Undying

[Legolover-361]

IC: EnaMorningBattlefieldThe raucous roars and clangs of battle faded to the back of Ena's mind.All right... there. On a Kikanalo, not moving, just watching.She drew her bowstring back to the side of her face, closing her left eye and using the length of the arrow as a sight. The string tickled her cheek. In her peripheral vision, she could see Amarthis still doing battle with the corpse.Steady...She drew away her finger.Twang.The battle-noises returned like a tidal wave crashing upon a shore. The arrow whizzed through the air en route to the Huntsman's neck; Ena, however, was already on the move, darting from behind a fallen column to one still standing in search of another angle for a shot.OOC: Note: The Huntsman is Taipo.

Edited April 10, 2013 by Legolover-361

[sonyaxe]

IC: Zaak, Battlefield

 

Zaak felt himself lift off the ground, and inwardly cursed. Of all the huntsmen, he had chosen to attack one that had telekinesis... go figure. When the kikanalo blasted him with sound, Zaak's ears were ringing and his vision was slightly blurry But, although slightly dizzy, Zaak called on his mask of elemental energy and unleashed a blast of plasma at the being's chest, hoping that plasma was close enough to fire to startle it and break its concentration.

[The Lorax]

IC: (Amarthis, Battlefield)

 

"Well, well, well. Here's something you don't see every day. A reanimated corpse of an undead creature," the Vortixx muttered as she took to what she saw as the most clever way out of the situation at the time: hacking with her sword at Valdsar's corpse, cleaving its hand right aside with a couple of slashes. She then lunged several more times at the reanimated Huntsman, attempting to chop the pitiful pseudocreature into mincemeat so Taipo's control over it would falter.

 

IC: EnaMorningRefugee CampThe raucous roars and clangs of battle faded to the back of Ena's mind.All right... there. On a Kikanalo, not moving, just watching.She drew her bowstring back to the side of her face, closing her left eye and using the length of the arrow as a sight. The string tickled her cheek. In her peripheral vision, she could see Amarthis still doing battle with the corpse.Steady...She drew away her finger.Twang.The battle-noises returned like a tidal wave crashing upon a shore. The arrow whizzed through the air en route to the Huntsman's neck; Ena, however, was already on the move, darting from behind a fallen column to one still standing in search of another angle for a shot.OOC: Note: The Huntsman is Taipo.

 

 

 

IC (Taipo, Battle): Amarthis' slashing took its toll on the corpse before Taipo could make it get up and move in close to the Vortixx so that making strong slashes would be harder. One arm was dangling only by a shred of sinew while a couple of large gashes in its chest were showing pairs of ribs. In spite of this, the undead undead kept pressing on, doing whatever it could to hurt, hinder or distract the Vortixx. It swung its hammer, attempted to kick her or grab her sword arm, anything Taipo could think of to heep the Vortixx occupied while he charged up his rhotuka. When he thought he had enough power, he fired it in her direction.

 

He didn't even see the arrow coming.

 

IC (Kehua, Battle): Kehua, though, saw it. He hovered above the battle on the back of his mount, which, unusually for the Wild Hunt, was not a kikanalo. Horo was a pahse dragon, and the speed-loving creature had been Kehua's choice of rahi to carry him to his death on Destral. From high up on Horor's wings, he had an overview of the entire battle. That meant that he could watch for things that the other huntsmen couldn't see and guard their backs. That doubly applied to his brother toa, Taipo.

 

The ex-toa of air noticed the archer carefully line up her shot, and see where its target was. He wasn't quick enough to prevent the projectile from being released, but he was sharp enough to divert it from its course. He drew power from his cyclone spear and sent a blast of winds toward the arrow. It clattered harmlessly against the wall of the chamber, so Kehua redirected his creation towards the archer who had fired the arrow.

 

OOC: Errr, Lorax, Takari's not on a Kikanalo right now. She jumped off to deal with the spikes, soo...

I'm just gonna assume that you'd want to bring her to the ground instead

 

IC: Takari (Battle)

She gasps as she's pulled downwards, stumbling as the Refugee hanks on her ball 'n chain. Seeking to stay upright, she lets the weapon fall, spinning 'round to face the being and sending the rope, hook, and rubble combo at his rather large body, making quite the target.

"You have skill, that I will admit. Still, you shall not win!"

Zakaro

 

OOC: Whoops, my bad. I should really pay more attention to details like that. Yes, trying to bring her to the ground is fine.

 

IC (Koranga, Battle): Koranga was pleased to see the wild hunter stumble - it means he had managed to put her off balance. Being off balance often meant a fighter got worried, which lead to them to take risks, and that lead to a fighter making mistakes. Koranga had seen an awful lot a battles, enough to know that that sequence frquently ended in pain. Koranga was always looking out for things that lead to pain.

And then the mistake came. His opponent had seen him deflect projectiles, and them hurl them right back, and yet here she was, trying the same thing again. The same thing that had made her stumble.

Koranga, though his blade, exerted a small telekinetic proeesure on the issile flying towards him. It wasn't enough to stop it - just enough to bring its flight under crontrol, and making it easy to catch. He snatched the rope out of the air and swung the makeshift weapon around behind him and acring it right back around to the way it had come. With his pain-fuelled strength, he trew it back at the toa with redoubled force.

 

 

IC: Zaak, Battlefield

 

Zaak felt himself lift off the ground, and inwardly cursed. Of all the huntsmen, he had chosen to attack one that had telekinesis... go figure. When the kikanalo blasted him with sound, Zaak's ears were ringing and his vision was slightly blurry But, although slightly dizzy, Zaak called on his mask of elemental energy and unleashed a blast of plasma at the being's chest, hoping that plasma was close enough to fire to startle it and break its concentration.

 

IC (Koriaha, Battle): Koriaha did drop the toa once he had attacked using his element. When Zaak's feet touched the ground, however, he would find that there was no longer a huntsman sitting atop the huge beast of a kikanalo. In fact there was no sign of the huntsman at all, which was odd, because such a large being should have been really hard to miss.

What Koriaha had done was wait until the plasma was close enough to him that its glow would obscure his outline from the toa's view and then triggered his ability to transmute his body into millions of grains of sand. The unbalanced pile of stone specks had collapsed in an instant, falling to the floor of the hallway near to where the toa's feet had been standing. By releasing his telekinetic grasp at the same time he transformed, he made sure that both he and the toa hit the ground at the sme time.

That was when he sprung his trap. While the refugee would hopefully be wondering where on earth his opponent had vanished to, (and maybe waving his limbs around in case Koriaha had turned invisable), he reformed his body or metal and tissue from its separate grains. When a moment before he had been blended with the dust and rubble on the ground, the next he was standing right behind the toa and driving his knee towards the toa's lower back. It was a complicated way of getting behind his adversary, but he felt a being of his stature could be allowed to indulge himself a little.

[Padishah Mehmet II]

IC: (Amarthis, Battlefield)

The Vortixx heard, behind her, the rhotuka whizzing towards her. Of all the weapons of this earth, the rhotuka was the one Amarthis knew the best.

 

She didn't have much time. Assaulted on two fronts, she opted for the logical way out: use one front as a defense. The undead undead was more a nuisance now than an actual enemy: its hammer swings hardly even happened anymore, considering they were done with a dangling, barely attached arm, and it hardly still had enough teeth to bite painfully. Reaching with her hand towards its pseudothroat, Amarthis literally pulled it, or whatever was left of it, up into the air and threw it upwards, before firing a rhotuka from her launcher, without activating its paralysis powers. Thus her Rhotuka was merely a physical projectile that, the very moment the undead undead corpse corpse descended towards the ground, pushed what little light remains of it stayed behind through the air towards the other rhotuka. The collision of the almost sacrilegiously desecrated Valdsar and the two rhotuka resulted, naturally, in an explosion.

 

Amarthis then did something what was only natural - grinned.

Edited April 6, 2013 by Eduard Bernstein

[Samus Aran-Bounty Hunter]

IC: Takari (Fighting)

Upon seeing her attack fail-again-she growls in frustration, even as she tucks and rolls under the incoming rope/hook/rubble. Just as she's starting to leap upwards, her Huna glows and she disappears, changing direction to roll to the left instead of upwards. Once Takari's on her feet again, she sprints, zig-zaging to be even harder to hit, towards Koranga, pulling out her only blade- one eternally bloodstained dagger, with a 'G' on the hilt.

She strikes, jumping up and aiming to leap right onto his back, and drive the dagger between his shoulders.

Zakaro

[Void Emissary]

IC: Thorego / Battle The rock Havoc tossed landed where it was intended, and Thorego leapt up - alarmed - as the attack struck. He gave a quick glance at Havoc before firing a beam of heat vision, and then exploding once more into a burst of wildfire that reformed a short distance away, once again paralyzing a number of Huntsmen with fear.

IC: Havoc deftly moved out of the beam's path, but was too slow to avoid his shoulder being nicked by the pure thermal energy. Like always, he felt nothing, though the faint, sickly-sweet scent of cauterized flesh wafted into his nostrils all the same. Nothing he wasn't used to (since those cowardly refugees were always using their dreaded flames against the Huntsmen), but the smell involuntarily brought back disquieting memories of Havoc's many deaths. Twisting around to face his opponent yet again, the once-Toa immediately back-pedalled to avoid the monstrous firestorm that greeted him. Cowardice, he thought, chastising himself, A true Huntsman feels nothing. But as quickly as the refugee had transformed into wild flame did he revert back into his true shape; a caped Skakdi, who was no more frightening to Havoc than any other opponent the warrior had faced. The shameful panic that had flooded his heart like poison drained away, leaving him as cold and collected as ever, and without a moment's hesitation, the once-Toa's axe was in his hand. So, little firefly, you think you can stop a soldier of the Hunt? he thought mockingly, as a cruel smile twisted itself onto his face. Unlike other Huntsmen, no battle cry erupted from Havoc's mouth as his axe flew from his hand like an arrow towards Thorego, the end of the chain caught in the nick of time to avoid it from being lost. -Void

[Toa Levacius Zehvor]

IC: Thorego / Battle

 

As the axe came flying at Thorego, the Skakdi almost didn't notice it - his eyes were still somewhat damaged from using heat vision earlier - until it became quite close. He was still able to quickly throw up his sword and swing it, deflecting the weapon to the side. Another Huntsman came charging at him, and he was forced to parry his strike as well... and then another. In fact, he too was getting surrounded.

 

Again, Thorego transformed into his incendiary form, allowing him to escape and move further back past the line, where he was less outnumbered than previously. Or, at least, had better ground. Despite his attempts, he could see he was hardly physically intact; at least, not one hundred percent. He was covered in nicks, scratches, and a few large gashes. There was an arrow embedded in his armor, but it mercifully had not penetrated his organic components yet.

 

-Toa Levacius Zehvor

[sonyaxe]

IC: Zaak, battleground

 

Zaak dropped to the ground and immediately got into a fighting stance, but saw there was no one there. Thinking his foe had turned invisible, instead of flailing around like most people, he used invisibility countermeasure #3: Superheat everything around him. Immediately, waves of heat poured out of his body, superheating the ground and air in a five foot area around him. Keeping up the heat with his mask of elemental energy, Zaak waited for his enemy to show himself, while slowly turning to his right to try to find his foe.

[Void Emissary]

IC:

 

No.

 

There would be no escape. Not for a refugee.

 

As soon as Thorego had transformed back into his normal, fleshy form, Havoc was ready and running at him, swinging his axe over his head, quickly gathering up as much momentum as possible for his attack.

 

Once the Huntsman was about a half-dozen feet away from his opponent he slid to a stop, swinging the weapon lower in the air, in a wide arc which was aimed to decapitate the Skakdi in one swift strike.

 

-Void

[Toa Levacius Zehvor]

IC: Thorego / Battle

 

Thorego saw the attack coming, and quickly moved to the side. Then, with a quick grin, he unleashed his heat vision upon the axes chain, intending to melt the chain and disconnect it.

 

-Toa Levacius Zehvor

[graggen2468]

IC: Ferro, Near battleFerro looked from the top of a boulder, looking at the battle below. "Well," he said. "Some beasties are fighting some Toa down there.""Help the living," said the Voice."Why should I?""Because you should.""No!""Yes!""Fine!" And with that, Ferro readied his bow and started toward mayhem, laughing maniacally.

[Simulacrum]

IC: Dröhnen Fulmen

War, a furor of battlecries, a wave of clamorous shrieks, can hardly be ignored. If pacific refugees existed, they would no doubt be driven insane by the chaos of the Twenty Seventh and a Half Battle of Destral. Fortunately, a pacific temperament meant a quick death on Destral.

Dröhnen was, in fact, one of the more extremely aggressive refugees, to the point where offense was the only defense she cared to use, greatly prefering to be assaulting an enemy force than securing an important position. It was for this reason that she decided to attack one of the largest Wild Hunters that she could see; A vicious monster of a being, who carried a weapon similar to hers, though decidedly smaller.

Her strides Pakari-powered, Dröhnen Fulmen charged into battle, beginning her assault with a testing attack, designed to determine the general method of reaction employed by opponents; A massive strike with her battleaxe, directed towards his unprotected spine, likely able to cleave a lesser being into halves.OOC: That would be Havoc, Dreadheart.

[Void Emissary]

IC: Battlefield

 

Time slowed down. In my mind's eye, I could see every move my opponent - now opponents - made, deconstructed down to their barest motions. I could see the Skakdi's vision burning through the chain's of my weapon, heating it up and beginning the melting process. I could see a Toa - a still-Toa, even larger than I - swinging a massive battleaxe aimed for my back, with the intent of cleaving me into halves, and sending me the long way back to Sorrowcliff.

 

I saw everything, and from my sight, power and focus flowed into my limbs like water through a canal, guiding my actions. Letting the chain of my axe go - a disappointing thing to do, for a Huntsman is only as good as the tools he employs - I twisted around to face the still-Toa, and with the power of my own Pakari, I grabbed hold of the shaft of her weapon, arresting its momentum as quickly as my opponent had begun it.

 

"If you think you're hard enough," I rumbled, a sound which to living ears would sound like the howling of wind in a forest, "Let us see your might compared to the power of the Hunt!"

 

-Void

[Toa Levacius Zehvor]

IC: Thorego / Battle

 

Thorego heard the clattering of the lost weapon, though his sight was gone for the moment. Rather than leaving himself open, he turned to flame once more, quickly moving to the axe that had hit the ground. Reverting back to normal form, he grabbed the weapon and, as Havoc was occupied, hurled it at the Huntsmans exposed side.

 

-Toa Levacius Zehvor

[graggen2468]

IC: Ferro, battlefield"A little more to the right, no, up, no..""Quiet!" Whispered the actual Ferro, attempting to shoot a Toa riding a Kikanalo (is that possible?). The problem was that another figure wielding a huge battle axe. He didn't have a clean shot. There was something familiar about the rider that was unsettling...Never mind. He fired an arrow, but the Voice threw him off, and the arrow went sailing right between the two warriors.

Edited April 8, 2013 by graggen2468

[Elrond of Rivendell]

OOC: Hope you don't mind a little more help,guys

 

IC(Blax, Destral fortress): A lifetime can be determined in a moment.

 

Especially in a battle. The split-second decisions, the pure reflex; each moment could either bring survival, or give the permanent judgement of death. Unfortunately for the refugees, the enemy had suspended these rules for themselves. The same could not be said for the former.

 

That was why Xeno was charging through the halls of a Makuta fortress, running straight towards a fight with some slightly translucent toa riding slightly translucent beasts. Blax had to shake the feeling that this was all a bad dream. What wasn't, however, was the fact that a toa and a Skakdi were both fighting one of the said translucent beings, and needed help.

 

"What'd you say to him this time, Thorego?" mocked Blax, sliding the last few feet to impale a rider off his mount. He casually aimed a few throwing knives, tossing them straight at Havoc's mask, or what was left of it. These undeads seemed more disfigured each time they revived. "Please tell me you didn't try calling him a Brakas' uncle."

 

-Elrond

Edited April 9, 2013 by Elrond of Rivendell

[Padishah Mehmet II]

OOC:

These undeads seemed more decript each time they revived.

No, they did not, please edit that.

 

I know this sounds like nitpicking, but edit that. This sentence implies you guys can just win by killing them more and more times, which you can't, in case you didn't get it yet, hehe

 

And sorry for the OOC-only post, but I'm a GM, I get to do this. =D

[Simulacrum]

IC: Dröhnen Fulmen

As the lifeless Toa turned, gripping her weapon, Dröhnen reacted, her movements flowing together effortlessly. As Havoc gripped her battle axe with strength equal to her own, Dröhnen removed a single hand from the weapon's hilt, balling it into a fist before attempting to slam it into the Wild Hunter's Kanohi. As soon as the attack was completed, she lashed out with her foot, sending it, powered by her Mask of Strength, into his shin, resuming her normal, two-handed grip on the weapon as she did so.

[Padishah Mehmet II]

OOC: Whelp, I sort of think you guys have had enough of a mass battle. Let's pull back for a while, shall we?

IC: (Battlefield)

Radamir observed the battle raging around him. He always did that - he didn't actually seem to ever feel something when he ever went into battle. He never felt the thrill of battle anymore, because the battles that raged around him were always so slow. Every move he saw as if it was in slow-motion. It wasn't a power or anything, really - it was just the weight of all eternity, all the eternity the Wild Hunt had to bear being placed on its king's shoulders.

 

And he saw. Today, the forces of darkness fought more valiantly than ever before. He, truly, was not expect such fierce resistance from their side.

 

He turned, and faced his squire, his eyes giving a clear command somehow entirely unshrouded by the blue light within them: Sound the retreat.

 

Even a Huntsman must sometimes flee, he reasoned, as he turned his Kikanalo back towards Sorrowcliff, to live to hunt another day.

[graggen2468]

IC: Ferro, battle"Aw, come on!" Said Ferro. "We were just getting started!" As the riders retreated, the unsettling thought reemerged. Then he saw him.It was Radmir himself, commanding the riders. "But that's impossible! Unless..."Time slowed down, and then reversed. He saw himself long ago, a shiny, sane Toa of iron, holding the line against the forces of evil. But then, the Makuta regrouped. Ferro saw himself turn and run."Stay and fight, you fool!" He shouted at his past self, but he turned and fled the battle, leaving his comrades for dead. Ferro returned to the present. No time had passed. Feelings of guilt surrounded him."I should have been with you, brothers, and died fighting.""Do not focus on the past," said the Voice. "The only way to face your insanity is to face your old allies."Ferro started off towards the army that had defeated his old brothers, and as his insanity returned, he began to mumble about a Kikanalo playing kholi with a visorak.

[The Lorax]

IC (Wani, Mutran's Lab): Wani crept on through the fortress, hpoing that the fighting would not spread in his direction. Luckily, it did not, and just as he and the other two neared the entranceway, horns sounded in the distance and the clamour died down, indicating that the skirmish was at an end.

"Well, here we are" he said, nervously stating the obvious. "What's our first plan to get in?"

 

IC (Koranga): Koranga's opponent dodged the projectile and then seemed to wink out of existence. Invisible he cursed silently. Koranga had watched a lot of battles, but he hadn't often seen a being sucessfully battle an invisable foe, at least not without some fancy detection power of their own. When you had no idea where your opponent was, but they could see you, you were a sitting duck.

Koranga backpedalled furiously, trying to get away from the last place he had seen the toa before he got skewered on an attack he couldn't see coming. It wasn't quite as good as invisability, but a little confusion could have similar effects and might buy him time to figure out something better. He triggered his own mask power, that of illusion, and his body seemed to split in five, each of the duplicates moving outwards in a different direction. Now, neither of them would truly know where the other was, though Koranga would not be able to attack unseen.

 

IC (Koriaha): Waves of heat suddenly poured off the toa, but Koriaha wasn't concerned, not yet at least. Members of the Wild Hunt felt no pain, and getting his armour a bit scorched was hardly inportant. He would keep up the kick as originally intended and break the puny toa's back. He was Koriaha, the greatest of the...

And then, Ramadir's horns sounded a retreat. With effort, Koriaha turned the blow away from its target and leapt away, back to where Pukoro waited. Mounting the kikanalo, he followed Ramidir back to sorrowcliff.

OOC: Oh, and by the way, how did Zaak use his mask of elemental energy twice in two posts? That mask is only supposed to work once.

 

IC (Taipo): Taipo was disappointed that his timing had been a little off. At first, he had thought that he had had it perfect - he had kept charging the rhotuka with power right up until the corpse had become completely useless, so that it would have maximum energy when it struck its target. It turned out he had overdone it, though, and waited too long, so that the Vortixx had had time to respond to the spinner after finishing off the corpse. He would not make that mistake again next time.

The rest of the Hunt was retreating, so Taipo reluctantly abandoned his contest with the Vortixx and backed away to join the rest of the huntsmen, still watching in case any more spinners were fired after them.

 

IC (Kehua): Kehua also turned and left, though he sustained the power of his cyclone until they were almost out of sight. If nothing else, it would scatter the piles of rubble that the refugees were using to barricade the hallways, and force them to rebuild. Then he too turned away and let the winds blow themselves out as he headed back to sorrowcliff.

 

OOC: And just so I can have all my characters in one post:

IC (Hatann): The black Skakdi sat in thought, deep below the fortress, when he heard a sudden noise of metal on stone. He looked up, tense, wondering what it might be.

[Samus Aran-Bounty Hunter]

IC: Takari (Fighting)

She falls through a copy, mentally cursing to herself. She can only hope that it doesn't give her away..

Springing to her feet, she races towards the side of the clearing, not glancing behind her until she reaches her goal. Turning, the former Ta-Toa sizes up the crowd, attempting to decide which one is the real one. Well, that one is definitely not, she fell through it. But, perhaps..

She throws her dagger, watching it twirl end over end at a Koranga while she takes out her sling and fires off two stones at two others.

And then the horn calls, signaling the end of the raid.

Takari curses under her breath, she needs to leave before she's left as the only Huntsman here.

Zakaro

[The Lorax]

IC (Koranga): The two stones also fell through copies, but the dagger - Gorast's dagger - hit the real one. Koranga never saw it coming, so he had no time to deflect, catch or block it before it buried itself in his shoulder armour and pierced into the organic tissue underneath. He stumbled backwards with a sharp intake of breath, before being steadied by the strength that came with pain. The Wild Hunt was gone now, including the one who had attacked him - she was visible again now, riding away on her kikanalo.

Slowly, he got up again, climbed back over the piled rubble and headed back towards the camp. He would have to find someone with the medical skill to pull the dagger out before his pain-strength from the battle ran out.

[Legolover-361]

IC: EnaMorningBattlefieldEna paused, her string still drawn back to her right audio receptor, listening as though she hadn't heard the horn the first time.The horn blasted again, echoing through the spacious corridor as if the corridor itself were the trumpet's neck, and the Huntsmen wheeled about in retreat. Ena watched them depart with a wary eye. She didn't lower her bow and relax its string till the last mount had vanished beyond the grand corridor; then she stood and, with a last glance at the enemy's path of withdrawal, turned and reviewed the rest of the refugee forces scattered behind.Some of them were wounded. The casualties, if there were any, were blessedly few. Ena nodded to herself a few times as she ensured no one needed her help; then she walked into the battlefield and retrieved the few arrows she had loosed.When a Huntsman was killed, its body dissipated. There was still blood to clean off those arrows that had struck their targets -- that is to say, all those Ena had fired -- but there were no bodies from which to tear the arrows. She simply picked them off the rusted ground.After she picked up her last arrow and cleaned it on a small cloth she carried, she straightened and looked about herself. She stood in the center of what had been the battlefield. The arched ceiling stood like a cloud far, far above Ena's head. The columns that had once supported that ceiling were either damaged or collapsed now. In one place, part of the ceiling had snapped off with its respective column, opening a hole through which sunlight fell like a veil.If this place weren't a war-zone -- in fact, if all of the Matoran universe hadn't succumbed to strife and bloodshed -- historians and tourists would have adored this location.But now? Now, only a ragtag band of refugees stood here, scanning not the architecture but the weapons and bloodstains scattered about it.Why Ena didn't feel sorrier about this state of affairs was a disconcerting mystery.OOC: I trust my description of the area is acceptable? If not, I can edit it.

[Padishah Mehmet II]

OOC: Quite acceptable, yes.

 

IC: (Sorrowcliff)

 

With a fierce storm of spectral hooves upon the ground, the Hunt returned to their base, thundering 'round the Altar of the Dead. Most, upon halting, descended from their mounts, although with none of the energy that a living creature might've - to the Hunt, such an action as getting off your Kikanalo was not something they worried about wasting time on, because time they had much more than necessary.

 

Radamir, however, remained atop his steed, silent.

 

"Wild Hunt," Radamir's voice resounded through the spectral host just minutes later, "You are free to do now as you see fit, until I call on you again. Except for Amadene, Kehua, Takari and Havoc. I call you forth to war council, here, at the Altar."

 

Were you a Huntsman, you'd know there was little more peculiar than the sensation of Radamir's voice in his undeath. Every time he spoke, some strange nerve inside your head seemed as if it was touched directly, skipping the ears entirely - it seemed as if precisely half of Radamir's words were said in your head first and outside of it second.

 

It was strange, because Radamir - and he mourned this loss, as all Huntsmen mourned the loss of their elemental powers, long ago - could not use telepathy. It was equally strange to both the other Huntsmen and to Radamir himself, when he was told of this (because everyone, like in life, thus in undeath, knew that if something was wrong, you could go up to Radamir and just tell him, and he'd hear you out, patiently, and then try his best to alleviate your concerns - or at least, so it was for a while, until the old king seemed to grow distant from his men). Like the Huntsmen, Radamir had no explanation for this. Or for great many a thing.

 

Many a Huntsman would be curious about Radamir's choices for this war council, but it was rather simple. First of all, Havoc, although he seemed the brute force monster type at first glance, was very helpful due to his "true hunter" mentality and when tactics needed a bit of a "JUST BLAST THIS STUFF UP" moment. Takari and Amadene were both sensible Huntsmen, able to keep the peace in a war council well, useful for some sane judgment, and Kehua, having spent large amounts of time not just in life but also in undeath on Destral, and having a cold and no-nonsensist outlook on tactics, was useful as well. It was a pretty balanced council.

 

(Battlefield)

 

Meanwhile, back at the battlefield, Amarthis found herself, surprisingly, still alive. Today had gone peculiarly well - the Huntsmen failed to cross their defense line, and the camp was, thus, secure, as were their links to their main supply source - the Destral underground.

 

Looking around, she saw the archer that had played no small part in helping to save her life - Ena. Well, let it never be said that Amarthis was truly ungrateful. Approaching the figure, she gave her a smile and a nod.

 

"Thank you," she said, "Your arrows quite... helped."

Edited April 10, 2013 by Eduard Bernstein

[Legolover-361]

IC: EnaMorningBattlefield"I'm glad they did." Ena would have paired her response with a smile, but her cheek muscles were stiff from disuse. It was easier to keep the same face she had kept for so many years during the fighting and its aftermath: no smile, no frown, just the face of someone who'd seen far too much for her age.Besides, the hidden meaning of Amarthis's thanks was not lost on Ena:Thank you for killing the person who would have otherwise killed me.What a messed up world this was."We need to move forward," said Ena, gesturing down the grand corridor. "We've been on the defensive for too long now. I'm not saying we should charge into their camp with swords a-wavin', but... we want to put pressure on them. Their vulnerability might be their camp... Maybe if we light their camp with fire, they'll disperse or something. Dunno." She glanced to her feet, hands on her hips. "I mean... basically, we're still cornered, and I'm going a little stir-crazy."

Edited April 10, 2013 by Legolover-361

[graggen2468]

IC: Ferro, battlefieldFerro hadn't talked to another actual being for the past ten years, so he was a bit nervous when walking to the two figures called Ena and Amarthis. He took a deep breath; he was on his own, as the Voice was staying quiet. Might as well get it over with. Not wasting any more time, he walked up to the warriors. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but we have an idea. What if we were to set a tap at Sorrowcliff? That way, when they come back, they will be immediately subdued. It could buy us some time to... Well, we don't know. We just got here."

[Padishah Mehmet II]

IC: (Battlefield)

"We've no idea what lies ahead, but I can tell you this, there is no way we'll be at Sorrowcliff before them," Amarthis muttered at the newcomer. "There aren't enough of us to set a trap for the whole Wild Hunt, anyway."

 

She scratched her chin.

 

"The Hunt didn't flee because they were broken, no. These are undead we're fighting. Every time we kill one, they return to Sorrowcliff. If they were broken, they'd just keep on fighting, and be reborn the next day - what would be the point of fleeing?"

 

The Vortixx took a step forward, and then a step back as she started pacing back and forth, her palm still on her chin.

 

"They're planning something. I don't know what, but going on the offensive might just be a terrible idea. For now, I think we should signal to the vilage about what happened here and go get some supplies from the dungeons. If we have extra men, send out some scouts forward, to see what the Hunt patrols are, or what's going on with the Hunt, in general - but be careful, and send them in a group of five or six, so they won't be in too much danger if they fall upon some Huntsmen."

[Legolover-361]

IC: EnaMorningBattlefield, refugee defensive lineEna considered. Scouting would at least be a good start to determining the Hunt's plans. Maybe there was something interesting to discover. At least, Ena hoped so.After numerous years of constant letdowns, hoping was an alien concept to Ena. At first, she wondered about the vague thrill in her chest that something might be accomplished. Then she realized whatever somethings were to be accomplished could only be small, and the thrill subsided."I'd be willing to lead a scouting team," said Ena. "Actually... I'd like to stop by that old laboratory I've heard about if we have the time. I haven't been there yet."OOC: Are there any commanders among the refugees, or are decisions generally made through common consensus? Never mind, I bothered to read the first post.

Edited April 10, 2013 by Legolover-361

[Samus Aran-Bounty Hunter]

IC: Takari (Riding, then Altar)

Riding away from the battle, Takari didn't have the time to truly think on her fight until they were quite the distance away from the scene.

That was about when she realized that she never picked up her dagger.

A string of curses soon followed.

~To Altar~

The former Ta-Toa approached the Altar, still feeling slight anger at having lost her dagger. It was the only memento of her victory over Gorast, after all. Still, she kept it inward as she nodded to Radamir, being the first one here.

Zakaro

[The Lorax]

IC (Kehua, Sorrowcliff): Kehua slowly approached the Altar and Ramidir, his head bowed in respect for the undead king. Horo followed close by, but Kehua remained on the ground. He had been honoured before the others with an invitation to this council, so it would not do to further elevate himself to the king's level by also mounting.

He waited for Ramidir's instructions.

[Toa Levacius Zehvor]

IC: Amadene / The Altar at Sorrowcliff

 

Amadene never enjoyed being near the altar. It reminded her far too much of the events of the past, and did nothing but trouble her mind when she approached it. It wasn't the state in between death and rebirth that upset her the most - it was stepping on this unhallow ground once more. And despite any declarations of the contrary, that was what this was to her. A place cursed by their blood. By the Brotherhood.

 

A breeze moved part of her cloak, as she stepped before the King of the Hunt. As she stood, she gave a rather crude glance for just a moment to Kehua, who took to being mounted.

 

She stood at the ready.

 

IC: Thorego / Battleline

 

While Amarthis spoke of other matters, Thorego stood tall delivering an inspirational speech to the men before him. "Once again, bold refugees, we have crushed the infernal forces of darkness and driven the demons back to their descpitable demesne at foul King Radamir's home! But we must continue our vigil, for the cowards are merely licking their wounds!"

 

Blazing sword in hand, he pointed it forward and shouted, "The day is won! But like all others, it is at a price. Say the final words to your brothers and sisters in arms that have fallen. Let them have peace, for they have earned it by giving us the chance to fight, another day; for fighting back the Wild Hunt. And where they find peace, let us find... victory!"

 

The applauses were less grand.

 

IC: Zartor / Before Mutran's Lab

 

Let me tell you a story.

 

About a week ago, there was a down on his luck refugee Matoran. A Matoran who was a good thief, but not that good of a thief. He figured raiding Mutran's Lab would be a good idea, and for two straight days sat in front of the lab trying to figure out what he could do to get in. Eventually, as he finally began to figure out the puzzle, he was stabbed by another refugee, who took the rest of his rations. His body was eaten mostly by stone rats.

 

The moral of the story - clean behind your audio receptors, so you don't get a terrible infection that leaves you deaf on the right side and lets people sneak up on you.

 

This Matoran plays a role in the story of our much more interesting characters because he happened to have a small stick with him. This stick was now being held in the hand of Zartor, who stood in front of the rather terrifying looking Takea Shark jaws on the lab door.

 

After a moment of pondering, he said, "I've got an idea!" before quickly turning invisible and thrusting the stick - but not his hands - into the shark door's mouth.

 

-Toa Levacius Zehvor

[The Lorax]

IC (Hatann): The black Skakdi sat in thought, deep below the fortress, when he heard a sudden noise of metal on stone. He looked up, tense, wondering what it might be.

OOC: Since there are no other characters down here, I guess that noise must have been made by a Rahkshi. Here goes.

 

IC (Hatann, Deep Dungeons): The scrape came from the tunnel in front of Hatann, further back into the darkness than his lightstone could reach. He stood up and, tighly clutching the lightston in his hand, activated his power to transmute his body and mimic any substance he was touching. The tunnel blazed with light as his body was filled with light, every sharp facet of his crystal form shone with radiance.

He blinked quickly, trying to adjust his eyes to the sudden brilliance. He had been used to the dark, so for the first few seconds he saw nothing but a few smears on the white background. It did much more to the lone Rahkshi at the end of the passageway. The creature of shadow froze in place, revealing that there were no clolours to decorate is armour, just a single, uniform grey that maked it as a Rahkshi of Invulnerability.

Oh, yes Hatann thought. This was exactly what he had needed earlier.

 

Of course, no being was completely invulnerable. The rahkshi's response to the bright light proved that much. All rahkshi, regardless of ability, were vulnerable to intense light. Invulnerability might give some resistance, or a lot, but it could not deny the Rahkshi's own nature. The Rahkshi hissed at him, but it was still disorientated by the brightness of Hatann's lightstone-body. As soon as Hatann could see again well enough to aim, he looked right into the Rahkshi's fierce eyes and let rip with his laser vision. The creature's hiss turned into a surprised scream of pain. It was an ugly sound, and the creature writhed around as it was blinded, it visual receptors burnt out completely by the lasers' intensity.

 

Hatann stepped back from the Rahkshi - it was still a dangerous foe, even without its sight. It would come right back at him the moment it was able, and it would be much more difficult to damage it any more than he had. The rest of its body was unbreakable metal that would take a long time to burn through, even with his laser vision. He, on the other hand, was made of brittle crystal, and, once he changed back, weaker metal and squishy flesh, all too vulnerable to the Rahkshi's sharp staff and strong limbs. It was time to change that.

Hatann slackened his grip on the lightstone and switched his focus to the mace in his hand. He triggered the power again, and the passageway went dark, lit now only by the small lightstone in Hatann's hand. The dim light reflected of Hatann's body, now grey like the Rahkshi's. He had become a being of living, moving, solid protosteel. His large Skakdi grin still showed, outlined in metal, and he spoke with a voice that was sharp and hard, and rang longer than it should have in the dark tunnel under the fortress. "Allright, Rahkshi. Come at me".

 

It did. The enraged, blind creature leapt towards the sound of his voice, swinging its staff wildly. Hatann stapped forward to meet it, bringing his mace down in the back of its head. Both Skakdi and Rahkshi were hardly scratched. They closed again.

Their battle continued for some time as they hammered away at each other, but neither one made much progress. Both had bodies that were near invulnerable to harm. They could keep this up until they collapsed from exhaustion, and neither would yet have been wounded.

Hatann loved every moment of it. He exalted in the unrestrained violence as he rained blows down on the Rahkshi's head and spine, pounded its limbs and battered its staff. It made him feel powerful, invincible even. It look away his worries about the Wild Hunt when he could concentrate solely on giving the Rahkshi before him the beating of its life. The best thing about the Rahkshi was that it didn't drop after a few hard whacks. It kept going. Hatann could keep on beating it up for as long as he needed to in order to relieve the tension that had been mounting in him ever since he had arrived on Destral. Bang, whack, crunch, repeat. The sounds of theior battle rang throughout the lower levels and metal met metal again and again. It was all wonderfully theraputic.

 

Eventually, though, Hatann had to end it. Eventually, he would get too exhausted to keep his body in its metal form, and then the Rahkshi would kill him. He would have to kill it first. For the first time in the fight, he called up his elemental gravity powers, and bent the Rahkshi's gravity around so that it wasn't pulling the Rahkshi down, but backwards. Surprised, the Rahkshi flew right down to the other end of the passageway, where it hit the wall with a lound bang. Hatann leapt after it, light as a feather on his feet, and fired a zamor sphere at its hand where it lay against the wall. The powerful acid would normally have consumed the Rahkshi's limb quickly, but thanks to invulnerability, it hardly bubbled. That wasn't the point though, because the next moment, Hatann was on top of the Rahkshi, grabbing at its staff pulling it away from the rahkshi's acid-slicked hand, which he managed with the aid of gravity.

As soon as the staff left the Rahkshi's hand, its power dropped a few pegs. Hatann whirled the staff around and then brought it down on the Rahkshi's head, and it left a dent in the armour. Grinning his manic Skakdi grin, Hatann tossed the staff back behind him so that the Rahkshi couldn't regain it and then set about bashing the Rahkshi with his own weapon.

The Rahkshi quickly regained its feet and kicked out at Hatann, throwing itself at him in an attempt to drive him back and regain its fallen weapon. Hatann was having none of it. He stood his ground and kept the creature at bay, using all of his powers to danage the Rahkshi now that it could be damaged. Each blow he struck changed the direction of gravity for the son of the Makuta. It tumbled around the passageway, driven hard against the stone walls by a force it could neither see nor predict. Short blasts of laser vision left burns on its armour and weakened it, paving the way for Hatann's acid spheres to burn through. The Rahkshi was still more endurant than most beings, but even it couldn't stand up to the barrage it was recieving. Eventually, when it came skidding across the floor to Hatann's feet, its eyes still full of hatred, and Hatann brough his mace down on its exposed chestpiece. He enhanced the weapon's weight as it fell, so that it struck with the force of a boulder. The Rahkshi's endurance finally gave out, and the suit of armour shattered, leaving the kraata inside to be crushed by the same blow.

 

Hatann looked down at the wrecked shell, satisifed, and let his power lapse. Turning back into an ordinary being felt like being run over by a kikanalo after enjoying the strength and endurance of protosteel. He sat down, slumped against the wall, panting from his exertion. For all that though, he felt much better. It wasn't every day you fought an invulnerable Rahkshi and won.

 

 

IC: Amadene / The Altar at Sorrowcliff

...

As she stood, she gave a rather crude glance for just a moment to Kehua, who took to being mounted.

...

Eh?

Kehua remained on the ground

 

Anyway:

 

IC (Wani): Wani jumped back with a stifled yell as Zartor suddenly thrust the stick into the shark's jaws. He had expected them to try getting under and around the locks, not by sprining any traps that might well prove fatal.

Edited April 11, 2013 by The Lorax

[Padishah Mehmet II]

OOC: I think I'll use Georgia as my roleplaying font from now on. Forget Arial.

 

GM IC: (Doorstep to Mutran's Lab)

The result was much less dramatic than Zartor might've expected, as the jaws snapped shut and back open, the stick falling to the ground.

 

It would clearly take more than that to keep said jaws in place.

 

(Altar of the Dead)

Radamir, slowly, dismounted - although his steed, his loyal Taryn, remained by his side. Standing in this circle of gathered Huntsmen, he spoke.

 

"The forces of darkness are, as we've seen today, showing quite some valiance in their resistance. Today was a failed attack, my friends, I will tell you this outright. With each passing day, we win less and less ground over them, and hardly manage to overturn their supply routes from the dungeons to their camp. It seems rather strange that we claimed victory over the Makuta not with half as much difficulty as this. These are fighting with the obstinacy of a wolf driven into a corner by a gang of jackals. The wolf, clinging to survival, will fight on no matter how badly wounded it is. We have little to no chance of overturning their defenses at the hall where we fought them today."

 

The fire in his blue eyes blazed ever as coolly as his gaze went over all of them, quiet for just a moment.

 

"Unfortunately, other routes are much less viable. The higher floors of the fortress, while accessible to both us and them, are not some place we can bring our steeds to - the whole host of Kikanalo would never make it upstairs, and even if they did, they would hear us coming and fight us to a standstill. Every path we take, we shall be stopped, and we cannot hope that they shall simply run out of the desire to resist - I hunger for rest, and I know you do too. My brothers and sisters, we may need extra assistance."

 

He stood silent for a moment, wordless, emotionless, yet it was clear that he was merely thinking of a suitable way to put his thoughts to the spoken word.

 

"Within the dungeons of Destral, evil spirits lurk, as all of us know. However, to us, to the Hunt, these spirits are no threat. They are not only no threat to us, they are also part of our destiny - to wipe this land clear of the taint that binds it. Within those dungeons, there also may lie a weapon, a way we can get through to the other side. I wish to hear your opinions on whether it's worth to investigate."

[Visaru]

IC

Gandor frowned heavily as the hunt thundered back to the plain on their mounts, filling all of Sorrowcliff with the sounds of rumbling hooves. The Kikanalo fell into a sort of formation around Radimir, which Gondar joined, still unhappy. He had missed out on an attack. No exciting bloodrush, nor killing of heathens. Gondar's wishes to serve the hunt were unfulfilled. He slowly circled the returned riders and looked upon the ones summoned to the war council with a twinge of envy. He was the most loyal of the hunt- why was he not a part of that council?

Bitterly, Gondar turned his steed and walked it slowly over to the edge of the cliff. There was nothing to do now but wait.

[Samus Aran-Bounty Hunter]

IC: Takari (Altar)

It was the former Ta-Toa who spoke first, fingers tapping out a beat on her leg out of habit.

"I feel it at least deserves a small squad to venture within the dungeons, going as far downwards as possible to find traces of this weapon. If after 2-3 attempts are made and we've found nothing of importance keying into this weapon's existence or location, I feel it's not worth investigating beyond that officially. Perhaps after the squad fails let Huntsmen explore as they see fit, but if a couple of expeditions turn out nothing a dedicated squad isn't needed."

She pauses, shrugging her shoulders after a second.

"But if the squad does find something.. we can decide from there."

Zakaro

[The Lorax]

IC (Kehua, Altar of the Fallen):

"I agree - there's no harm in it" Kehua stated. "If there is nothing there, we lose only a few men from our battlelines while they search. If there, is, however, and we do not search, we would be wasting a valuable opportunity, and possibly handing over a weapon to our enemies."

It seemed the sensible thing to do, but he went on making his point. If, as he suspected, he had been called forward becasue of his knowledge of Destral and of warfare, he should go on sharing it.

"We should, of course, be careful about how we conduct our search" he continued. "Just a few of us, no pause in our attacks on the evildoers, no fanfare that might indicate what we plan to do. It could be disasterous if they learned of our suspicions and also began searching the dungoens in competition with us. Just a quiet little operation would be best, I think. As I said, if we are unsuccessful in finding this supposed weapon, it is no great loss - we have other advantages in this war that can, in time, bring us victory. If we do find some power hidden within the fortress, however, then all the better. If we could turn the children of the Makuta against our enemies, that would be well worth it. If we could not, but destroyed them instead, then that too would be a victory. I can see no possible loss in looking for assistance."

He looked around at the other huntsmen surrounding him. Amadene, solitary but loyal and who inspired great fear among their enemies; Takari, whose courage in battle had lead to the defeat of Makuta Gorast, Havoc, whose power was rivalled only by his dedication, and himself, who knew Rahkshi and Destral as well as any this side of (permanent) death. "I propose that the four of us go to look into this, as soon as is convenient. We will report back to the King when we have anything to

announce".

 

IC (Wani, Mutran's Lab):

The stick dropped to the floor, bitten in two, but no other traps seemed to be sprung on the would-be intruders, so Wani decided that it was safe to try again. He fired his disintegration vision at the shark-lock. It wouldn't be biting anyone if it were turned to dust.

[Toa Levacius Zehvor]

OOC: Sorry, Lorax. Ignore that part; I wasn't reading very carefully. Wasn't concentrating enough.

 

IC: Zartor / Mutran's Lab

 

As the piece of the stick he thrust in fell to the ground, splintered in half, Zartor frowned. "Invisibility, not going to work." he said as he phased out. As Wani fired off his vision powers, the Prime winced just a little, half expecting the rays to bounce off the sharks mouth. Well... actually, he was prepared exactly for that.

 

IC: Amadene / Sorrowcliff, Altar

 

Amadene waited for the others to finish before she finally finished gathering her thoughts. Finally, she spoke, stating, "Ye must consider that it is a possibily that within the depths of the Brotherhood's dungeons may rest creatures unlike what we face in the lower levels. The abominations they created are cursed with power far greater than the dark spirits of the halls, and tainted with black arcana. It is my fear that if we are not careful, the creatures of that place may truly be deadly enough to make our task all the harder."

 

"Still, it is in the Hunts interests any relics be reclaimed. I agree with thou, Kehua, that the refugees must not know. We must be careful about this, and make sure that no pattern of change is made with attacks in such a case. Trying too hard to remain inconspicuous could lead to discovery."

 

-Toa Levacius Zehvor

[The Lorax]

IC (Koriaha, Sorrowcliff):

When the Wild Hunt was dismissed for a smaller war council, Koriaha saw that Gandor was now present, though he hadn't been when they rode into battle earlier that morning. The little toa sat on his kikanalo, staring out to sea, so Koriaha rode up behind him.

"You were not present at today's battle" he observed. "Where were you, huntsman?"

 

IC (Kehua, Altar of the Fallen):

"And if such darknesses do exist," Kehua replied, "Then all the better that we discover them now. Are they not also part of our destiny to destroy all remnants of shadow on this island? If they must be awakened, let them be awakened now, when we might take advantage. If we did awaken some monsterous demon of shadow or flame, we could lead it out from the dungeons and toward our enemy's camp. Let them battle the great and terrible foe we may or may not find. Then, both would be weakened and closer to defeat at our hands."

"It is all the more to our advantage, then" he concluded, "To undertake the search."

[Visaru]

IC

Gandor glared angry and the roiling sea below. His frustration was clearly evident in his expression.

 

"I was dead. Killed, by some ancient, forgotten trap in the fortress." his scowl grew deeper. "I did not even suffer the modesty to die a warrior's death."

 

His grip tightened on his enormous sword, as if clutching it for comfort.