The Phoenix Blade

[Nakodai]

Nakodai sat silently by the lakeside, pulling leaves and bits of twig from the long ebony tresses that spilled over her shoulders and trying to wash the dirt and blood of the hunt from her skin. Her kill lay uneaten on a smooth rock a foot or two away, a bleeding mess of matted fur and vacant eyes that she somehow couldn't bring herself to look at.

She sighed, letting her gaze fall instead to the dusky sky reflected in the water. That was her human side, the part of her that could feel such guilt over something so small, and she resented it. It made her weak.

But it was all she had.

She stood and stretched, mewling slightly, her tail coiling absently around her waist. Suddenly a cry rang out, and Nakodai turned, ears flattening against the sides of her head. She could hear voices; and then another piercing screech, dark and feral. A shiver worked itself down her spine. Whatever it was, it was close. And it was dangerous.

Hurriedly she ran to a cluster of trees that lined the edge of the forest, pulling herself onto a low branch and peering into the clearing ahead.

The coppery scent of death was in the air.

[magic]

(Aeric)

The elf moved with grace through the woods, watching carefully the shadows as they stalked through, the others tearing through the underbrush where he glided around it. There was evil here, and he could sense it. There was good to. In all evil there was good. At least, thats what Rayne always told him.

Despite the over compensation for darkness, he still felt the urge to pull his bow free and knock an arrow from the mystical quiver. When he pulled at the string to test it, he found how perfect of a pull it was for him. He silently shook his head in wonder.

Talisen took care of his buisness with the tree. He said nothing, just watched around them. That was until there was talk of darkness, and help needed. Something inside him just felt sympathy at that. It was a strange feeling. So strange that he turned to look, as if the voice was just hitting him. He was so rapt in attention and in the feeling that he didn't even see the wolf coming. ODK, though, dispatched him though, with no trouble.

He didn't make that mistake twice. His eyes caught the yellow eyes in the trees. Aeric loosed an arrow between a pair, and already had another knocked as the arrow made a thunk in the wolf's face. He turned slightly to his left in a crouch and loosed another arrow, at another pair of eyes. The elf's sword came loose as one came out of the woods. He held the two handed sword in one hand, slashing upward at the animal's head. Quickly, he slung the bow, and stood, twirling his blade. "Are they done already?"

[Rafia Ragazzo]

Rafia hissed between his teeth, all seemed quiet; He flexed his fingers against the warm leather of his bullwhip hilt. Ume continued to snort loudly and slam his hooves against the dirt, his senses were even stronger than Rafia's and he could definitely sense something moving towards them through the forest, whatever it was it was fast. And nothing would stop Rafia from gaining the blade.

The distant noise began to grow, he could hear ferocious growling and it was getting louder, perhaps two animals were fighting? Yet as Rafia's keen eyes peered through the darkness, he could smell something, something foreign. Another cat? Sehkem, a wing penetrated his field of vision. The 'Angel' was fighting someone; Rafia hissed angrily, he simply did not have time for this. Growling like the cat he was Rafia leaped through the trees, he saw the struggle a demoness was attacking Sehkem, the fool.

With a twitch of his wrist, he unfurled his bullwhip, his skill with the weapon was astonishing, with another mere flick of his wrist Rafia tried to wrap the whip around Discords throat, he would tug savagely pulling her towards him and in the process kick out at the Demon's face with clawed toes. All the while as he slashed out at the demon, knowing full well she would ruin everything, his minion was retrieving the fabled Phoenix Blade as they spoke, and soon he would be a god among mortals.

__________

Meanwhile Camus heard the commotion above, he saw the winged man lift into the air, then the clearing he was looking for

"It's through there!"

Camus said terrified, he could hear commotion all over, fighting, the breaking of twigs and shrugs, If only Oona was in the forest… She would fix them all, Camus saw his chance, He took several paces backwards way from Elyza, he peered through the forest, the cat-man was kicking Discord and looked like he had her around the throat with something.

"That Cats killing your friend!"

He squealed, His chance was now or never, He took another step backwards and clapped his hands together, he melted into the forest and quick as the wind, but all was still not well… Not by a long shot.

[Talisen Phoenix]

Talisen wide sleeves opened somewhat wider and out of them appeared a long curved, blade. He held the blade like a tradition Morthikan Battle Mage, pushed against his forearm, he slashed out at the Wolves, twirling the Blade around his arm, but it always ended back against his forearm.

The Wolves were no fools, it wasn't long before the few remained began to back away growling and as soon as they arrived they had fled back into the shadows. Talisen stood up straight; his Black hair whipped around his face, his blade vanished back into the sleeves of his tunic. He could sense the rumbling in the forest, they were close

"Can you feel that?"

Talisen said to the others, his head turned in question, he began to make his way further into the forest, he could feel someone over them, someone mysterious, the essence was unusual, he couldn't quite pinpoint it, it was definitely not an animal... but at the same time it felt completely animalistic. Talisen ignored the creature who was watching down on them, if it attacked it would be sorry, that much he knew.

Without warning all hell broke loose, The shrubs in front of the clearing were ripped apart, a small crystal pond could be seem gleaming in the distance, a Demoness was being attacked by half cat half man, they struggled furiously, Sehkem was in the air, hovering over the pair, he glowed brilliantly. The Cat managed to turn around and hiss at the new arrivals

"More?"

He hissed savagely and moved quick, it was an odd movement Talisen had never seen before, The creature leaped forwards, leaping onto a tree, he hung off it, upside down for a split second, pulling his whip close to him, he lashed it out in front of him, the end coiled around a branch above him and with a smooth motion he swing from it, catching Talisen in the chest by surprise. Talisen flew backwards, utterly confused and ashamed he was so foolish. He slammed into the tree Nakodai was watching from, it splintered dangerously it began to tip. Rafia had spun back around attempting to catch Discord around the throat again, Talisen forgotten.

Talisen opened his eyes and began to pull himself up, he saw her in the distance though. What he feared

"Elyza?"

He said loudly as he lifted into the air with no effort, wind began to surge around Talisen, whipping his long black hair through the air

"We need to stop her…"

He said coldly to his companions.

[Nakodai]

Nakodai’s ears pricked up, she could hear the tree’s dying gasp, feel it splinter and fall away beneath her; and she made a graceful leap, landing solidly on the grass below. As soon as she knew she had her balance, she stood and looked quickly around.

A blonde man stood nearby, his eyes like forest leaves fixed upon the center of the clearing where one of her kind, with subtle differences, grappled with a creature of a less distinguishable nature. Something that looked human but wasn’t, streaked with blood and rage and reeking of death. A woman, the same kind of malice hidden under dark curls. An elf holding a bow in one hand and a sword in the other. Two men in the air; one winged and the other not.

“Stop who?” To this last she turned for answers, long hair whipping wildly about her face. Her voice was muffled only slightly in the unnatural wind.

“What’s going on?”

[Catrux]

Sehkem was about to throw his previous inhibitions away and tear into the Demoness, but then out of no where he heard Talisen's voice say somthing about Elyza and to stop her. Immediatly as if instinctively he turned and went after this "Elyza."

If Talisen was worried about this person then she is obviously quite powerfull. Sehkem was not scared not intimidated by anymeans, more intrigued than anything. Intrigued to see a person that seemed to worry Talisen. Sehkem flew off after Elyza, the more he focused the more he could feel the dark energy comming from who he assumed to by Elyza. He was getting close, he kept his holy/good aura around him to hopefylly aid him.

[lucien]

Lucien had been watching the entire scene play out, he had projected himself, in other words he was in essence there but undetectable since his body was elsewhere. He had taken an intrest in the cat, both actually, but he knew the female would be easier to sway in his favor. He could sense the Demon blood in her veins, the other wanted the Blade for himself, making him an un-likely ally.

Lucien's spirit, or essence, walked up next to Nakodai and once every one else was preoccupied with the other events, he quickly took her. She was instantly transported back to where his body was, along with his spirit now. Once she would open her eyes she would see Lucien and Damien Bloodmoon standing infront of her. Both were daunting on their own, as daunting as Lucien was he was still quite an attractive man.

Lucien quickly spoke, "Do not forsake your Demon blood, it will not forsake you. You are a Demon, you belong here with me and my troops. No where would you be accepted, nor trusted save for here. Come with us." Lucien looked hard at the Cat Demon, "Come Nakodai," he then walked away, waiting for her response.

[Nakodai]

Nakodai barely had time to blink, before the forest clearing and its inhabitants melted away from her. There was a pulling, a falling sensation like from a great height and she found herself in a dimly lit hallway. She couldn’t see much at first, but her eyes adjusted quickly, bringing the two towering figures before her into focus.

They were like the sun and moon: one clad in armor of fire and one in obsidian, one blonde and the other with hair the color of the deepest midnight. It was this one that spoke, this one that trained his crimson gaze upon her for naught but a moment before turning away.

The merest hint of a growl escaped her lips. Despite herself she could feel the blood he spoke of running hot in her veins, and she took a step forward, then another, her pace quickening until they were side by side.

“You speak of trust, yet you bring me here without my consent, without even telling me who you are, and then expect me to join your cause without question?” She said, frowning slightly as she looked up at him, her eyes like violet crystals glowing in the darkness.

“My loyalties are not so easily given; and I doubt you would want them if they were.”

[Catrux]

Lucien smiled, things were going as they should. Once he got her to trust him, he would most likely have her. "You are quite intelligent, one of the many reasons I brought you here. As for why I brought you without your consent, would you have come on your own? I think not, you wanted to forsake your demon blood Nakodai. Do not lose yourself. My cause is as justified as anyone elses." He looked again into her violet eyes, he for a moment thought about trying to dominate her, but decided it wouldn't be all to useful.

"I, and my troops, wish to bring about our revenge on the one called Moridanu. You would have your own legion of demons to command, the only two people you would have to answer to would be my self and Damien." Lucien kept walking, and touching seemingly random spots on the walls as he passed.

"I am the one called Lucien." His voice resumed its previous sound, like the voice of death should it have one. It was by no means an attempt to intimidate the demoness, and she would undoubtably know that.

(OOC: I'm also going to post this in Luciens lair, please continue from there.)

[Discord Lasarythe]

<>Discord’s wild eyes came to rest on the retreating angel and her ghastly face contorted in disgust upon realization of what he was. As far as this demon was concerned, they weren’t even good enough to be food and should be killed solely to rid the world of them. At the moment, however, he was not her main concern. Although his holy aura did little to faze her, it was the new and different scent of yet another living creature in the clearing that she was picking up on. It was as she stood stalk still and without breathing that the noise of this being’s fast approach reached her. She waited for him as if turned to stone, senses alert and eyes narrowed in concentration. This was the important one. This was the furry one.

The crack of a whip sounded directly behind her but rather than allow it to wind around her neck, she leaned out of the way and lifted an arm to catch it instead. The pain was minimal and served only to excite the demoness further. She watched for a moment as acidic black blood seeped from beneath the leather coils, then spun to face her prey. To her delight he was every bit as furry as he smelled. In one movement she’d grabbed the slack in the whip before her blood could dissolve it and jerked forward with all of her considerable strength. As speed and strength had always aided her in killing quickly and easily before, she saw no reason why they would fail her now. There was a reason no one before had fought her and lived to tell the tale. Even as she heaved forward to reel the feline in, she was aware that there were even more scents flooding the clearing. Wondering for the first time about Elyza, she looked from Rafia to Sehkem and then back again before calling to her friend.<>

“PET! It’s food on parade! Dissy found a KITTY! And a winged bug…but mostly a kitty! Where are you hiiiiiding?”

[Rafia Ragazzo]

Rafia to say the least was a little surprised when Discord lifted her hand with enough speed to catch the blunt of the whip instead of it slicing around her neck. Rafia was skilled enough with it that he could tear the shreds of someone's clothing without them feeling even a slight lick of the leather. He hissed dangerously,

"You will not stop me, nothing will stop me!"

He roared loudly, she was calling out to someone and at that moment a group of men entered the clearing, minions of the demon come to stop Rafia? He hissed dangerously and lunged towards the hooded man, he kicked him with a fly kick right in the centre of his chest, he flew backwards. Rafia landed on the ground with a smirk, but he felt the tug of his whip, Rafia spun through the air, loosing his footing by surprise. He landed in the dirt with a thud, he lifted himself up and pulled back on the whip, but she was much stronger, with a flick of his wrist the whip began to unfurl against the demons wrist. He swung it above his head cracking it towards Discords face hopefully striking the side of her cheek, it wouldn't be enough to stop her of course, it was theatrics, it would hurt like hell for any normal person though. Rafia clipped the whip back against his belt and reached for his sword, it was missing, he cursed loudly and gazed around, it was embedded deep into the earth near the hooded man who was now standing up and pointed elsewhere. Rafia needed to get the fight elsewhere if he had any hope at all at stopping the Demoness. Rafia growled and began to run towards Discord, he dropped one hand against the earth and lifted his body towards the sky, he twisted through the air, aiming a clawed kick at Discords chest, he landed gracefully on his feet and immediately lifted into the air, flipping and spinning his body around through the air like a windmill his closed fist a fury and heading towards Discord for hopefully another strike.

[Elyza]

*As Discord was several feet in front of her before she stumbled into the battlezone, Elyza had enough time and space to stop mid step and watch the scene unfold. She was so distracted by the shock of coming upon the scene that she failed to notice Camus disappear. Instead, she stood with a slight cocked hip as she watched with a focused gaze. Discord seemed completely focused on her battle with a furry feline looking creature while another creature with wings stood nearby, ready to attack. Elyza watched with an arched dark brow as the feline creature produced what appeared to be a whip and cracked it ominously towards Discords face. Knowing full well that her friend would be more than capable of looking after herself, Elyza instead turned to her attention to the other life-forces she was now able to detect. There were other beings nearby besides these two. Strangely, for a brief moment at least, she sensed Luciens energy nearby. With her brow slightly furrowed, she tried to reach into his essence, but he was gone before she was able to fully connect. Sensing that a full-fledged war was about to begin, Elyza began to draw on the energies of the forest around her.

The ancient oak trees began to groan and sigh as Elyza now sucked the energy they had been harvesting for hundreds of years out of them. Her dark irises expanded to fill her entire eyeball so that her eyes were now completely as black as the long dark tresses that began to whip around her head, driven by an invisible but powerful wind. Dried leaves rose from their shallow graves upon the forest floor to begin their final dance with death as they twisted and turned around Elyza in blurry haze of brown. Her hands faced downwards, her fingers splayed apart as she drew the energy up through the earth, allowing it to manifest in the form of the wind around her. She was preparing herself for an attack, though as she saw the winged creature begin to make his way towards her, she realised that she may instead be preparing for a defence.

She laughed in response to Discords chant

~I aint hiding anywhere..~ she called out to Discord.

~ And it looks like your winged bug found me… where’s a fly swatter when ya need one eh?.~ She pouted like a child, her bottom lip resembling a ripe plum as she stuck it out slightly, her dark eyes never leaving the winged creature. The wind was beginning to blow with such force now that as he moved closer to her, he would no doubt be at least partly affected by the howling wind. *

[Catrux]

Sehkem was flying dead at Elyza, when a wind started to hinder his flying a bit. He started imploying his own air magick and made a pocket for him to fly through. He made no response to her calling him a Winged bug, there were no need for words at the moment.

As he neared he pulled out his holy scythe with his right hand, leaving his left (the holy dominant) free. Her power radiated off of her, it was quite a surprise to Sehkem just how powerful she was. By no means did he think she was more powerful than he, one thing he did know was she would present an interesting fight. Once within range he slashed out with the scythe and prepared for a counter attack.

*Lucien: Lucien attempted to connect with Elyza, it was over a conciderable distance but he knew where she was which made things slightly easier. Once he thought the connection was well enough established he began communicating, "Forget them, get the Blade. Once you have the blade you can kill them all. The winged one may be of more use alive." Lucien left the connection open in case Elyza needed anything.

[Discord Lasarythe]

<>For a brief moment, it seemed to Discord that her new kitty was off to play with someone else. Fortunately, she still held his “leash” and it took but a single sharp tug on it to bring him to the ground and his attention back to her. It was only when he retrieved the whip from her arm that her dangerous temper began to flare and she was already stalking towards him, fangs and claws out and ready, when he realized he’d lost his sword. Sword or none, it made no difference to Discord. She’d have her kitty or, at the very least, it’s skin for a coat.

By the time Rafia decided on another attack, the demoness was much closer than she had been originally and had only to crouch slightly for his legs to pass over her shoulder while his claws scraped along her cold, pale skin. The thick, black blood that seeped from the wounds hissed and spit as it met the air and would serve as yet another weapon if she found she needed it. She took the opportunity of him being upside down to grab for the whip now clipped on his belt so that hopefully when he landed and started this third attack, she would have secured it to her arm (if she got it).

No sooner had the kitty hit the ground when he came again with spinning fists that worked more to Discord’s benefit than anything. She let the first of the fists to pass catch her in the side to slow his motion and caught the other arm as it came down to hit her in a death grip. Sinking her claws into his flesh, she immediately heaved downward to send him into the ground face down, possibly dislocating a shoulder from the force and angle she applied to his arm. She would then attempt to climb on him, driving her knee low in his back to hold him down while her hands moved to cover and pin his. The blood that trickled from her arm onto him would burn like acid through both clothing and flesh. The whip remained fastened to her good arm for the time being, if she’d managed to take it away.<>

"Such a spunky kitty you are. Dissy eats spunky kitties. If you’re good I’ll let you play with your string."

(Side note: All of that is negotiable. It was hard to figure out how to reply to three separate attacks without taking some autorific liberties along the way so I just did my best. I don't have a problem with you avoiding anything in particular.)

[Rafia Ragazzo]

Rafia breath caught in his throat, the demons strength kept taking him by surprise, she caught his fist in her hand like it was nothing and began to twist it, he felt his whip tug against his belt as it was being pulled. The Demoness dug her claws deep into Rafia's flesh; he tilted his head backwards and screamed loudly. He was thrown to the ground; his head hit the dirt painfully. His shoulders were being twisted and pulled behind him. Rafia hissed into the dirt as he heard a sickening 'pop' of his shoulder being torn out of place. Rafia held a new pain against his other shoulder, it slowly began to throb then burn, Rafia bit his lip and grimaced silently, he was pinned.

"Such a spunky kitty you are. Dissy eats spunky kitties. If you’re good I’ll let you play with your string."

Rafia spat in the dirt, lifting his head back helplessly

"Perhaps Dissy should work on her common; it's the language we speak around here…"

He said viciously, he knew arguing with the demon about her poor grammar wouldn't do much, but it made him feel better and allowed him to concentrate for a time.

"In my world, I would have slaughtered you a thousand times over; do you have any idea who I am?"

He said and his yellow eyes began to glow even brighter, he felt his meagre energies gather around him, he didn't have much as a mortal but what he would do he was good at, he pulled forth one of his creations through time and space. With a puff of purple smoke a tiny blue snake appeared. It looked like any other garden snake, except it occasionally cracked with blue electricity. It crawled over Rafia's face and onto his back with surprising speed. It began to wind itself around Rafia's forearm; amazingly it flattened itself out and moved under Discords iron grip, it rested its head in Rafia's palm before its mouth disjointed. The Snake opened its now large and savage mouth and crunched down, clasping it's fangs into the flesh of Rafia's palm. Rafia smiled under Discords grip. He could feel a new strength pump through his body, the familiar sensation of creating and taking away life. Rafia's hand immediately began to crack with electricity, enough to hopefully even shock and injure the Demon on His back. Rafia managed to spin around under the Demons grasp. Still lying on his back. Rafia swung his good arm back made a mist and lashed out with an electrified sukcer punch aimed into Discords face.

"Eat thunder bitch…"

His hissed dangerously with renewed strength.

((Waiting on Dan and ODK only))