Rising from the ash..

[Camus]

Idabelle faced the Queen as the temperature began to rise uncomfortable followed by a tiny tornado. He gaze didn’t falter though, even as her hair began to curl due to the heat. Idabelle snarled, her once beautiful features morphed into a feral cat.

‘Queen? Clearly you’ve been asleep for too long Moridanu; you are a queen with no throne. With no kingdom. You will not be able to defeat Lucien on your own’.

By this time Camus had collapsed, Idabelle let him limp body slump against the opposite seat, he was spent, and he’s been fighting in the war and using his magic for days without rest. Idabelle fumed her blonde tussles of hair curling around her face and shoulders. She shook with anger, but never faltered from facing the now terrifying queen.

‘Where was Yellederia oh famed dread queen? We are a separate nations and the quarrels of man mean little to the proud white elves, but we decided to help you, because you are clearly in need, but this was before your own people came looking for sanctuary, because their queen couldn’t offer them any!’

Idabelle closed her eyes against the onslaught of hot wind directed right at her, tiny fragments of dust cut into her skin, but she ignored the pain and continued to stare the queen straight in the face.

‘When they told me the Queen of Moridanu was a kind caring woman who would never betray her friends, I thought you would be the only people that could safe Phoenix and my people, but you are a selfish single-minded woman, who has been Queen for too long. You want to know who I am. I am the leader of my people fighting to save my nation. Who are you?’

Idabelle spun on her heels and kicked the carriage door open in a surprisingly feat of Elven strength, the door burst open, and she picked up longbow.

‘I hope you sleep well at night knowing, you are responsible for not only Morthika falling, but also Yellederia. The one thing Talisen Phoenix said to me, is that Moridanu would come for him. Now I leave to tell his dwindling mind that no. you won’t come for him.’

In one swift motion, Idabelle leapt from them moving vehicle, vanishing between the trees in the distance.



Meanwhile – Yellederia

The Whirlpool continued to spin chaotically, the circle of priest still tried to contain the magic, each of them juggled electricity between their fingers. The ball of pure energy at the heart of the whirl screamed in pain, its core being torn apart, still without vessel. Three more priests simply dropped dead, leaving two remaining.

[The Demon Auditor]

The Demon Auditor kept his cool as Mori swung her legs and fists in her sleep as he carried her into the dragon tank. That's what he decided to call it, anyway. Seemed like a fitting name. He placed her in the seat as she started coming to, relieved her crows came to her aid at last. He even gave the crow a 'what took you so long?' look as it sat in judgement of him.

Mori's sudden rejuvenation pleased him, and while he wished to express his satisfaction with her sudden burst of energy, he also kept trying to stop her so he could explain everything. She was just too enthused, though, and drew up the mist before he could introduce (and force introduction of) the elven woman with Camus. He couldn't remember her name, though, was it Isabelle? Ida Bella? Dakota Fanning? Sheesh.

Finally Mori calmed down enough, wrapping his arms around her as she started to relax. He took a deep breath, "Hey babe...we should probably talk to those two for a moment before we get all gung-ho..." But before he finished, sure enough Camus pressed the issue and Mori's barrier fell. He groaned in agravation as Mori and Idabelle began their spat. "Seriously?" he grumbled, "Fucking seriously? We have to do this right now?" His words were completely thrown away by the wind and heat, though, and he just stood in the background muttering to himself.

Finally Idabelle left in a huff, both she and Mori throwing the door open at the same time. With his head in his hand pinching the bridge of his nose, he reached out with his other arm and the sleeve extended into a black hand, grabbing the hatch and slamming it shut. "Letting out all the warm air..." he muttered.

"Okay, can we now please calm down and think about this for a minute? This is what I was trying to tell you before we got all side-tracked," he pleaded with Mori, "I understand Crowe's in danger, but really that lady did tell me before you woke up that she was here on Talisen's behalf to get us to safety."

He held up his hands defensively, "She didn't tell me anything about helping with some soul-housing thing-a-majig, so that was news to me! But don't you think, just for a moment, that maybe Crowe can hold out a teensy bit longer than Talisen if what she said is true?"

He sat down again, leaning on his knees and looking up at Mori, "I mean, obviously, it's totally up to you what you want to do. I don't think poor Camus there is in much shape to do anything right now, though." He thought for a moment, then looked up again, "If there's a faster way to get Crowe, could he help save Talisen, too?" A smirk flashed on his face. He could easily out-run a dragon tank if it came down to it.

[Queen Pruaga Sorrow]

Pruaga couldn’t tell what was happening below, perhaps her first presumption that the Queen was being devoured was too hasty, her sisters continued to fall out of the sky, each one caused a little spasm of pain at the back of her neck. She was preoccupied, the Ranger launched an Arrow, Pruaga dodged it, but then three more flung through the air, crackling with electricity, they struck her right in the chest. She felt her body contort and spasm with pain as electricity traveled through her body. She was knocked off her feet and she landed hard rolling away from Sabis, her body charred and smoking.

Pruaga laughed, coughing up smoke and blood In the process.

‘You think that’s enough to kill me oh god? I’m a Harpy, we’re resistant to magic’.

She reached for the charm around her neck, she was unable to perform magic herself, but when she had chosen sides with the dark Lucien’s second had given her the necklace in case things got bad. Now Pruaga was no great friend of Elyza, they tolerated each other of course and Pruaga even respected the woman, what she couldn’t get a grasp on however was the woman’s sickening madness.

Pruaga wasn’t happy that Elyza would know the charm had been activated, but things were indeed dire. Pruaga ripped off the charm and smashed against the rooftop, a loud crack of thunder could be heard around the kingdom, the harpies began to immediately retreat, just as the crows began to fill the sky and start attacking the group that remained. Black Smoke exploded from the charm Pruaga had destroyed.

‘Enjoy’.

She said silky as the building she was sitting on simply exploded in flames and smoke.

[sabis]

'He saw it coming, in a way. He knew he'd have to get off the building at least. While Pruaga was chatting at him, he dismissed his bow again and grabbed his cloak. Once she smashed the charm, he reacts and grabs up his sword, knowing SOMETHING bad is coming. He prepares as best he can in the moment he has, but he couldn't exactly predict WHAT.'

When the building essentially detonates, he has no reaction time. Thankfully he was on the roof. And better still, his Immortality. He smiles and waves at Pruaga as the blast occurs, even as his skin gets scorched, blisters, even chars in some places. His clothes may be resistant to such damage, but as tough as his body is it still burns. He's flung off the building, much farther then he should off been. He actually jumped with the explosion, allowing it to propel him, exactly like he did when he entered the Queen's city. And again, he has himself proppeled towards the Queen. Having seen the great mechanical beast and which direction it was travelling, he knew which way he had to go.'

'He hopes and not quite prays that the drivers can see where they're going. It would take alot longer to heal after being crushed then it will to heal his burns and what injuries he's sure to receive here momentarily, when he impacts the ground and rolls, the impact knocking him out cold.'

[Moridanu]

*Moridanu didn’t even bother to listen to the strange Elven woman as she let loose with a string of insults and name calling. She had no time to waste on people that claimed to be from a place separate from Morthika and therefore free of the worries of war that had plagued her people for so long now. All she cared about was saving Crowe, and as the woman droned on and on, Moridanu rolled her eyes to the ceiling as she tried to drown out the woman’s annoying voice and focus on Crowe’s energy.


The entire time that he had been missing, Moridanu had felt strangely disconnected from his energy which was alarming within itself. Being created for the sole purpose of being her personal protector, Crowe had always been able to feel Moridanu’s presence and energy regardless of how far away she may be from him physically and vice versa. However as soon as he had been captured, that bond had been crudely severed. Because of this, she had feared that he was indeed dead, although she refused to accept this deep down. Now, since her brief moment of collapse, she felt reconnected to him somehow and she reached out with every fibre of her being to see if she could sense him at all. Finally the woman had stopped her ranting and had leapt from the vehicle, the momentary silence allowing her to focus her mind more intently. And then, she could feel him.


He was weak, incredibly weak; but as she closed her eyes she could see him in her mind’s eye enough to see him raising his head to look deep into her eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but his voice was nothing but a raspy whisper. As Moridanu focused more intently on him, those in the metal beast would think that she was in somewhat of a trance, though albeit briefly as time seemed to have stood still. Moridanu took a deep breath as she tried to focus on more things around Crowe that might give her a clue as to his surroundings. She winced as she saw blood on the floor near where he lay, shackled to a rocky wall. She knew immediately that it was his blood and a lone tear slipped down her cheek as she looked back to him, noticing for the first time the deep lashes, cuts and welts carved into his skin.


Her shock at seeing him in such condition forced her from her trance and she gasped out loud, just in time to hear Terrance speaking to her. She nodded thoughtfully as he spoke, taking deep breaths to calm herself before she answered him.


~I have every confidence that if it be in my ability t’save Talisen, then it shall be done. From what I heard, it appears that he has beings already working around the clock to help him and I am sure they can manage until we arrive. Crowe however has nobody but me and I do not intend to let him down. This may make me a selfish woman who has lost all essence of being a Queen, and that if that be the general consensus then so be it. I can only do what my heart is screaming at me to do, and that is to save Crowe. If ye and Camus think it best to rush to Talisens aid then I will understand. I will go ahead alone and when I have rescued Crowe, we will both follow in due course. However, I could use ye help to find him, and I can guarantee I will have more success in helping Talisen with Crowe by my side. If ye know of a faster way to reach him, I am eager to hear it..if ye choose to stay that is..~

She sat back down and looked up at Terrance.

~The choice is yours~

[Talisen Phoenix]

Meanwhile

The Sacred Pool of Yellederia

Idabelle moved through the trees with ease, so familiar was she with the forest that bordered Morthika and Yellederia; she dodged trees with breakneck speed, her body almost moving too fast for the eye to follow, blessed with natural speed and grace that all White Elves possessed. Her long braided platinum blonde hair followed behind her like a family banner.

She arrived at the edge of Yellederia, panting and clutching at her chest, she’d never run so far and so fast before, She took a deep breath before launching herself into the air, landing on her delicate feet and running as fast as her body could move, causing every joint in her body to scream in protest. She came to her family home, no manmade structure, only the incredibly tall white trees that were associated with her family. She could feel the eyes of one hundred Yellederian guards on her and their arrow tips no doubt, but Idabelle waved them away, she had finally stopped running and was walking briskly through her family’s forest, Families in Yellederia were known as Houses and her house was the upmost of Yellederia. Idabelle would be next in line after her father, who had gone on the Yellederian crusades years earlier. Idabelle began removing her outer layers, for it was forbidden to wear such garments when visiting the sacred pool. When she reached the edge of the pool, dried tears were plastered across her perfect features; she wore only a loose white undergarment, a shift of sorts. She was barefooted and her long hair hung loosely behind her back, the edges still burnt from the dread queen’s fire.

‘No!’

Idabelle screamed when she saw how many of her family’s priest dead by the side of the sacred pool, only two remained, one young and strong, one old and withered. They juggled electricity in their fingertips. Passing it between them like it was a game, but in truth the magic was chaotic and dangerous. The pool was still churning dramatically spinning so the water was rising into the air and forming a whirlpool, Idabelle could see dead fish writhe on the pool ground where their was no longer water. At the centre was a ball of pure energy, the earthly manifestation of Talisen’s powerful soul. She could hear the man’s voice scream in pain, it echoed off the trees. She could feel a blast of heat and feel static electricity dance across her exposed flesh. Idabelle felt of sudden burst of rage at Talisen, because he still clung to existence he was breaking the gods rules, his soul would explode with the residual magicks he cultivated as a man. Because he had come to Yellederia, he would kill them all. Though she knew it wasn’t his fault, she immediately felt guilty.

‘Talisen, Your Queen has refused us, she will not come’

Idabelle felt fresh tears run down her cheeks, she should not had threatened the queen, but she wanted her to understand how dire the situation was, she was so adamant at changing the plan, the plan Idabelle had set into motion to save her countrymen. It had all worked out so well. Until she’d woken up. The one they called compassionate above all else.

‘She will come!’

Talisen’s voice, echoed out through the forest.

‘She will come!’

He repeated. Idabelle sobbed openly.

‘No Talisen, she won’t! She goes to her friend! She will not help us!’

Idabelle screamed, falling to her knees. When they had first met, he was so lucid, so intelligent and wise, she had immediately fallen in love with him, even without a body, his mind was fascinating. Now, he was little more than a collection of thoughts and magicks.

‘You need to tell me what to do Talisen, your Queen cannot come, what shall we do? Tell me!’

Idabelle begged her voice cracking. Her own people didn’t have magicians or mages, only Priests. There was nothing she could do. The ball of energy that was Talisen gave a lurch, turning into blue skeleton, tiny and frail; it reached a finger towards her. Talisen was trying, trying to create something out of nothing, but in his present state he was nothing but brute strength, he could work the magicks delicate enough to create a new body, a living and breathing homunculus.

‘She will come, She will follow the red, The Auditor and the Avatar must not a child bare, This dread King will be the end of everything!’

He said.

‘You’re not making sense!’

Idabelle screamed in pure frustration, She felt a hot wave of electricity and heat, Idabelle was knocked backwards, she pulled herself up with a groan, covered in dirt and mud her skin tingling. Another Priest was dead, leaving one more, he screamed in pain, young and strong, but managed to contain the excess magic’s. When he falls, Idabelle thought, there will be nothing left and Talisen will explode, leaving nothing but a smoking crater. His skin was red and peeling and his hair had all but fallen out, but he didn’t give up, and neither would she.

((Lets assume Sabis made it into the car before Idabelle jumped off, so he's been there the whole time, cool Sabis?))

[Camus]

Camus opened his eyes slowly, his whole body ached and he needed to sleep. His magic needed to replenish. He saw that Sabis had joined them, he smiled weakly and tried to stand up, but he stumbled. The Demon Auditor and Moridanu were still discussing the problem feverishly, but Camus could hear them, he could hear the Elves crying out in pain, nature itself was being twisted and convulsed. He suddenly felt a surge of foreign energy and thought of his mistress Oona, what had become of her? His oldest friend, who had saved his life more times than he could count. He also felt a new surge of contempt. He had given his life, his home, everything to the Queen, and yet she still looked down at him like he was a lesser being. A silly Faun, well Camus hadn’t done anything wrong. Idabelle was trying to save her country, just like Moridanu was trying to save hers.

‘This is ludicrous, while we argue; Talisen dies and takes a whole city with him’.

Camus turned to Sabis and places his hand on the Rangers chest, small vines and flowers spring Camus had and begin to crawl across Sabis’ flesh, repairing his many injuries.

‘Come Sabis, the Elves need us’.

Camus took a note out of Idabelle's book and kicked out at the door, it sprung open.

‘Demon Auditor, we need you.’

He said sternly before leaping from the open door and landing nimbly on his feet.

‘Can you feel that Sabis? Nature is in danger!’

Camus said to Sabis before launching himself in the direction he knew Talisen and Idabelle were. By the time they reached the borders of Yellederia, Camus was exhausted; he clutched his chest painfully, struggling to regain his breath.

‘Halt! It is forbidden step over the threshold to the Nation of Yellederia without invitation!

Someone called out from beyond the trees. Camus couldn’t find them, but he could feel a wave of corrupted energy.

‘We come with an invitation from Idabelle Whiterose! To help stop Talisen Phoenix!’

He could hear movement and suddenly they were surrounded.

‘Move with haste then Faun and Ranger! To the sacred pool!’

Camus followed the Elves through a maze of trees and treehouses until they came to the pool of energy. It was swirling like a typhoon. Idabelle turned to them, tears streaming down her face.

‘Camus!? The Queen?’

Camus shook his head sadly. The swirling energy was like fire, he could feel its ‘heat’.

‘Then all is lost.’ She replied.

Camus put his hand on her arm.

‘Not necessarily, I bring a Ranger of immense skill’.

Camus turned to Sabis.

‘Can you feel the energy? Talisen is a good man, but his time without a body has withered his soul and changed it from a wisp of energy, the hint of a man, to a terrible creature of pain and grief. We must construct a new body. But such a thing is beyond me’.

Camus said to Sabis.

‘Perhaps I can try, if some of the excess energy is siphoned away! Can you juggle energy?’

Camus asked, he took a step towards the swirling typhoon and put his hand out, electricity sprung towards him and swirled around his hand, Camus gritted his teeth and forced it to stay away and not electrocute him. The electricity danced in his hands painfully. The Skeletal blue soul cried out from the centre of the pool.

‘Help me!’

It cried horribly.

[sabis]

'It took him nearly the entire trip to regenerate. His injuries were severe, severe enough that without Camus' healing magic he would STILL be in unconcious. Most of his bones were broken, and more of his skin was "extra crispy" style then original recipe. When they reach the border though, he stands tall and proud, walking on his own two feet again.

When they reach Talisen he begins to analyze the situation. He is no mage, no wizard or sorcerer. His powers come from the world itself, blessings of the natural. Even the Quickening itself is a power granted from the world. But this is no natural thing he observes. Then he realizes what is going on.' Life.... that is what this is. The man is trying to absorb life from the world, to regenerate. His body is trying to take from Nature what mine does when I heal. But his method is causing his body just as much damage as the regeneration is healing, he makes no progress....

'He looks at Camus, a serious look on his unhooded face. He solemnly removes his pendant from around his neck, then his swords. He lays them all before Camus and turns back to the swirling energy.'

If I don't pull this off, give those to the Queen for safekeeping. I already told her what to do with them. Good luck, friend.

'After that, he leaps, straight towards the skeletal figure. He grabs the boney shoulders and stairs into the empty eye sockets, roaring in pain right along with the soul. But immediatly the difference can be seen. The power swirl slows as flesh slowly begins to form on the soul. But the cost is obvious as at the same rate Sabis' own flesh diminishes, peeling and shredding off his body'

[Talisen Phoenix]

Camus watched in horror as Sabis threw himself into the cyclone of energy.

‘Sabis no!’

Camus called out but it was already too late, his flesh was beginning to fall apart, the skeleton that was Talisen Phoenix was only a visual imprint of Talisen’s soul, their was no body. As Sabis gave over his own energies, the bones began to grow.

‘Sabis! Don’t do anything, funnel the energies away from the elves and back into the soul!’

Camus knew that even Sabis didn’t have the abilities to reforge a new body, he didn’t know Talisen well enough, at best all he’d manage was a hulking mass of flesh and bone, only the mystical connection that Moridanu possessed would be able to reforge Talisen. She knew him best of all and her magic came from the gods themselves, Talisen was a creature of magic, known to The Morrigan.

Talisen gave one final scream, the energies turned from electricity to fire churning and burning in a circle around Sabis and the sacred pool. Idabelle clutched at Camus, who was still juggling excess energy. Camus flung it into the sky, it erupted into a fireball of pure magic launching high into the air and exploding above them. The lone Elf priest was young and strong, but when the energy converted form electricity to fire, it was far too much. Talisen and Idabelle watched in horror as the young elf was consumed to ash. There was simply nothing left of him.

‘No!’

Idabelle cried out in pain, dropping to the ground, still clutching Camus, but Camus wasn’t present. His eyes were glowing a dark green colour. His tattoos were blowing red, almost bouncing off his skin.

‘Goddess above, Dark One below, Give me the strength!’

He called out in a voice that was no longer his. He moved through the fire and towards Sabis and Talisen, Talisen was bone and muscle now. While Sabis was melting away. Camus put one hand on Sabis shoulder and the other on Talisen’s; with a grunt he managed to pull them apart. Talisen groaned loudly, fire erupting from his empty eye sockets and mouth. Camus was whispering feverishly. Talisen turned to Camus, muscle still growing on his broken body.

‘Take from the land; reclaim your body, Callus Dorgretti, Tarva Do, Melit Dumbarra Questo Yoo!’

Camus said loudly, his voice echoed deafeningly.

Idabelle watched as Camus seemed to be possessed, she could only see whips of what was happening through the fire, the heat was getting far too hot, she shielded her eyes and tried to get closer, but the heat pushed her back. She looked up at the sky; dark clouds were rolling above them. Suddenly a huge bolt of red electricity sprung from the clouds and struck the center of the sacred pool.

There was a horrible explosion, and Idabelle was flung backwards, she smacked into a tree and groaned painfully tasting blood. The Fire was gone; the sacred pool was bare of any water, only dry dirt. She could see Camus in the distance, motionless. She scrambled towards him. He was unconscious, blood was smeared across his face and chest and his body was badly burnt. Idabelle looked for Sabis but couldn’t see him, perhaps he was burnt to a crisp like the elf priest, or maybe he had been pushed aside by the explosion like Camus.

There was a hole in the center of the sacred pool where the lighting had struck, where Talisen had been seconds ago. Idabelle could make out red liquid bubbling at the core of the pool. Talisen was nowhere to be seen.

((Excuse the typo’s!))

[sabis]

'About a half mile away, an elf scout simply on patrol is hit, hard, by a flying weight. In the minutes it takes him to stand and regain his senses, some of the flesh manages to reform over the left side of the face, the worst damaged part of the head. What struck him was a body. Most of one, anyway. Perhaps, half. One arm, the right one, the rib cage, a head and shoulder, as well as a right leg, all the skin blackened and crispy, at least what remains of it. Left leg, hip, and the bottom of the left side of the torso simply missing, along with the left arm to about 2 inches from the shoulder. The left ribs are visible, as is the left-most third of his skull and face bones, though new flesh is visibly starting to grow there, but the process is far slower then has been observed in him before.'

'He lies there, any doctor would say very dead, but his body is clearly functional, blood coursing through veins and in many places, right out of the body. While his body is able to keep blood within the flesh to heal, when there is no flesh, the normal flow can't occur. He is quite comatose for the moment, his body unable to sustain concious life in any way. Oddly enough, his clothes except in the aforementioned areas survived, treated to withstand such magical power in the first place only afew parts were overwhelmed.'

'Once the scout regains his wits, he looks over the body and starts calling for assistance, and a small team of them carry their guest back towards the pool, recalling who he is, and some of them even recognizing him for who he once was as a former deity to man and elf of the wilds.'

[Talisen Phoenix]

Idabelle watched in horror as the countries medics took Sabis away, broken and bruised, but alive, it wasn’t long before Camus was also taken away, placed on wooden stretcher, she watched him closely, he breathed slowly, but the medics said there was a chance he would never wake up. Idabelle sat down hard, it had cost her everything, bringing Talisen back had almost destroyed her whole kingdom, and where was he? Talisen was nothing but a pile of muck. Idabelle crawled towards the sacred pool; it was nothing but ash now. At its centre the red muck still bubbled, Idabelle sobbed softly and her tears fell into the mess of blood and gore.

Idabelle wasn’t sure how long she’d been crying, when suddenly she saw a hand spring from the blood.

‘Talisen?’

She whispered, the hand rose further upwards until a head and a torso protruded.

‘Talisen!’

Idabelle screamed. But something was wrong. The man covered in blood looked up at Idabelle; his long black hair was dead straight and clung to his skin bloodily. Idabelle could see long wide elven ears protruded from the man’s head, no not a man at all. A child.

‘Idabelle? What has happened to me?’

Talisen said.

[sabis]

'The bloody mess of Sabis' body visibly regenerates, but at such a basic level it would be hard for anyone of lesser constituition to watch. In the missing leg the bone can be seen growing, white and clean, until the flesh begins to grow slowly over it. A disturbing sight to be sure. The immense power imbued within his clothes allow them to slowly repair themselves as well, the destroyed fabrics pulling back together. It will be several days before he is even awake again at this rate, possibly longer without healing magics. But the old ranger won't be dying anytime soon.'