Relapse

IC: (Kane-Ra Riders) The Brotherhood of Ak'rei'an was, unless they were maintaining their body heat somehow, now experiencing the effects of vasoconstriction. As their bodies struggled to remain warm in the rigorous conditions, their blood circulation began to be cut off in the extremities. Their hands would likely start tingling now and their motor control would begin wavering. Warm blood was increasingly difficult to come by as the cold intensified, chilling the cultists to the bone. It was unlikely now that they would be able to react as quickly, which is why it would be even more deadly when one of the Toa took out a crossbow and began taking shots at his blinded foes. Karemo would soon find that the more icy the landscape got, the harder it was for him to run fast while maintaining control. If he didn't watch his step, he could very well begin sliding and running into other combatants, which would do little to help his situation. A wall of ice erected in front of the incoming ice spikes, but the Toa didn't waste a second hiding behind this cover. Yanking on the reigns, she sped up on the bull, barreling towards her opponent before erecting another wall of rock-hard ice directly in his path- different than the other one in that it was technically two perpendicular walls. In its construction, it would force him to either run directly into it or leap into the path of her rampaging Kane-Ra. Because of the ice, it would be quite difficult to stop in time, if not impossible. Both options had rather adverse effects on the Toa's bone structure. Though Ira now had the advantage of limited sight and eye protection, he would soon find it hard to continue walking, as one of the riders had put their full focus on him, forming literal icicles on his body from the sheer cold. He needed to find a way out, fast, or he would be the first of the cult members to die a horrible death. Even more unfortunate, the snow around him began to pile up. Things were not looking good for him, to say the least. Meanwhile, Icha was closing in on Larikon Torchbearer, wielder of ironic last names. The tall Toa of ice did not enjoy ending life, but in the matter of village-wide defense, no weapon could be spared. Not even lethality. As soon as he heard the command the cult leader shouted, his mask kicked in to action. To the world, he sped up. To him, the world slowed down. He nimbly side-stepped the charging Lutrez, slinging a hooked slash at the Rahi's neck before looping around behind Larikon and leveling a killing blow at his mid-back. From behind, at the speed he was traveling, Larikon would need a miracle to live past Icha's attack. With one last thought of the dead riders whose bodies lay strewn in the snow, he jabbed the blade forward. OOC: If I missed anyone, feel free to PM me.

IC: (Kane-Ra Riders) Bombs. That could be problematic. Though one more Toa fell, the rest of the surviving fifteen riders used their elemental or Kanohi powers to deflect and defend attacks- a variety of Hau activations, Matatu throws, and flash-freezing (combined with skillful dodging here) allowed the Toa to evade an untimely demise. In fact, through the abilities granted by the Matatu, two bombs were thrown right back at the bombers. Meanwhile, the ice fogging continued, intensified even. Anyone who hadn't been freezing was now doing so violently. At this point, this was the Brotherhood's largest problem. As the Riders spread out and circled around the cult, the cold was reaching nigh-ridiculous levels, channeled by the concentrated powers of thirteen* skilled Toa of ice. Soon, the group would know how it felt to have their very joints freeze on them as frostbite caused them to lose their grip. Without their sight, they had little chance of helping themselves against this threat. This was nothing to say for their mounts, who not only could not see, but were hardly conditioned for the quickly-piling snow and ice. They would likely experience adverse effects even faster than their riders. Allowing himself to feel slightly victorious, Icha was all the more shocked when his Kane-Ra buckled. He managed to land on one knee rather than face-first, however, eyeing the cultist Larikon who could likely not see him. With an activation of his Mask of Speed, he disappeared into a blur, all the while staying in Larikon's blind spot. Winding around from behind, he unsheathed his sword and leveled a decapitation slice with the same blinding quickness. Meanwhile, towards the back, Karemo had engaged one of the Kane-Ra riders, aiming to take her right off of her Kane-Ra. With little time to react, the Toa could not hope to dodge the attack, and merely absorbed it into herself, shattering a rib but heavy armor taking much of the blow. Immediately, the Toa mentally expended a block of ice around Karemo's feet- this would not stop him by any means, as his feet were moving too fast for them to effectively form. It would, however, cause him to look down. By the time he looked back up, a blade would be directed at his neck. OOC: *The group without the two PC riders.

I talked with Visaru, and he's given me full permission over the NPC Kane-Ra Riders. Hope that clears everything up.

My mistake- I'll run this by Visaru.

OOC: Just to throw this out there, BoA players: please do not auto-kill/auto-hit/otherwise bunny the NPCs. I know this might sound like a cranky request, but if the guards are killed left and right, this will be a very one-sided battle. In light of this, I'd like to bring the number of remaining riders to sixteen. If anyone has an serious issues with this, feel free to PM me. IC: (Icha) Even as one... two... three... four of his sons fell, Icha did not lose his stride. With a righteous fire in his eyes his Kane-Ra rode yet faster. The fire blasts had had little effect on the highly-trained Kane-Ra; should they have been wild beasts, it would have been a different story. These bulls, however, were among the most sophisticated Rahi this side of Onu-Koro. They stomped through the dissipating flames with ever-increasing vigor. The Brotherhood put up a surprising fight, but this was the Sanctum Guard's terrain. They intended to use it. "Now!" shouted the lieutenant with the passion of a battlecry. Each rider slipped goggles onto their faces, an act that didn't make much sense to the enemy until the next phase of their plan came into fruition. Suddenly, the very snow that the Brotherhood rode on turned against them, and the snow from the ground rose from the ground as if magnetically drawn to their faces. Naturally, it quickly became hard for them to see, and if they didn't find a way to solve the problem, they would lose control of their steeds. Two Brotherhood members became particularly targeted, with the ice and snow seeming to have a vendetta against them. These Toa, Zekev and Ira, quickly became liable to literally freeze to death. Meanwhile, Icha charged the blinded Larikon, sword prepared to lob off his head.

I have like three Matoran who've single-handedly taken down Toa, all of them on the Ussalry. Coincidence?

Before it becomes the bad guy village, it'll have to get past the guard, which might not be as easy as it seems.

IC: (Icha) There was much to be said for the men in white armor. Swift. Strong. Courageous. And after the death of their two most beloved, heIl knew they were battle-hardened in heart and soul. In the barracks where the Sanctum guard prepared to defend the city gates, their most hopeful and most anxious gave words. Some men said words for their families, some for their dead and gone, some for both. And yet others spoke of the blood they had dearly wished they would never have had to spill, but were in the depths of their iron spirits darn well prepared to. And then entered Icha. The lieutenant wore a red mark for each of his lost sons, and indeed he wore nearly more red than white. When he entered, all voices fell. From his boots to his horned helmet his attire displayed one simple prayer: his walls would not fall today. "Men," his gruff tones broke the silence, "long has Ko-Koro stood atop this mountain. In her time here, few armies have challenged her gates. No, her greatest enemies have been the ones which crept in the night, striking cowardly blades into the hearts of our beloved and falling away. Twice has this brand of evil bared its teeth in our walls. Twice has it succeeded. And so, my sons, I pray that as the forces of evil attack our gates, we do not let a creeping evil invade our souls. Take up your swords, and with the heart of a lion protect your home. To Matoro and Nuju, sing a requiem with your blade!" He unsheathed his own blade with a shring, raising it high into the air with a roar. Each man joined in his battle cry, lifting their blades and slamming their feet to the ground. Icha's Storm was approaching the gates. ----------- Before every battle he'd ever been in, in his mind screaming was the first sound Icha heard. The sound of life leaving one's lips in one horrified moment, iron penetrating flesh and stealing said life violently and brutally. A horrible sound, to be certain, but one he would draw from the lips of his enemy by next sunrise. Twenty Toa riding upon armored Kane-Ra charged through the streets with surprising precision. They were to meet the Brotherhood of Ak'rei'an sword to sword, and they intended to do so. Anyone who saw them could hardly believe what they saw: as the Kane-Ra charged, pathways of ice led them up and over the gates, landing on similar paths that landed them safely on the ground. Their charge unbroken, they were quickly approaching the Brotherhood. Icha led the others, a hand signal sending them to flank Larikon's followers. The lieutenant himself would clash with Torchbearer. Sword drawn and directed at Larikon's chest, he charged forward as fast as the bull would carry him. OOC: Kind of retconning the whole kidnapping thing, this takes priority. I guess I'll be NPCing the Kane-Ra group, so watch your back BoA. I doubt any of y'all want to, but if you'd like to take control of one of the Kane-Ra riders for this battle, slap a name and a personality to them and go for it.

IC: (Kriigata) Footstep footstep footstep The warrior's trek through the swamps had been simple. It was the trek from Po-Koro to Ta-Koro to Kini-Nui to here that had been tumultuous. A week- no, two weeks to the day -of tracking had availed little other than the next place to go. Fortunately for her, the ability to run at an unthinkable pace had made this a great deal less tedious. Her muddy boots were sloshed with the swampy water, scum and excrement coating the leather. She had forgone her royal purple robes for a more practical black longcoat, a sword and Volo Lutu grappler hanging from her waist. She had begun to wonder if she would ever find her target. Perhaps she had been following a bread crumb trail to a dead end? The deforming trees and stench of rot would surely facilitate such a place. HelI, she wouldn't be surprised to find a demonic cult practicing vulgar customs here. She'd bring snacks if they paid for entertainment afterwards! Such ridiculous thoughts reminded her of the fruitlessness of her journey as of late. After all, life was the days where one starved, pained, and called for help but none came. Such was life, and this was not to be forgotten. But then she saw him. "At last," she called out to the ebony beast, even as her hand drifted to the handle of her sword, "we meet face to face." She approached slowly, eyes unblinkingly staring down the Chaotic Sixth. "I come with an offer..." she lifted the sword several inches out of its sheath the reveal the glimmering, deadly blade, "...and a request."

IC: (Kyoshi Ryouja) As she had just reentered the physical plane, Ryouja had little time to react to the liquid coming at her. Fortunately for her, she did well with little time. She could not hope to dodge the attack- concentration was difficult when one had just returned from a mental sabbatical. And so she reacted with what she knew she could do, throwing her head back even as one hand zipped her jacket up so quickly it would hardly register to the naked eye. The contents of the bottle coated only her jacket now, which she fully intended to use to her own advantage. For now, however, she could not risk going in after Higashi, for to do so would be to take an unnecessary risk. She simply speed off to the rooftop once more to gain a vantage point.

IC: (Damek) Unfortunately for the prisoners, Damek wasn't really into racing, and would remain on watch in the prison. It was at about this time that he walked in on their conversation. "Alright, it's time to put you all to work." In his left hand, he hefted a pickaxe. "Who here knows anything about mining?"

IC: (Kyoshi Ryouja) The floorboard knocked her off guard and off balance, but also spurred her to evasive action. Her feet kicked off the ground, throwing her lithe form into a back flip. As soon as she hit the ground, she once again became a navy blur, disappearing from view and seemingly from the battlefield. In reality, she was standing still about ten feet from Higashi- not that the guard knew that. From here she began throwing images into Higashi's head- every horrifying, surreal concept she could muster. And worse, Higashi could see these things. Feel them. To her left, the wall imploded, the corpse of an Imperial flying through it. landing at Higashi's feet, dead eyes staring into hers. A few seconds flaming arrow came from the window, landing on the ground and setting the room aflame. Outside, the sounds of vicious rebels brutally tearing apart Umbraline menti to pieces seemed to enter her ears at increasing volume. These horrors, even if she recognized them as illusionary, were incredibly unsettling.

IC: (Kyoshi Ryouja) The pitter patter of swift footsteps quietly followed Ryouja's march as she sped at incalculable levels from rooftop to rooftop, zeroing in on her target with more accuracy and deadliness than any sniper could. Unseen from a rooftop above them, she looked down upon Higashi's attackers, then up at Higashi herself. Now was the time to take action; any murder in the name of revolution was a murder worth committing. In mere seconds, she had run from the rooftop to a lower rooftop, and so on, until she reached the ground. From there, it was no time at all before she climbed the building, making her way up the wall and into the window in a blur. She had to stop for a second as a table flew over her head, but she was immediately back to work, leaping into the room where Higashi was fending off attackers. She flashed around the room until she stood behind the guard, who seemed to be throwing things at the rebels below. SHRRRING! Ryouja unsheathed her sword, aiming the tip at the back of Higashi's neck. "Stand down, and your judgment will be merciful," she said the words with a latent burning passion, a sort of low growl that stacked weight behind each syllable pronounced. The message was clear: Ryouja meant business.

I have a character who will soon be liberating prisoners to join in her acts of nefariousness.

IC: (Rosh) Ah, vacation. The pencil-pushers lived for it, but I was always more of a man of action. One time, when I was young, I ate a Makuta fish alive and waited to see how long it took to come out the other side. Given, this was all quite scientific- I documented -but my host home didn't appreciate the medical bills when I realized I was allergic to Makuta fish. This was all well behind me, though, and nowadays I was a sophisticated detective in the most powerful village this side of Onu-Koro. Ga-Koro had its virtues as well, I must admit. There were few vacations spots as wonderful as Ga-Koro, however, and with an island shirt and a Mai Tai, I felt like the everloving shi- "goodlordi'msosorrypleasedon'tsue" A lot of words came out of my mouth. Not all of them made sense, but all of them were apologetic. I had, a flash of sunlight hitting me from a reflective wave of seawater, walked right into a Toa speaking with a blind girl. Interestingly enough, I was the only one who had literally taken the fall, collapsing to the ground in shock and embarrassment. OOC: Raz, Eli, that's y'all

This was the original post. As you can see, Komisk is neither threatening nor confrontational, he is simply explaining the options that the group as a whole had as far as assisting him. Given, he said this "quieter", but in a cave, there's no way that most of the people around couldn't have heard unless they were holding conversations of their own. Most weren't. Then, after this amazing display of class and competence: So he starts... -verbally and through gestures insulting -cussing out -demanding attention that they were in the process of giving him ...at the people trying to help him. It is only after this that Komisk becomes confrontational: Notice that he is still not directly threatening him beyond the gesture of putting a weapon to his head. I would appreciate if a little more reading comprehension was done when it comes to these kinds of things: I would rather not have the group hate Komisk for this.

The above conversation is a bit misconstrued, and I believe there is some confusion here: Komisk's talk of killing Torvoth was not a threat, but an offer. If y'all had read the first post where he spoke of killing him rather than jumping in half way, you'd see that he was offering to put him out his misery instead of leaving him to die from a Rahkshi attack. In all honesty it makes little sense for the other characters to be treating Komisk like a ruthless killer when he was offering to put Torvoth out of his misery and only got sterner about him making up his mind after Torvoth continued mouthing off.

IC: (Komisk) The Onu-Matoran, before saying anything more to Stralix, suddenly stopped, pivoting on one foot to look at Gyn. "It ith not my intention to abandon anyone out of malithe or prejudithe. However, we have a harsh journey ahead, and in hith condition he will be a perilouth burden. I will not thtop you from bringing him with uth, simply because I recognize you ath my peer. But I would be highly diththapointed if, in the next attack, he wath injured due to not being able to defend himthelf. Or worthe, another person ith hurt while trying to protect him. Tho no, I will not prevent you from carrying thith paralyzed moron throughout the retht of the journey, but I condemn it ath the height of folly that you do."

EDIT: I originally had something snarky here, but I figured that's not in my best interest. I am quite interested in the information Joske will be revealing.

If anyone has a criminal character, in jail or at large, do me a favor and shoot me a PM.

IC: (Sucogu) "Luckily for him, he's got two witnesses, and you've got none. Try getting him arrested off of a negotiation tactic that, as far as I know, was just a tactic. Your case isn't exactly rock solid." Sucogu shrugged.

OOC: Consider this retconned, but since it took like twenty minutes I'd rather not trash it. IC: (Ak'rei'an) Misgivings and misinterpretations. Death and deception. Torment and terror. Why, it was almost time for tea at Blackrock. A nasty sandstorm was rolling over to the village, but the ol' castle of Ak'rei'an didn't mind the wind. Safe inside, its inhabitants continued their busy schedules, planning yet more acts of evil and self-exultation. Having just recently defended themselves from the walking dead, the winded members were ready for a bit of rest. In fact, if everyone could just stay still for awhile, a little sense of fellowship might do them some good. Alas...this was not such a day for the Brotherhood of Ak'rei'an- no, yet more drama was to occur before the end of the cycle. Allow me to elaborate. The sound of metal against metal shrieked in the halls. The flowing of cloaks followed harsh footsteps. Sword against sword, sword on armor, sword on skin. Fast, swift footsteps matched hard, strong ones. If these sounds didn't clue one in to the nature of the battle, the running dialogue surely did. A shrill voice, frantic and on edge, shouted almost pleading cries at an older voice, tones condemning. "Ryjak, please!" Kriigata became a blur, zipping around to strike him from behind, but the old Toa was prepared, leveling a kick at her chest. She flew back, skidding on the stone floor. "Silence, scum." Ryjak's sword, through the power of his element, gained size and therefore weight. He hefted it high above the prone Kriigata, preparing to chop her head clean from her neck. The small Toa skidded out just in time to dodge the blade, fortunately for her, and sliced at Ryjak's ankles, only to have the attack diverted by Ryjak's own blade. "I will not allow traitors to go unpunished," he denounced as she fell to her back, sword sliding out of her hand. Pause. Kriigata, the Toa of iron now laying on the ground avoiding death by mere inches, was a severely psychotic worshipper of Ak'rei'an- or at least, she had been until about five minutes ago. Psychologically damaged as she had been, something had clicked back, and in this return to sanity she resolved to abandon the brotherhood and go back to living a normal life. Naturally, Ryjak had not taken well to this. Unpause. Ryjak towered over her. He pinned her to the ground with a heavy foot upon her neck, threatening to crush the fragile bones at any moment. "Explain yourself," he demand, "and perhaps I will allow you to survive this." Krii was in a bad position, but she was able to banter with the best to buy time. "I doubt it," she croaked, bracing her hands on his foot in a futile escape attempt, "you never did have any semblance of justice..." her voice faded out as Ryjak's foot pressed in. Her grip tightened, but continued to be useless. "You were always a fool, Kriigata." "M-maybe," she lightly stammered as less and less air flowed into her lungs, "but at least-" a gasp "-at least I was efficient." Ryjak looked more confused than irritated. "Why have you not given up yet? You might as well die quickly." "Well maybe," Kriigata spat defiantly, "I don't intend to die today!" The words held power, as Ryjak quickly found, when metallic objects from nearby seemed to gravitate towards him. A metal plate slammed into his head from behind, following by a kitchen knife that impaled itself through the back of his knee. A single cry of pain was let loose, but she was not around to hear it- she sped off as far as her mask allowed, not bothering to get her things. A new day had dawned. OOC: More of a post to get this character up and running- quite rushed as you can see. Anyways Krii to Ta-Koro.

somebody help those guards i'm getting lonely :c

Last I heard, some people were putting settlements on the Xa-Koro isles.

Heroes in Ko-Koro, your help is needed! Note that I will not intentionally avoid my character's death if someone plays their cards right- I simply ask that you do the same.