Rising from the ash..

[sabis]

(We'll just have to remember they were supposed to be before my second combat post ))

[Moridanu]

*A slender amber brow arched in response to Terrance’s suggestion that the scout from earlier was on his way. Moridanu thought for a moment, and recalled that the man in question went by the name of Sabis. ~If he feels the need to disturb us now, I fear it may be more important m’love…~ She trailed off as he told her that he would take care of their plans for the evening and smiled up at him approvingly. ~Looking forward to it..~ she purred as she sat up in the bed to watch while he seemed to pull a rack of clothes out of his mysterious trench coat.

While he went to answer the door, Moridanu rose from the bed, allowing the quilt to fall from her body so that she was soon standing there completely naked as she flicked through the clothes on the rack. She was grateful that Terrance held the door closed while he spoke with Sabis, and quickly selected a long flowing dress made from a light green fabric with intricate golden embroidery seemingly imbedded into the fabric. Seeing no undergarments, she shrugged her shoulders and slipped the dress over her head just as Terrance turned to tell her about the traitor. The dress fit as though it was made for her, and by the time Terrance had brought the elf into their room and bound him to the chair, she was pulling her long mane of auburn curls out of the back of her dress. The elf was unconscious, allowing them both a few minutes to discuss their plan of attack before the interrogations began.

She wrinkled her nose at the foul smelling bottle as she padded over to Terrance bare footed and stood on tiptoe briefly to kiss his slightly scruffy cheek. ~Thanks for the dress..~ she murmered, nuzzling his neck for a moment before looking at the elf.

~Interrogation before breakfast? We don’t get paid enough m’love… wait a minute… we don’t get paid at all!~ she winked at him, before her mood grew serious as she studied the elf who was now starting to shift his weight as he slowly came to.

~Do you think he is part of the rebel fraction? I can’t imagine Lucien could have his minions here already.. we didn’t know ourselves that we would be here until a short time ago..~

Trailing off miserably, Moridanu walked back over to the bed and perched on the edge of it, looking up at the man she loved. She was a Queen, a ruler of a kingdom, but she was not the head of guards, or even a soldier trained in interrogation techniques. She would be here to offer any support she could, but for the most part she felt that Terrance would do a far better job of getting any answers out of this elf. The elf in question sat up with a start and spat out a large wad of bright red blood, his eyes popped open and then narrowed as he took in the situation that he now found himself in. As his eyes came to rest upon Moridanu, they widened again and a sick grin found its way to his thin lips.

~Just as planned, the butterfly makes her way to the web. Now she is caught, fluttering her wings madly while the spider stalks his prey..~ His gaze turned back to Terrance. ~And who is this? Another of your lackeys? No matter.. he will soon join the rest.~ He spat again, this time a large wad of blood landed on Terrance’s shoe. *

[sabis]

'Once Sabis reaches his assigned quarters, he immediatly locks the door behind him, setting Camus gently down on the bed, making sure he was comfortable. Since the guard will be out for abit, he tends to Camus' wounds more dilligently, having only given the faun the life-saving measures needed to keep him from dying earlier. Now he administers rela healing power, burning up a good portion of his remaining ranger powers for the day, but ensuring the small one is stable and prepared to quickly heal on his own. He'll be sore, and probably feel ill still, but he's in no danger.'

'With that done, his other business takes precedance. He pulls his hood up again and binds the elf's hands and ankles together, sitting him in a chair and then tying the bindings themselves with more rope to the chair's legs and backing. He isn't planning on being polite in his interrogation of this one to ensure he has nothing to do with the betrayel of the elf commander. Once he has afew things setup, primarily a shroud made from a spare blanket to cover the interrogation area and a collection of candles sitting in front of a mirror to provide bright light, Sabis uses a backfist hit to the elf's face to wake him.'

"Bluh... ugh... what the.... where am I? Who's there...?"

Silence, fool. You are dead. And you are MINE. Your friend who commanded you in your betrayel of the divine queen allowed you to die to save his own neck. He found you unconcious when he tried to escape the Immortal King, and sacrificed you to me in the hopes it would appease me. Your soul is mine to do with as I wish. But you may yet save yourself from torment, I may return you to your God if YOU appease me. Tell me how deeply his network has infiltrated the elfen city, and what their plans are, so i may warn the Queen. Do this, and I will spare your soul. Do it not... 'Sabis utters a word below his breath. A Quickening spell he learned long ago when he defeated an extremely Evil member of his kin, a spell that wracks the body with tremendous pain. He doesn't use it in battle because it requires too much concentration. but it causes pain in a way unlike any typical magic, making one's nerves feel like every inch of the body is bathed in flame and cold at the same time, without doing any physical damage. The elf's screams would carry far if not for the thick blanket and the small wards Sabis placed around his working area to muffle such noise. He continues his interrogation, wracking the elf with pain without ever appearing to cast a spell. Making himself appear as if one of the divine truly DID have the elf by the soul...'

[The Demon Auditor]

He offered Mori a smile when she kissed his cheek. No doubt something sinister was going on, and he intended to find out what.

As the elf came to and spat on his boot, Terrance looked down at the splatter casually. The blood boiled and popped before sinking into the inky darkness of the boot's leather. He looked back at the elf grimly and produced some gloves from his coat. He spoke quietly as he slipped them onto his fingers, flexing and tucking the fabric neatly, "That was a very foolish thing you just did. But don't worry, I'm not offended in the slightest. In fact, I just want you to answer a few questions and you can be on your way."

He leaned in carefully, aware the elf could spit on his face now, but seemingly uncaring.

"But, perhaps I need to loosen your lips, first, before we get underway. You don't seem like the cooperative type." He grabbed the elf by the jaw now with one hand in a vise grip. Oh the things he could let himself do...it would be so easy to start cutting off bits and pieces, carving the traitor up like a holiday bird... But, he was also aware Mori was in the room watching his every move. There was a doubt for a moment of how far she would let him go...

But as that doubt crossed his mind, he smiled and wrenched open the elf's mouth. "Ah, look! Our ranger friend seems to have knocked loose some of your teeth! Let me help you with that!"

Two fingers dove into the elf's mouth and pinched a molar on the side Sabis had kicked. It wasn't really as loose as he made it out to be, but the bruising on the elf's cheek indicated it might be in pain regardless. An instant of rage flashed across Terrance's face, and he ripped the tooth free, watching as the blood oozed from the open wound now. As much as he wanted to explode on the traitor and rend him limb from limb...he calmly held back and presented his gleaming white trophy to the elf now, his face a safe distance from any spitting he was sure to do.

"Now tell me what you know of the spider's web you spoke of, or the next thing I pull out may not be so easily dislodged."

[Camus]

‘Follow the red’

Camus whispered, trying desperately to remember the somewhat cryptic dream. He was suddenly aware how nauseous he felt, which could only mean he was conscious. He gingerly opened his eyes. It took him several moments to realise where he was. Camus pulled himself up, expecting his body to object, but he felt surprisingly good, except for the horrid nausea. Camus flexed his arm; it wasn’t broken, not anymore. He could hear it click when he straightened his arm, right at the elbow. It was sore, but nothing compared to the feeling of a broken bone, He held it close to his body and managed to stand up, his shaggy dark curly hair and fur was damp and cold with sweat. Camus’ oversized hooves made an audible thump on the cold stone floor. Camus could hear commotion in the next room muffled by the thick castle stone.

He knew Sabis was close and he could feel the Queen and the Other Demons Auditors energies close by too. He slowly made his way into the Queens room, moving quickly and quietly, he couldn’t be sure what he was walking into. He pushed open the door and immediately felt at ease seeing his friends again. The Elf was tied to the chair; he caught the end of the questioning, right before The Auditor dove his fingers into the Elves mouth and pulled. Camus felt another wave of Nausea at the sight. He instinctively put his hand over his jaw protectively. He caught his reflection in the mirror and saw that he still looked rather mangled; He was unusually pale and gaunt, almost translucent and covered in bruises. He hurried towards Moridanu, trying to ignore the screaming man.

‘I don’t have any proof, but I have a feeling this goes deeper than just three men’.

Camus said to his comrades.

‘They were speaking to the Harpy Queen, I can’t remember her name. Pru something? Prutega? She saw me, which means at best her whole armies on the way and at worst, Lucien’s on his way.’

He added gravely, looking back and forth between his friends. He waited for their replied before looking directly at the Queen.

‘Your Highness, can I please have a word’.

He said grabbing Mori by the hand and leading her into a corner.

‘You’re going to think I’ve lost my mind, I had a dream, or a vision I suppose I was visited by Talisen Phoenix. He’s alive!’

He said excitedly bouncing on the spot and clutching his Queens hands in his own.

‘He said he needs your help. To come back to life or rebuild a body, I’m loosing the vision quickly. He only gave me one instruction. Follow the red.’

Camus watched his Queens face closely; looking for an expression of bewilderment or that she was about to have him sent away.

‘His exact words were-‘.

He stopped suddenly, Camus’ head began to swim and his nausea hit an all time peak, he leaned forward afraid he was about to throw up, it was an overload of powerful energy, he felt it all over his body like static electricity, he wasn’t sure why but he knew the Demon Auditor would feel it too, maybe even Mori, but she wasn’t as attuned to Oona as Camus was.

‘Oona’.

[Moridanu]

*As the Elfs gaze came to rest upon Moridanu and a sick grin twisted his evil lips, Moridanu felt a ball of despair take root firmly in the pit of her stomach. This despair became a snake which began to slither its way around her insides as he spoke about the butterfly becoming caught in the web. Nausea rose violently, forcing her to swallow it as she stared the man down before he turned his eyes towards Terrance. Once the Elf had looked away, she quickly wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand, before her eyes came to rest on the back of Terrance’s head.

Though she could not see his face, she was in tune with her lover enough to sense an inner turmoil of some kind. Although she had given him her heart as well as the keys to her kingdom, Moridanu realised that she knew very little about Terrance and about the man he had been before she had come into his life. His mysterious trenchcoat was just one of many things she did not understand about him, but was also just one more thing that she loved about him. Although she loved and trusted him completely, she sensed that he had a darker, more sinister side to him; a side that was now threatening to spill forth before her.

Careful not to distract him from the grim task at hand, Moridanu settled back further on the bed as she watched Terrance begin his work. She grimaced and turned her head so that she could not witness the full wrenching of the tooth, though the scent of blood was soon wafting towards the bed. Wrinkling her nose, her eyes narrowed as she looked to the elf to see how he would respond to Terrance’s dentistry.

The elf let out a loud scream, before spitting out even more blood aimed at Terrances’ boots. ~You stupid son of a bitch!~ he wailed. ~You think you scare me? You can rip out all of my teeth if you think it will do any good. You can even kill me if you want. It won’t do you any good.. I aint talking.~ He laughed then, spitting out more blood. ~You honestly think this was an accident? That I just allowed myself to be caught?~ He laughed again, and turned his mad gaze upon Moridanu once more.

~ Right where you ought to be pretty one.. and right where I ought to be.. the butterfly caught in the web while the spider stalks his prey..~ He squirmed in his seat as beads of sweat began to pop out on his forehead. ~Not long to go now…~ he grimaced as a loud and rancid fart ripped from his ass. ~Oooooh..~ he laughed. ~ Do forgive me.. must be something.. I ate..~

Camus arrived during this performance, and Moridanu was distracted from the Elfs riddles by the arrival of her old friend. His words of the Harpy Queen and Luciens arrival made her shudder and she shot Terrance a bewildered look before Camus demanded her attention again. She drew him close into a hug and allowed him to pull her over to the side. She listened politely as he began to tell her about his dream, though in truth the Elf’s words were the focus of her attention at the moment. Camus was saying something about Talisen being alive.. a cryptic message to “Follow the red.” ~I’m sorry Camus.. I have no idea what that might mean..~ Camus opened his mouth to deliver the full message but seemed to become entirely consumed by some surge of power. He muttered one word: ~Oona~ as he leant forward and appeared on the verge of passing out. Moridanu reached forward to catch him in case he fell. ~M’love.. ~ she called, ~something is wrong with Camus..~

The Elf threw back his head and laughed as another rancid fart ripped from the seat of his pants. ~And now we add a Faun to the menu.. what better choice for a BBQ than Faun, hmm?~ he laughed as more sweat broke out on his head and he squirmed in his seat again. ~Not long now..~ he muttered, a crazy glint in his eye as he glared at the Queen. *

[The Demon Auditor]

The pulse of electric energy made the hairs stand up on Terrance's neck. He could tell it was Oona, but mingled with the familiar energy was something else he couldn't put his finger on. He'd always considered Oona a wild-card, never quite sure where her loyalties were, despite many assurances she was on their side. He didn't know if this was a good sign or not...

Terrance ignored the foul farts, quite aware they were probably about to become poisonous, or worse...explosive if the word "BBQ" was any indication. He leaned in close, grabbing the elf's jaw again, and stuffed a rag in it from his pocket.

"I've had about enough of you. I believe you, sincerely, when you say you won't talk. You are but a bleating lamb of a pawn sent to throw us off guard and do what little damage you can."

He looked to Mori as she cared for the fainted Camus, "I think we've learned all we can from this worm, there are clearly bigger birds to cook. We should probably prepare for battle again."

He smiled back at the elf who was clearly having a fit of the crazies on Death's doorstep. The elf might be delirious from facing certain doom wrought on him by his masters, but Terrance was a whole different level of crazy, a grin plastered to his face so wide his head looked about to break in half.

"Didn't you know?" he asked, grabbing the elf by the ropes binding him to the chair, "Barbecues are only allowed outside!" With both hands and the assistance of tendrils from the coat, the elf and chair were hurled backward out the window and into the air over the courtyard below. With a quiet snap, the Demon Auditor drew his sword and thrust forward, directing a long tendril of the coat around his arm and through the broken window, spearing the elf beyond the balcony through the gut. The elf's screams of agony were cut drastically short as the gas within him exploded prematurely, sending flesh, bone shards, and blood spray everywhere.

With so much of the black coat now extended, most of his clothes had vanished into shadows and the trench coat itself looked more like an awkward, cubist-style pair of wings swept forward around him from his back. The crazed expression faded from his face.

His gaze turned to Mori, "I believe we should leave this city immediately. If Lucien's forces know we're here, then we are only bringing ruin to these people, regardless of their allegiance. I don't know what you discussed with Bromand or what bargain you have, so the decision is yours, my love."

[sabis]

"NO MORE!!!!! I BEG YOU, PLEASE LET ME DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEE.." 'That was where the elf's speach was cut off and became incoherant screams again, this time loud enough that afew whispers of it even escaped the interrogation area. This elf was useless, he knew almost nothing of what was going on, only that Lucien's forces knew they would be here. Though Sabis' appearance was apperantly quite unexpected, after all, former deities rarely get involved in times such as this. The ranger realises how lucky he was none of the Queen's forces recognised him, though he should have expected elves to be more familiar with his "history". Realised that this one is of no use Sabis makes his end quick and painless, a quick jab of his wakizashi into the guard's spine puts him down immediatly. Once the blade is sheathed he takes down his setup and ponders for a moment, contemplating his next move. After all, he has several options, everything from slipping away to giving the Queen the full rundown on his past so she knows what he's useful for.'

Hmm. What to do. Well, I suppose I have no choice honestly. Letting this place fall to the demon's is out of the question, not to mention I'd be a prime target for a very long time for this particular demonic king. Well, no choice then.

'He heads back to Mori's chamber and knocks on the door, waiting for an answer. Once the door opens, he doesn't wait for any kind of questions, he just speaks right up.' I have some explaining to do.

[Camus]

Camus breathed heavily, relying on the Queens hand for support; he slowly pulled himself together, embarrassed by the sign of weakness. It was at this point the Elf was suddenly thrown from the room. Camus found himself clutching the Queen fearfully.

He shook his head and stood to his full height, finally pulling himself together, the spiralling earth red tattoos on his flesh suddenly seemed to pop from his skin, slowly turning an inch off his body, his pale skin and red tattoos contrasted against his dark brown fur.

‘The Soldiers would never make it, not so soon after the last attack, most of them are injured. The civilians wouldn’t fare much better, we have no way of knowing how deep Lucien influence is in this city, for all we know, The Elves may already be ready to pounce on us. Whe-‘

Sabis returned back to the room, saying he needed to explain something; it was at that very moment that a loud supernatural screech echoed through the shattered window and into the room.

‘Harpies! It’s the Harpy Queen!’

Camus said, moving to the window. A dark shadow was moving across the horizon, Camus couldn’t make them out yet, but he could see the tiny black dots, slowly moving across the horizon towards the city. Sabis was talking to the Queen, but Camus didn’t have time to be polite. He put a hand on Moridanu and the Auditors arms. Waiting for Sabis to finish.

‘Have you heard of the ‘Mojan’Tusan Transdimensional spell? It’s old, very old, but I think I can do it, if I borrow some energy from the three of you, Arcane energy.’

He told the three Mages, The Mojan’Tusan were an ancient and extinct race of arcane beings, made up entirely of Magical energy, they were infamous and most magic-using-beings had heard of them.

‘I’ve been working on it, I think I can do it, I’ll be able to transport all the civilians and wounded out of the city, while the rest of us defend the Elves for as long as we can. Your highness?’

He said, looking directly at the Queen this time. He could see how tired she was, she was being pulled too thin, but they didn’t have time, Lucien was most likely on his way to finish them off, and he’d succeed too, this time.

[Moridanu]

*Moridanu hovered worriedly over Camus as Terrance looked over and told her he thought they had learnt all they would from the Elf. She nodded sadly, her shoulders slumping as he warned that they should prepare for battle again. Surely she could have a few days rest? Lucien had claimed her beloved Kendelah as his own, and her skin crawled as she thought of what he could be doing to her home at this exact moment. She had lost countless friends, loved ones and allies and her heart was in constant torment as she worried about Crowe. Yet, there was no time to rest, and she waved a hand quickly in front of Camus, trying to revive her old friend just as Terrance threw the Elf out the window and made short work of him. The fact that the Elf exploded made her shudder as she realised how close they had all come to being blown to smithereens.

She was so shaken up, that Moridanu simply shut down. She was vaguely aware of Terrance looking oddly different and saying something about the need to move on, while Camus regained his strength and started talking about the soldiers and the civilians. She registered the fact that Sabis had returned and she even heard the ear piercing scream, but no emotion registered on her face and she seemed incapable of doing anything other than staring blankly ahead. From somewhere deep inside, the essence of the Queen of Morthika was screaming at her to snap out of it and to leap to her peoples defence. But the rest of her body just screamed back and told the Queens essence to go fuck itself.

It was just about then that her body decided to follow her brains lead and shut down. Moridanu slumped to the floor, with only a faint sound of a sigh escaping her lips. She did not pass out exactly as her eyes were still open and she was vaguely aware of movement around her, but she found herself in a strange reality where she was completely incapable of thought, fear, sadness or movement of any kind.

If she could have had the strength to move her mouth muscles, Moridanu would have smiled at this development. It felt so nice not to worry, just this once. She heard her own voice as if it was coming from somewhere within a waterfall telling her that it was okay. After all she had been through she was entitled a nice rest. If she had the strength, she would have nodded her head in agreement. Instead, she did all that she could: she closed her eyes. *

[Camus]

‘Moridanu!’

Camus called out in alarm as the Queen went down, he starred into her face, but their was no recognition behind her eyes, no movement or churning of energies. He placed a hand on her cheek gently.

‘Moridanu, wake up!’

He cried, tapping her cheek. As if she’d suddenly wake up. He probed her energies, trying to find a hint of a curse or a wry spell cast by the enemy, but he couldn’t find any source or malign magic, she had a natural magical protection other beings had anyway, he wasn’t sure she could be hexed. Camus looked up at the Other Demon Auditor hopefully.

‘We have to get her out of here’.

He said, trying to sound calm, all thoughts of a teleportation spell were out the door; he needed the Queen conscious and able. Camus looked out the shattered window; the cloud of Harpies was quickly approaching over the horizon. He strained his ears and he could hear their horrid screams of war on the wind.

‘Nothings going right’.

Camus whimpered quietly.

‘Sabis, see if you can bring the Queen back with your healing abilities, Keeper try and postpone the Harpies attack, I’m sure you have a trick or two to distract them. I’m going to find out people and send them off; I’ll meet you back here!’

Camus said, pulling himself up he leaned forward and kissed the Queen on the forehead, and hurried out of the room. His body ached and his mind was abuzz, he could feel an uncontrollable anger rise in his heart, it wasn’t enough that Lucien had taken Kendelah, he wanted Morthika, and everyone in it to bleed. Camus hurried down the winding hallway; he wasn’t sure what he was looking for exactly.

‘Ha-ha, little Faun are you lost?’

An Elf said, launching himself through a doorway and into the corridor, the Elf looked normal enough, but his eyes shone with a red gleam that Camus knew was supernatural. Camus growled a noise he had never made before. With one long stride, he lifted his goat-like leg and kicked the Elf in the chest with his large oversized hoof. The Elf’s chest made a sickening crunch and his chest simply caved inwards. Camus hissed dangerously and continued on his way.

((Couldn't resist! Havent proof-read so forgive me in advance!))

[sabis]

Looks like talking can wait. 'He turns to The Auditor and nods towards Mori, gesturing for the door with his hand. He snaps his left fingers and his greatbow appears, the circle set into the back of his glove flashing once as the glove's magic activates and summons it. He nocks an arrow as he steps calmly for the window.' Get her out of here. I'll cover you and catch up. Don't worry about me, I was going to explain, but the reason I wanted the Queen to recover my blade and my pendant if I die is simple. I'm one of the Immortals. And a former deity. They are important artifacts. Take her, protect her! I will ward off Pruaga and her spawn while you escape, and I will find you. GO!

'Back to his usual acrobatics, he leaps from the window, nocked bow in one hand, throwing his grappling hook and rope up the wall with the other as he soared, catching it under his arm and with his feet, he pulls the bow back once, and lets fly. Somehow, six harpies eat arrows of lightning with that, a huge rumble of thunder blasting along with them. The ranger swings upwards and lands on a rooftop, letting fly again and again as he leaps from roof to roof, making his own path. Once they get closer, he seals the bow in his glove again and pulls his blades. His hood up again he does what his kind do best: he kills. One harpy, ten, fifty. Dodge, parry, slash, catch the falling spear and throw it upwards, every movement results in the death of an enemy. Normally he doesn't like to be obvious and flashy, he is a duelist, prefering one on one fights with true combat masters. But he had to buy them time. And he wasn't afraid to show his true power.'

COME, FEATHERED FIENDS! Meet your DOOM at the hands of Sabis, the Bladelord, Patron Lord of Archers, the King of Immortals! I will flay the feathers from your wings, and the souls from your bodies at THE SAME TIME!! 'His challenge is part of his game as well, he hopes to draw attention, not only of the harpies, but of the locals. Elves are well acquainted with ANY deity related to archery and swordsmenship, and to see him, here, alive, and fighting these beasts could bring many to his side, and thus, the Queen's. It also gives the harpies pause, and Sabis hopes will draw out the leader so he can remove their air superiority for the rest of the war.'

[The Demon Auditor]

Time slowed for the Demon Auditor as Moridanu's limp body sunk into Camus' arms. Was she hit with something? Had she been poisoned after all? Was he really too late?

His legs felt like they were propelling him through jelly as he ran toward Mori and Camus. The clothing snapped back around him like a video of smoke in rewind. He leaned forward and held Mori around her back as Camus let go, giving him some sort of direction or advice. All he could see was Mori's face frozen in stun mode.

As Camus left Mori's side, Terrance lifted her body into his arms. Reality was starting to move at a normal pace now. He nods to Sabis about the pendant and sword, numb to the meaning of the words but still conscious of them. After Sabis takes his flying leap and Camus ran from the room, Terrance looked down at Mori's face. Nothing seemed wrong at all, he couldn't figure out why she had just given up... But that's exactly what she'd done. Suddenly he felt angry and hurt at the same time. She was preparing to give up, after all they'd fought for, after all everyone who supported her had gone through.

He could remember the first day they met, bumping into each other at a random inn out in the sticks, laughing and drinking long after closing, and all the while a sparkle in her eye. Even then she knew the impending doom hovering over the land, and she had been actively recruiting strong warriors. She was full of hope. And now, after surviving the bitterest defeat of her life, she was ready to lay down and roll over. Had she grown so dependent on others she could no longer stand on her own two feet? Had he really fallen in love with such a weak woman?

He stared into her eyes, the anger leaving his body. "Come back to me, Mori..." he whispered, "The land needs its leader and protector. ...and I need you."

With a sense of resolve, he stepped toward the balcony open to the city below. He held her firmly in his arms, his coat whipping around him as if in a violent wind. Her armor and weapons, and the rack of clothes he'd set out for her were dragged across the floor by shadowy tendrils, then pulled into the trench coat. With the belongings secured, his coat flapped and went stiff behind him, flexing into a pair of large bat wings.

"Fly, my pets..." he said softly, glaring at the oncoming harpies. A new cacophony of screeches joined that of the harpies, as hundreds of small bat-like creatures flew from the depths of his wings. Though small and weak, they were numerous. They only had tooth and claw to fight with, but were leeches of a sort, too. They would aid Sabis in his fight, plowing into the crowd of harpies. Even the mightiest mega warrior or supreme Italian plumber could be defeated by a simple bat, the harpies would be no different.

With his horde unleashed, he stepped up to the railing of the balcony to the side, and jumped with Mori secured against him. He could remember where he'd left the troops and citizenry of Kendelah, it was just a matter now of gliding his way there...

[Queen Pruaga Sorrow]

The Harpies of the North attacked. The Sky was blotted out by their sheer numbers; their horrid war cry broke the relative silence. Not only was it a terrible foreboding for death, but it also worked as a weapon, shattering ear drums and bending steel. The women flew in formation, Queen Sorrow at the forefront.

‘Sisters! Tear the flesh from their bones!’

Pruaga screeched. She wore a heavy metal breastplate and a short metallic war skirt. Her inverted knees curved backwards, her large bird-like talons raked through the air, razor sharp. The Queens feathers the deep red of blood and her long braided hair flew behind her, the same rich colour.

As the Harpies began their long swoop downwards the tiny demons hit. Suddenly the sky wasn’t just filled with Harpies. Sorrow swung her long pike in a wide arc, smashing the tiny creatures into paste, but several of them managed to latch onto her, literally sucking the blood from her. Pruaga hissed and tore at the creatures. She took in a deep breath and screamed directly at the oncoming creatures. They exploded with the force and many of her sisters started to do the same, but many also fell, overcome by the horrid demons. Thunder echoed around Queen Sorrow and even more Harpies fell.

‘You!’

She screamed angrily, she had fought the Ranger once before, during the war. Pruaga fell into a dive, screaming loudly, she saw the Ranger pull out his blade. Pruaga landed with an earth shattering thud, Her Talons digging deep into stone.

‘Sisters, Leave the elves under Lucien's sway alone, take everyone else, this one is mine!’

Pruaga screech, she swung her pike expertly, pointing it at Sabis' throat.

‘You’ve already lost’.

She taunted, her beautiful features twisted in blind fury.

‘You’ll spend the rest of your miserable life running from me and mine!’.

[sabis]

'The wiley old ranger grinned beneath his hood, then threw it back, honoring his foe greatly. He even sheathed his wakizashi, taking a two handed grip on his katana, assuming a wholly differant stance then he's shown thus far. Now he's ready to duel, to fight a serious opponent one on one.'

Come now Pruaga. Even you should have figured out by now Lucien is using your people as fodder. Did you think HARPIES, of all creatures, would be right for an attack on ELVES, masters of archery, my former followers? I was a GOD once, far more powerful then Lucien, and I know his kind. He WANTS you here, now, to fight us, to die here, so he won't have to share with you. He knows full and well that I WILL kill you. And there is nothing that can stop me if you fight me.

'His tone is cold, harsh, honest. The gentle blue sparkle of his eyes a raging maelstrom now, a hurricane in each orb as he squares off, suddenly leaping forward and slapping the pike to his left with his sword, using the momentum to spin around counter clockwise and make another leftward slash at Pruaga herself, directed for center mass.'