she cried in a raw and broken scream.

“Now how does it feel?” came the voice from the sky, in a language that was beyond words.

“Who are you? What do you want?” she yelled.

“How does it feel to be so suddenly powerless?” It answered, ignoring her question.

Finally, Titania lost the struggle and was pulled under the water by the hand. Instantly, the world grew silent except for the sound of the turbulent water, and she felt as if her chest would collapse from lack of breath.

“Titania!” Came a voice through the murky water “Titania!” it repeated again.

“Help me!” she cried, not caring who it was.

Suddenly, as quickly as it had come on, the water disappeared and she found that she was being shaken.

“Wake up.”

In disbelief, Titania took a good breath of Gracian air and stared at the quiet streets.

“You were having a nightmare…”

She turned to see who had woken her, only to have her gaze caught by the shadow of something fleeing into the darkness. Passing it off as a trick of the light, she turned back to her friend.

“Oh…right. Thanks-" she said, and trailed of, finding that even while concentrating she could not tell who it was that stood before her.

Aggravated, and breath heavy, Zera Shaal watched from behind a wall before retreating into the shadows. There would be no victory for him that night, and he knew it. The best thing to do would be to lay low and avoid attention- Yes, he thought, that would be the most effective way to strike.

"I'm sorry..." said Titania, admitting that she could not see "Who are you?"

FFnut
06-05-2005, 05:23 PM
****************************
Palis, The Year 0 Aikia, Gracia Streets

The darkness obscured Titania's vision from her. The figure who had woken her began to respond when soft croak came from the nearby shadows. The figure whirled around. "Frog? What're you doing here?"

Titania watched Glenn step into the light. "I wouldst be asking thou the same question, Janus..."

The figure that Titania decided to call "Janus" shook its head. "Look, Glenn, you know you shouldn't call me that."

"And thou shouldst not refer to me as 'Frog.'"

"Janus" sighed. "Alright. I felt the black wind, got it? Something bad was happeneing out here. I have no idea what." The shadowy figure turned back to her. "You're alright, then?"

Titania nodded numbly. "So... who are you?"

"Janus" laughed. "It's me, Magus."

Titania jumped. "Magus?"

A couple of other voices chimed in, only they were inside her head. Hey, wait! You're Janus? Like, the prince Janus?

Wow, big brother, I think he is! And I think he was also that Prophet guy!

"Hush, both of you. You're loud enough for her to hear, too," whispered Glenn.

Titania looked around helplessly and Magus shrugged. "Is it too late to say that you're just dreaming this and none of it's really happening? Oh well. You see, if that pair of shaved rats would have kept their mouths shut, I might've been able to avoid this conversation..."

Titania fainted.

Glenn walked over to her prone form and nudged it with his boot. "Grribbit..."

Magus picked the girl up. "Let's bring her back, Glenn. And you two," he said, directing the following at the sword. "You would do well to keep your mouths shut, especially around other people. I don't really want anyone else to freak out.

Glenn nodded and the two men and the unconscious girl went back to the castle.