The Dark Chronicler

IC: Eshai She readied herself for the oncoming warrior, preparing herself to sidestep around Sanei when she was within striking range to evade the attack. As soon as Sanei was off-balanced by the dodge, a blow to the back would quickly end the fight. Now, that plan would only work if things went exactly right. But she was certain she could pull it off.

IC: Eshai As Sanei charged towards Eshai, she put away her Kanabo before vanishing again. Then, she appeared behind Sanei by a few feet. It was in this moment that she drew her own sword. This fight was going nowhere. "It appears that neither of us can land a decisive blow. Perhaps we should cut back our powers in a duel of blades?"

IC: Mayixa "It's no problem at all, I understand having important things to do quite well. Have a nice day, madam." He had been through his own share of rushing off during conversations. That was quite a while ago, but he could still remember it and all the misery that it had caused him. Being a speaker, payed to talk about issues that sometimes went against his own thoughts. If it hadn't been for the accident... No, it was Neroxidecost that had freed him.

IC: Eshai A telekinetic punch was indeed enough to lock the swing of the Kanabo in place. The swing itself had enough Momentum to make changing direction it next to impossible, but that didn't make the blow to the gut any less annoying. The swing missed by only a slight margin. Eshai vanished. She appeared once more a distance away from Sanei, she had to think about a better strategy. Eshai kept avoiding everything when she could see it coming... but that push had certainly seemed to catch her off guard. What this would take was a single, quick, unexpected blow. She just had to wait for the right timing.

IC: Theriss ... ... ... Nothing, she just stared on blankly into the space where Barthel had been standing before his outburst. She didn't move, didn't speak. The look on her face was somewhere between her usual calm and utter shock. Her mind raced through the events to try to understand what had just happened, and tried several more times when it did not like the outcome. She knew that Barthel was afraid but she had never really grasped the extent of just how far his fear reached. Clearly it had been taking a very heavy toll upon him, even if she hadn't noticed. Since right before the team had formed, that had been her choice of ways to keep him under control. All it took to stop any incorrect action was a light touch, and he seemed to instantly stop. If all that it took to send him into a panic was a simple touch, how bad could it possibly have been when she had clutched his shoulder or gripped his arm? She had been tormenting him terribly, enough that it caused him to storm off. She had never expected such an outburst, especially not from Barthel, but it appeared he wasn't merely jokes and a rival to Voulge. That seemed uncomfortably familiar to the events of the night prior. Only, at that time she had been the one leaving to release her anger. But, would that mean that in this situation, she had played the part of Geklan in her own anger? No, it had to be wrong. She wasn't like Geklan, she didn't torment people just because she could. She hadn't known that Barthel would react in such a way, or she never would have done it. She was merely mistaken in her actions, Barthel had caused his own torment every time, despite the fact that he clearly was quite horrified by the result. He was the one that wouldn't learn, it was not her fault that the methods had been unintentionally too extreme. Why hadn't he said something earlier, made some sort of response that it was a punishment beyond the crime? If it had really bothered him so much, it was his own fault that he did nothing to stop it, and now he was dealing with the consequences. He had brought it upon himself, she was of no blame at all. That was the thought she tried to force through her mind, though it met much resistance of blame and hints of guilt. As she struggled her hardest to fight them off, Liano had left after Barthel. Should she do the same, apologize to him for what had come of his own actions? No, she had nothing to blame herself for... She walked over to the seat where Geklan had thrown the Sarsi's cut of their profits, before dumping the coins out onto the table. This was what she was here for, what the Toa Sarsi were made for. It wasn't about creating a true team, or making friends. It was about regaining what had been taken from her, reclaiming her power and wealth to return to the top. They were only around to help her earn her money, then she would be finished with them. This too, she kept repeating in her head, as she solemnly began counting the money.

IC: Mayixa "But of course. My name is Mayixa. It was a pleasure speaking to you." And he had done something wrong, she seemed quite eager to leave. Why was it that the Truth seemed to hard for people to understand without treating him as though he was mad?

IC: Eshai As she watched Sanei hit the ground, she lifted up her kanabo. So the best Sanei could do with her powers was a blast strong enough to knock someone over? Of maybe she was holding back, Eshai couldn't be certain, but she knew what was coming. It was time to finish this battle. With a downward swing, the Kanabo came down towards the fallen Sanei. Eshai was doing her best to keep the swing under control, trying for enough force to knock the wind out of her employer without going overboard.

IC: Eshai Breaking free and evading a moving Sanei would have been easy enough, but outrunning a force she didn't even see coming? Eshai hadn't been quite prepared for the powerful blast that struck her armored form. Instantly, her power's hold on Sanei's mind halted. If the thought held in place or faded, Eshai couldn't know. She had more important things to worry about for the moment. She hit the ground from the impact from the attack, stumbling back from the force as gravity had done the rest. It was a rather jarring impact for the large brute, her heavy armor ensuring a heavy collision. As she began to rise to her feet, she vanished from view. It that was how Sanei wanted to fight, then Eshai could respond quite easily in kind. She reappeared behind Sanei, holding her Kanabo with one hand near each end. And with a might motion, she attempted to bump the weapon virtually harmlessly into Sanei's back in an attempt to knock her over as well.

IC: Theriss As Geklan entered, Theriss became very quiet, not saying a single word. She merely watched as he threw the bag of money near her. She didn't have anything to say to him, he and his insufferable grin. He had sent her into a fury the night before, and now he decided to show up with a large grin upon his face, as if nothing at all had happened? It was almost as infuriating as the event itself, a sign of wretched smugness and his own thoughts of superiority. The fact that those had described herself not that long ago was something she tried to force from her thoughts. It was then that she noticed her grip had been steadily tightening on Barthel's shoulder as her anger had increased. No, even what he had done was nothing to the pain Geklan had instilled with a single action. All the insults Barthel could think up would not be able to match the sheer impact of having her own chair presented before her as a token of conquest. Barthel was merely a small annoyance to her temper, but she could easily do something to stop him, Geklan had no such weakness. So why then, did the anger she was feeling has this mixture of sadness somewhere inside it? Once, Geklan had been willing to help her, even supporting her a little on her original rise to wealth, but now he merely stood aside and mocked her with his presence. He had changed so much since then, becoming colder, more vicious in his scams. His whole attitude had seemed to shift as his wealth had increased. Had the money done the same to her? No, of course not. She was stronger than Geklan, the money had only made her better. Instead of stealing it from people, she had given it away as loans. She had been helping others, not harming them. She stopped, trying to calm herself as best she could, before slowly removing her hand from Barthel's shoulder. She looked down at the Toa of Iron with a face that was clearly on the edge of breaking out of its serene facade. But what direction would the emotions it held back go? "I hope this will have inspired in you some sort of respect for the other members of this team. Otherwise, I will have to do it again."

IC: Eshai As unorthodox tactic as it was, Sanei had found herself a rather excellent deflection. Her telekinetic powers didn't move the Kanabo much, but it was enough to do more than she likely expected. Eshai was too close to the shield to halt her assault, and the sudden slight upward tilt of her weapon meant that it hit the shield at an angle. The weapon glanced off of the shield with a brutal jolt, almost wrenching it free from her strong grip. It wasn't enough to stop her, but enough to seriously make her rethink her strategy. She vanished and appeared a distance from Sanei. She was going to try something different this time. Sanei had proven herself very good defensively, but how good was her offence? She stared at Sanei, letting loose her own power, Willhammer. Instead of trying to force a new emotion onto her foe, she attempted to fuel one that she felt was already there. She tried to play on Sanei's sense of self-doubt. Something she was almost certain that the obsessively overachieving warrior held somewhere inside her. She attempted to plant a single thought inside her foe. "Eshai is so far below you, and yet she has so far been able to match your blows. Why are you not defeating her easily?" She couldn't focus on forcing it through it for long, as she was certain she would need to be moving soon. But if the thought stuck...

IC: Theriss Barthel Deliresi. He was a part of her team, but that could very well change in an instant. He had done some things before that had angered her, but this right here was beyond unacceptable. His insulting of her was out of line: She had never done anything that infuriating to him, had she? Sure she had touched him just to bring out his phobias, but that was when his own actions had caused it. What had she done to deserve such terrible insults? Nothing, nothing at all. Barthel was merely pushing the boundaries of her temper, and right now she was already in a bad enough mood. He was going to suffer. Yes, he would suffer dearly. LoJak had attempted to calm the situation by trying to stop Barthel, but it was already too late for the screamer. But of course, revenge didn't necessarily mean violence, there were far more entertaining ways for her to punish Barthel's sheer rudeness to the leader of the Toa Sarsi. She had something that she could use to cause him endless misery. "That sounds quite acceptable to me, I know the place you speak of. I've been there quite a few times before... but now it's a little too far outside of my price range." She remained calm all throughout, though her eyes never moved from Barthel. If he didn't have a cold chill going up his spine already, the slight smile forming on her face would certainly cause it. She calmly rose from her chair and walked over behind Barthel's. She placed a hand gently down upon his shoulder, fully expecting the Toa of Metal to go into his unmoving panicked state. Then she turned towards Liano, a cold smirk on her face. "Liano, how many women do you think you could convince to come in here and place a hand on our friend Barthel?"

IC: Eshai Sanei's reflexes were better than Eshai had expected, as she felt her weapon forced up just enough for Sanei to pass by it unharmed. It was quite a quick deflection too, very impressive use of her mental powers. Eshai could have grinned, having an opponent after quite a long time that was not trying to kill her. It meant she could try things that might otherwise get her killed. The blade passed within inches of her legs. That was one advantage of being taller, a longer reach. A longer weapon didn't hurt much either. But the attack was still far too close for comfort, and likely could have caused some real damage to her legs. She clutched her Kanabo tightly, and went towards Sanei with a quick charge using the blunt end of the tool. If it hit, it probably wouldn't do any serious damage. It would hurt though. It would hurt very badly.

IC: Mayixa "On occasion he speaks to me. He never says much, though he always knows exactly what to do. There are many questions that I still wish to ask him, such as if he is actually a he, for I can only call him such based upon his voice. But that voice is not like any one I have ever heard." Mayixa knew that if things seemed troubling, Neroxidecost would always be there to give him guidance. But otherwise, his Majestic Holiness seemed to prefer to remain silent. Every time he spoke, Mayixa felt slightly dizzy, so perhaps it was that his great voice would tear apart the mind of mortals if exposed for too long or too often.

IC: Eshai At the very moment that Sanei began her lunge, Eshai raised her Kanabo and vanished. She had barely moved in time to avoid the kinetic blast, only because she had already prepared her first attack. If she had had to think any more about her placement, it surely would have struck. She appeared right to the side of Sanei, revealing why she had raised her very long weapon. It was now only a small distance from having Sanei crash into it face first.

IC: Mayixa Following Kiara in, he joined her in taking a seat. It was time, time to tell her of the Great and Glorious One, he of endless eyes and limbs. The singer of songs so holy that they are beyond comprehension. It was time to use all those speaking skills from his time before the accident. " I suppose I should begin at the start. I had a vision not long ago, meeting with a power far greater than any other. I saw endless pupil-less eyes, each one forever blinking but never closing, rising out of endless mouths that rose from the inky surface of its skin. Endless limbs spread out from its enormous form, each one branching into a thousand branch-like offshoots. These offshoots each ended in another mouth, which sang out in glory of his holy and unspeakable name. I could feel the darkness in my own soul trying to rend itself from my body in his presence, his sheer majesty causing it to writhe in agony. Then amid his center, a single massive opening appeared, the inside lined with burning quills. From this came a booming voice, that left my mind unable to focus upon anything else, as all of my sense faded. It said in words that were not our own, but my mind could through his power understand. ‘Mayixa, son of the people of the false spirit. I am the glorious one who is called -‘ what he said could not be translated, for no word of ours could ever explain it. I can’t even repeat it for I have not the power to speak it. ‘You see before you the truth beyond what you have been told. Mata Nui and Makuta are but mere specks of dust in my presence, their power is nothing. You must guide your fellow children of the false spirit back towards my path.’ I managed to ask a single question of his endless greatness. ‘I can not speak your name… what is it that I may call you to those I must lead?’ The booming voice responded with a name, and then I awoke. He said that I may call him ‘Neroxidecost’."

What can I say, Hubert? We all have really short attention spans and - hey look, violence! Oh wait, I'm not joining in... nevermind. Reminds me of a time long ago where Grochi The Otter and me had characters on both sides of a battle he caused. We ended up bringing in most of Onu-Koro into that madness. Oddly, I think I wanted to escape it. XD

IC: Eshai She followed along behind Sanei, watching the respect that her employer received. She had once been subject to the same: on a lesser scale perhaps, but the feeling of power was nonetheless the same. She couldn't help but feel a hint of jealousy at the life of Sanei, born into a powerful clan that would be going nowhere. Her power would last for a very long time. When they reached the training ground, Eshai walked around Sanei to take her place in opposition. She was taller and more muscular than her opponent, but that wouldn't mean much once the battle got underway. She drew her Kanabo from her back. She would be careful with the powerful weapon, she didn't want to hurt Sanei too badly with it. It was built for smashing armor and crushing bone, not for training battles. With a nod towards Sanei, she responded. "I am ready."

IC: Mayixa With a light step and a cheerful grin, Mayixa lead the way through the freezing village streets. He stopped to wave to a few people along the way, and they returned the gesture. He wondered if they would react the same way once news of his preaching spread. He hoped that they would hear and understand, but he had a feeling that when it spread, they would want nothing to do with him. But that wasn't as important as the Truth. As he took the last turn leading up to the cider shop, he was halted by what lay before him. A sign hung upon the building's door advertising a shortage of Bula Berry Cider. "Oh, how terrible. I suppose it is time that I try a new flavor." With a courteous bow, he opened the door for Kiara.

IC: Eshai As they neared the bridge, Eshai adjusted her pace no longer to be beside Sanei, but standing directly behind her. Following her lead, but not holding to place herself as an an equal. Walking beside her was not really something Eshai felt she should be doing, but it was an old habit that didn't seem to want to fade. If her mind slipped from concentration, she often found herself walking alongside Sanei as she had done other warriors long ago. "That would be a good place."

IC: Theriss After the thoughts inspired by Barthel's comment were forced back into the dark parts of her mind, she found herself searching for the answer she had been about to give. Being called 'Boss Lady' was just Barthel's way of referring to her, as a joke. He didn't mean anything by it at all, he just thought it would be funny. Yes, that was it, that had to be it. Anything else was more unpleasant than she wanted to think about. She was nothing like Geklan, she didn't torment people just because she could. She was better than that. As calm as ever, she turned to answer LoJak's question, only for her to once again be interrupted. This time it was Liano, looking to be suffering heavily from the night before. She didn't understand why it was that so many of her Toa Sarsi would be so willing to drink themselves into a miserable following day. Barthel, Liano, Crasaro, and more than likely Voulge. There was no reason to intake that much alcohol unless you wanted to completely forget taking in that much alcohol and wake up feeling like you were dying. Whatever his reason for not wanting to stay, he might very well find himself greatly disappointed. She could guess his reasoning, but there was no real certainty. She had been the last to leave the restaurant the night before, so she had some idea... "Hello Liano, I assume that you won't be wanting to be at this location for the next late day shift, correct? I'm afraid that we may be here for an indeterminate amount of time. So please, take this time to find yourself a good hiding place." Then she once again directed her attention towards LoJak. "I believe that I shall accept your offer of dinner."

IC: Mayixa "A lovely little shop just down the way and to the right. Wu can tell it by the sweet scent of fruit wafting out into the street. The owner is a good friend of mine, actually. He was there during the... never mind. It's not a long walk." With a slight bow, he turned on his heels in the direction of the cider place. But his mind had almost lost thought of the cider, it was more focused on the fact that he had someone willing to listen to him, to hear the Truth of the Great and Glorious One, Neroxidecost.

Ehehehehehehehehehehehehe..... I'm not really sure if they'll be back just yet. Every time I try, something goes horribly wrong. Er, nothing to see here. In other news: I've found that I have a tendency towards creating Toa, and have decided to go against it for a new character. The question is, should I create a new character entirely, or bring back a previous one,Kirgon, if anyone remembers him

IC: Mayixa He could barely believe what he had heard. Here was someone who actually had some interest in listening to the Word of Neroxidecost, someone who had the power to pierce through the veil of lies that had been spread by the False Spirits. Yes, it had surely been the will of the Great and Glorious one that he should end up walking by at the same time as Kiara. That was why Neroxidecost had told him he hadn't failed: he had not yet truly begun. "That sounds quite delightful. I know this wonderful place that sells a variety of flavors. It's not that far from here, actually."

IC: Theriss Judging by his expression just after her question, it had not been something that he had expected. Maybe that was a sign that it was something far beyond mere suffering and misery, something that was far better off left unsaid. Everyone had a few events in their lives that were like that, that should never be again brought to the surface. She had a few of those moments herself, all from back in her days before starting her loaning business. Those where times that she would never wish to speak of, or even think of again for as long as she may live. But, he answered with a surprising honestly, though after a moments thought it seemed to fit him quite well. Asking others about their issues while suffering your own was comparable to asking why someone would wear differently colored armor, when you yourself wore something far different from your elemental norm. But despite his honestly, the look he gave to the table hinted that it was something that pained him greatly within that 'dark time'. Perhaps it was better left alone. His last question came as a bit of a shock, even though she had expected it from his prior question. As she was about to give her answer, Barthel took a seat at the table. She hadn't even noticed him walk in, much like LoJak had done before him. But that wasn't what had caught her attention. No, it was his commentary that had gained her interest. He had called her 'Boss Lady'? Sure she was the leader of the team, but she hadn't really seen herself so much as a boss as she did a part of the team, not truly over it. But that comment about the tombstone was completely unnecessary... or was it? She wasn't that bad was she? She figured that he was joking, but the fact remained that it brought back up questions left behind by Geklan's departure. Was she really scary enough that a joke about her killing LoJak would work? She didn't like her own answer.