Avalon under attack

[Catrux]

A satisfied look flit over Sehkem's face as the creature cried out. The look was short lived however, because he became the center of the demon's attention. The creature was very evidently perturbed with Sehkem, the weapon the beast was using swung rapidly and violently at Sehkem. Doing his best to dodge the rather large weapon, he was clipped a few times setting him off balance leading to a direct hit.

He was sent tumbling to the ground, rocks and other debris lodged themselves into his flesh. In mid roll, Sehkem kicked off the ground and took flight. His wings stung from being smashed against the ground, though he pushed through it like the warrior he was. Halfway to the beast, Sehkem saw the form begin to melt away, and be replaced by the true form of the demon. Noticing the stone appearance of the skin Sehkem realized his blades would be little use.

Immediately Sehkem beat his wings so that he would cease his approach and touched down, with a safe distance between him and the demon to assure that he would have time to use his spell. As he touched down a white glow began to spread across his body. The glow started in his hands and slowly crept to the wrists. Sehkem was planning to coat himself in potent holy energy. With this coating he would try and get close enough to grapple with the demon.

[Tak]

Dysis ran forward and slid her hand down her side, stopping at her flute. She pulled it out of the ribbon gracefully. She brought it to her lips, but as she did, she dropped it at the sight of the troll's change. It's deep purple skin began to melt away, like the wax of a candle. It was a demon. It had skin like rocks, little crater and crag-like holes. Sharp horns curved from it's scalp. The beast was so much more dangerous than a troll in the magic and intelligence department. She was speechless until Talisen yelled out. "Dysis, soothe the beast!"

She immediately reached for where her flute had fallen, and scooped it up. It was a little dirty. She couldn't play with a dirty flute, so she stopped to wipe it on her white dress, leaving a noticeable smudge of brown. She brought it to her mouth and began to blow. Smooth, graceful notes floated out from where she stood. What spell to cast? Best to put it to sleep, it'll make it easier on the other staff.

Deathly silence filled the air as Dysis directed her full attention to starting her spell. Moving her hand gracefully across the holes on her flute, a little bubble faded in at the tip of her flute, and began to fill with the image of little notes, swirling calmly in midair. At last new notes were finished being added to the bubble. Dysis pulled the flute from her lips and pointed the end with the bubble toward the demon. She blew, and the bubble shot toward the monster, washing over the monster as the sounds escaped from their prison. Hopefully, the demon wasn't immune.

[Domar]

Kaza couldn't believe that his blade wasn't piercing the beast's hide. He was one of the physically strongest creatures born on this plane, but his blade never once caused it harm. What infuriated him more was that the blade of the winged warrior had caused the ogre harm. However what happened next explained it all. The ogre started to melt. The body fell away and in it's place stood a stone skined demon. Kaza stopped his onslaught to quickly rethink his attack. He momentarly considered using the little magic he had, but it would tire him too quickly. Suddenly he had an idea. Kaza took his giant sword and pressed it against his back. Then he drug it across his back, slicing deep enough to make him bleed. He then brought his sword, dripping with silver blood, to bare. *Tis good to haveth an angel for a father* he thought to himself. Kaza then marched towards the demon with a grim determination, oblivious to the bleeding wound he had casued himself.

[Talisen Phoenix]

The Demon hissed dangerously as Sekhem began to glow with holy energy. He was a one man jury, judge and executioner. The Demon was almost mesmerized by the light show, perhaps Sekhem had other plans in store for the Holy Energy, but it seemed to be enough on its own, The Demon was particularly susceptible. The Notes began to hit the Demon, he swayed, drawn in by the peaceful lull even he wasn’t immune to, that mixed with Sekhem's holy energy, stopped the beast in place, he dropped the club and grunted stupidly, drool dripped from the beast mouth.

Kaza’s enchanted blade would this time find its mark, the creatures neck was not as strong as the rest of his skin, he fell, blood pouring from the open wound, onto his knees and finally the creature perished falling fast first onto the grass.

It was followed by a disturbing quiet, a portal began to slowly open nearby, it shimmer weakly, blue and white.
______________________________

Moridanu didn’t have to say a word. He too felt the sudden rush of power, darkness so black and perverted it physically hurt. Izienbelle was laughing deeply, her long pointed fingers flexed in anger and excitement, he noticed her long snake body twitch in anticipation. What he didn’t notice was his nameless student lunge for him, the Dagger drove deep into Talisen’s body, he gasped and flung his head back, his thin black hair flew around his face, sticking to the blood was slowly began to dribble from the side of his mouth, He staggered for a moment, and turned to face his student, she was afraid... and disturbed, he knew she didn’t know what she was doing.

‘We really need to get you a name...’

He muttered through a mouthful of blood, Izienbelle lunged, lashing her tail outwards, striking the dagger deeper into Talisen's chest and sending him flying backwards, he connected with two hard objects that might have been the nameless child and his Queen, he managed to pull himself up into a sitting position, resting against a broken stone.

Talisen’s large black dead eyes pulsated with power, lost energy. Energy Izienbelle could sense, it was a trick Talisen had taught her himself several things happened at once. Izienbelle recognized the power and began to shriek loudly, for the first time she noticed Moridanu in the small torture cell, she began to wail for Lucien at the top of her lungs. There was a rush of power; Talisen was focusing his own power as well as the power he had borrowed from Moridanu.
Moridanu would see Talisen look directly at her and speak softly in a language only they would be able to understand, it was the Tongue of Morrighan.

‘My Queen, take the children and go back through the portal, with haste. You must live to fight another day...’

The Last several words were strained and poignant. Moridanu was a force to be reckoned with true, but even the great queen would not be able to fight her way through Lucien’s minions and the dread lord himself, and since Elyza had gained the blade there was no telling what lied behind the cell door. As all this was happening, the nameless one would also see Talisen look directly at her; he sat with a dagger in his chest, as well as right next to her whispering in her ear and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

‘My nameless one, one day you will be headmistress, train hard and well, fight for all that is good and pure, no matter what you think that is what lies within your heart and soul, goodness.’

It was over. The portal was growing dimmer, it was now or never, Talisen took a deep strained breath, and his head lolled to the side, his large scarred eyes closed. Izienbelle began to shy away from Moridanu but she could already hear the sound of soldiers arriving, she risked a wide grin and her long serpentine body coiled around itself.

[Moridanu]

*Time was a fleeting stranger that could neither cease nor race within the walls of the cavern, causing a strange sense of disorientation to wash over Moridanu in sickening waves of dizziness and nausea. Rocking slightly on her boot heels, she reached out to steady herself with a shaking hand. Reaching blindly for the wall, she shuddered as another wave of energy hit her, this time a searing sense of dark power burned her senses and she blinked rapidly while holding her breath for a few moments to centre herself.

Regaining her composure, Moridanu focused her attention on Talisen just in time to see the student with no name lunge forward and stab Talisen with a long sharp dagger. Moridanu had no time to react, yet she was able to see that the young girl clearly had no control over her actions. Even as Talisens life force began to drain from him, the real attacker reared its ugly head again as Izienbelle’s serpents tail lashed out and hit Talisen, driving the dagger in even deeper. Even if she had not seen the attack, Moridanu would have known that Talisen was dying, she could feel his energy draining away. Her own energy, pledged to him a few minutes before, now returned to her invisible to all but herself. She saw it as a dark green wispy gas that slid low above the ground before disappearing under her boots. A high pitched scream filled the air, as Izienbelle became aware of her presence and called out to Lucien. Moridanu frowned slightly as she sensed the Dark Lords power in close proximity, the sound of his marching minions quickly growing closer.

Too much was happening, and she had no time to deal with any of it. Trying her hardest to ignore that ear splintering scream, Moridanu took a few precious seconds to reason as to the best course of action. Her first priority had to be Talisen; given their history together she would never forgive herself if she just gave up on her old friend. But as she looked to him sadly she knew that any efforts she made to save his life would be in vain. With this realisation weighing heavily on her shoulders, she turned to look at him as he began to speak to her in the tongue of Morrighan. Nodding sadly at his words, Moridanu turned her attention towards the young girl who’s name still escaped her. She listened as Talisen bestowed his epitaph upon her, her brow arching slightly as she heard that the girl would one day be headmistress. Still, Izienbelles high pitched wail threatened to erupt Moridanu’s ear drums and she finally stepped forward and focused her attention and energy on Izienbelle.

~Ye can stop that wailin’ right now if ye please!~ she muttered through clenched teeth as she simply reached out with both hands and snapped the girls head off her neck. The serpent body writhed while her decapitated head kept screaming for a few more moments before it finally fell silent. The sound of Luciens troops was louder now, and the shaking ground told her that they were mere seconds away. With one last look at Talisen, Moridanu spoke quietly in his head as she realised her friend had passed.

~Fare thee well old friend… I shall see ye in the next life..~ With tears streaming down her face, she knelt down and placed a silver coin on both of his eyes before she stood and took the young girls hand in hers. ~ Close ye eyes little one..~ she whispered, drying her eyes. ~This wont hurt a bit..~ And with that both Moridanu and the girl stepped through the portal and came out the other side. Blinking at the others who stood around her, Moridanu shrugged sadly as her eyes lowered. ~Talisen… he died protecting his school… he died.. a hero.~ she sniffed slightly before pulling the young girl forward. ~Before his demise, he has proclaimed t’is young girl to be his successor… she is t’be Headmistress of Avalon Academy some day. Until then, I shall train her in Talisens craft as best I can. She is…~ she paused, looking to the girl curiously. ~.. as of yet… unnamed…~ She looked at the girl. ~Pray tell.. what is ye name?*

[† The Jaxness †]

The momentum of her swing nearly made her lose her balance as the blade hit home, deep inside the man's chest. She took a quick step back in preparation for his defense.. but it didnt come. He stood and bled, turning to look at her while muttering something. A look of shock crossed her own face, realizing what she had done. She could hear her blood rush in her ears, drowning out all sound. A rapid movement from Izienbelle sent him flying back to land on top of her. The fall hurt, but she scrambled up quickly, breath coming in short gasps, eyes open with fear. She knelt close to him, not sure what to do. Eyes darting around, she figeted with her hands, unsure of where to put them. She looked from the woman to the man, then back again. Whether she was an enemy or not, she was too confused to act upon her instincts.

The man began speaking in a language she couldnt understand, only confusing her further. It felt as if the air around her was thickening, some kind of power was moving around. A sudden shrieking made her use her hands to cover her ears, eardrums straining before everything fell silent. The temporary deafness messed with her mind. So many things were happening around her, the decapitation of the monster, yet there was no noise. Tears fell from her eyes, fear taking her over completely. She strained to hear him, but she only felt his breath on her ear as he whispered. She felt that whatever he was saying was important, yet her hearing had not returned. Her frustration brought more tears, wet trails sliding down her cheeks to fall to the stone floor.

As his eyes closed, she panicked. Looking back to the woman, words escaped her, so she made a motion for her to help him. She whipped her head around, messy hair flying, and she used both her hand to try and nudge his body. Pushing him as if it would help in some way. Her chest felt tight, short pains with each breath. Standing, she looked down as the motionless body, all life drained. She felt a hand close around hers, but her sight never wavered. She continued to stare upon her victim. For the first time in all her life, she didnt feel her usually sense of victory after what she thought was defending herself. She was left instead with a great sense of loss.

Feeling the tug on her arm, she walked backwards into the portal with Moridanu. Back to where she was originally before she was pulled into the wall, she looked around at the faces of the other students. All eyes were upon them. She brought her filthy hands up to her face, wiping away the tears but further adding to the scrapes of dirt. The woman looked to her, as if in question. The school no longer shook as it had before. The students were no longer ridden with panic. Whatever was happening before seemed to be over now. She ignored the woman's look, staying silent. She probably wouldnt have answered her question even if she had heard her. An intense feeling of sadness weighed down on her.

With her shoulders slumped and her bare feet dragging on the cold floor, she walked forward. Moving between each person, student or teacher, she put only enough effort forward to keep herself from bumping into them. She progressed to the staircase that led up from the basement without pause. Taking each step slowly, she lowered her head, hair falling like a curtain around her muddy face. In no rush, she took her time as she retraced her earlier steps through several of Avalon's hallways. Ridden with guilt, she returned to her own dorm, and shut the door quietly behind her.

[Catrux]

Sehkem's preparations were cut short as his target was no more. Relieved yet disappointed, Sehkem took the energy that he was about to use and pushed it back down. The glow around him would gradually fade until there was nothing left to make him appear any different than normal. The concentration needed to suppress the magic he had been so close to using caused him to close his eyes. Upon re-opening them, he saw that Talisen was no longer among them. The gravity of the situation had yet to dawn on Sehkem, there were many explanations for why Talisen was no longer standing behind them.

Striding up toward Kaza and the body of the demon, he looked over it for a moment or two before asking "What should we do with the body? We can't simply leave it here for many reasons." Sehkem's left hand began to take on a white glow, as he looked at the demon. "I'm sure I could obliterate the body with some holy energy if no one has any objections of course."

[Domar]

As soon as Kaza calmed from his rage he responded to Sehkem. "Do as ye wish friend, but rather my mind resides with Talisen. Where hath he gone?" Kaza looked around for a bit for Talisen and the others who were with him, but when only the red haired woman and a child came forth from the appearing portal dread washed over him. Kaza could only shake his head when he heard the news of Talisen's death. He waited for the child to leave for a moment and said to the red haired woman, "Talisen saved me and to repay mine debt I shall serve the new headmaster until this hath been resolved or I breath no more." With that he turned to follow the new headmaster. He stayed far enough behind to give her a little personal space, but close enough not to lose her. She seemed to drift away in a world of her own. Kaza could not help but feel sorry that any burden as great as she had recieved should fall on the shoulders of one so young. He followed her quietly to her room and waited a few minutes before he knocked. Without waiting for a reply he said, "Regardless of what happened I shall be here to help thee in any way I can, even if the only help I can provide is to offer a shoulder to cry on. My name is Kaza and I am yours to do with as you see fit m'lady."