Than
Fae
Apprentice
"Society is flawed without coruption to drive it"
Posts: 174
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Post by Than on Jul 29, 2010 4:20:41 GMT -8
Wind blew the tops of the trees into a frenzy of odd shapes as the small army moved quietly through the forest towards the small Fae city set with in the trees and consuming a clearing that had fallen silent over the last day as the "assault" continued, if it could be called an assault. The Army of Green Flames had slowly been destroying the outskirts of the city, picking off stragglers, burning houses to the ground, raiding their supplies, and killing off their animals, all in the hopes of creating fear. The shifters and certain Fae were doing most outskirts of the city into chaos, chaos that lasted only for mere moments before it died down and the inhabitants shut themselves up in their houses and stopped going out.
Now the shifters raced from the city, each carrying a long fuse, and brought them to a small tent that had been hidden within the shadows of the forest and where a night elf sat in front of a small fire that glowed green in the half-light, "Everything's in place, the inhabitants barely even knew we were in their houses." Very good Alastor," the night elf said to the leader of the shifters as the others began to bind their fuses together, "Soon we will have a city to call our own, but it will be short lived, with the Fairy Princess 'missing' our time is at hand to take the Mound." The shifters then handed Alastor the massive fuse who passed it off to Than who held it tight in his hand as he took an unlit torch and dipped it into the fire, it burst into a beautiful tangle of flames and burned bright green as he lit the tops of the fuses before releasing it and watching the green flames race away towards the city.
As they approached the city they slowly began to taper off, some going towards the east side of the city, others the west, and some went straight towards the houses on the outskirts that were closest to the camp, on the north side of the city. Then the houses, closest to where Than his men stood in the trees, glowed green slightly before disappearing in a massive green explosion of flames. Shrapnel covered the sky along with smoke as the houses all around the outskirts of the city blew up in sequence. Terrified screams rang out across the city, the siege had begun.
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Post by Little Sparrow on Jul 29, 2010 4:47:33 GMT -8
The figure sat motionless on one of the roofs, black cloak camouflaging her with the night sky so long she made no movement. The cowl hid the woman's every feature from sight, though her eyes flicked around constantly, watching the movement of every being on the ground, aided by her Sharp Eye ability as part of an avian shaman. As of now, her newer ability was useless; all the sparrows were safe in their nest with their younglings and mate.
Cloti let out an exasperated breath as she saw yet another rodent scuttling around the ground. She would really have thought that a Fae city like Shrapnel would be cleaner and more hygienic, though she was well aware that every city was different. Here on the outskirts, it was easier not to be noticed by the fae--especially the more prejudiced, suspicious ones that hated humans. She saw no reason for them to hate her as she was one of the Song, but with the fae, you never knew. She was just about to think that nothing was going to happen in contrast to the raids and petty crimes that had suggested that something big was about to happen, when she caught light. Flicking her gaze over to where she saw the light, she caught the color of green. The light was close to the ground and growing closer to the city.
The Army Of Green Flames!
She narrowed her eyes, hissing as she turned to slide off the roof and land on the ground. Great. Just great. She could see long objects leading out of the houses. Fuses. There was no one about to put them there, especially since this part of the city was all so paranoid. The rodents. Shapeshifters. Mentally, she kicked herself. Why hadn't she made the obvious connection? That was the stupidest thing that she had ever done. Ripping out one of her blades, she slit the fuse closest to her, kicking it angrily away from the house irately.
Moments later, she cringed as loud explosions of crackling hit her ears, hearing unsettled cries. Well, people here were terrified of the green flames that wracked their houses. Just get out of the houses, you retard fairies. She thought murderously, stalking off to where she saw the fuses. He was sure to be there, Than and his followers, that was. The avian shaman was so pissed that she had not even considered the circumstances of this action; she was frustrated and needed to vent it on the nearest living thing--hopefully a shapeshifter. It was a good thing that she had the sight of a hawk and a good aim. The blade in her left hand was named Feather. It was a blade that never missed when she threw it properly. It was going to hit that overly large vole that was scurrying away a little too slowly to be a normal vole. It was also a little too thin. Curling her lip, Cloti took aim, gauging speed and direction. Eyes locking onto the creature, she threw the knife, hearing its sudden thwack onto the creature, piercing through it and making it squeal pitifully loud. Oh shit.
Hastily retrieving the blade, she wiped it on the grass, locating a nearby branch and hoisting herself up onto it. That stupid creature must have the attention of every single being near them and if a whole army came. Well, let's just say that she would hate to be caught in the middle of it all.
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Than
Fae
Apprentice
"Society is flawed without coruption to drive it"
Posts: 174
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Post by Than on Jul 29, 2010 10:15:12 GMT -8
The ring of green flames glowed bright as the outskirts of the city slowly erupted into turmoil as Fae fled their houses only to be taken down by the shifters hiding in their midst. Cries rang out like trumpets for the king as the dust and debris started to clear from the sky. "What?!," Than yelled as the form of a house could be made out in the middle of the flames on the outer ring of the city, that now burned green as villagers fled to their deaths. "This is our opening, Lichten make that building your heading, your battalion enters the town through it," Than yelled at his men as they prepared for the assault, "Shifters you are to fool Alastor through the trees over the fire and onto the other side, there you will take out anyone you can. cavalry, you form up behind me, we attack from the this side, the house that is unharmed is to the far east and the shifters will attack from the south, we will win this battle!"
Another elf ran up with Nightshade's reigns in his hands and them off to Than before rushing off to his own steed, "This is our defining moment, if we take this city the world will learn to fear the Army of Green Flames, the will learn to respect us, they will learn to follow us!," he said as he mounted Nightshade. Cheers and roars rang out from his men before a deafening squeal rang out across the field that separated them from the forest, "Shifter down!," yelled a shifter from beside Alastor. "All the more reason to fight to save the lives of more shifters, CHARGE!" He then whirled Nightshade around and raced off towards the city, his cavalry close behind him as shifters scampered off into the trees or flew off towards the city, and the military marched off toward the house. Everything was going as planned.
Nightshades feet left the ground as he jumped and practically flew over top of the green flames and onto the soft ground beyond. Than then raced through an alley way to the sounds of screaming behind him as his men slaughtered the Fae in their path and left their mates weeping beside them. This city would be theirs.
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Jaime Keating
Human
Sleeper
It's honestly not as bad as it seems. C'mon, find something to laugh about!
Posts: 43
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Post by Jaime Keating on Jul 29, 2010 10:36:49 GMT -8
People were dying...
The boy had come to the fae city with Cloti, dutifully doing as she had asked and investigating the small disturbances here. She had thought that something big would happen here. Vaguely, Jaime wondered if she had ever thought it would have been something as big as the destruction of the entire city. He had been perched on one of the houses when the explosions started. That was where he crouched now, staring in shock as each of the houses were blown up and the fae ran from them, only to be cut down by the shifters that were now running rampant in the city. Below him, the door swung open and a fae family - mother, father, and child - tried to flee. Jaime watched as a shifter noticed them and came running, ready to cut the three of them down.
The shock disappeared. His reflexes kicked in. As the shifter approached, Jaime leapt from the house, tackling the assaulter into a heap on the ground. It wasn't a graceful tactic, but it worked. "Run! Get out of here!" the boy shouted back at the family, wrestling with the shifter to keep him away from the family. They took his advice, fleeing in the opposite direction. Jaime twisted and kicked the shifter in the side, scrambling to his feet and sprinting away as quickly as possible; luckily, physical exhaustion didn't bother him.
He had to find Cloti. Where had she gone? "Sparrow!" the boy called in the midst of the chaos before he ground his teeth together and shook his head. He could find her later. The people needed his help right now. Jaime was already too late to save some of them, but he could try to save as many as possible. Cloti was probably doing the exact same thing, actually.
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Post by Little Sparrow on Jul 29, 2010 11:02:16 GMT -8
Yep, Than. Definitely Than. He was the only one who could bring shifters to this place. Damn him. But now that she was fired up, she was ready to go and take some down. The screams of terror fed her on, albeit slightly. Stupid fae, thought that they were smart and in the end all they could do was scream helplessly. In her rage, she was oblivious to the fact that she shouldn't have been saying such unfair things. In fact, it was almost like she wasn't herself.
"... CHARGE!"
Cloti cringed at the voice. It was unfamiliar, but held a definite not of power. Than the night elf. Moments later, thundering hooves made her cling to the branch. Though she would have loved to throw Claw at him, he was too fast and protected to. Oh well, she would have to wait for later. Once the main party was gone, she dropped to the ground, taking off at a run. Her eyes flitted around, taking detours and getting to the city all the same. Only then did she realize that she had Jaime with her. Apprentice, right. Duh.
"Sparrow!"
She heard the faint call through the chaos as she entered it. Out of the pan and into the fire... Her head commented dryly. Cloti rolled her eyes, unsheathing both blades. Well, these shifters were hurting fae. They deserved to die; but what could she alone do but stab a few and run before they retaliated? Find Jaime. Good idea. Blades in hand, she ran frantically, shoving any fae on their way if they decided to hesitate in the pulsing throng of battle. It didn't look good, the other Song spies were situated in other places. Shit. She had forgotten to take super extra precautions.
A shock of light hair, trying to direct fae. Yep, there he was. A pair lurched in front of her and with a hiss, she dispatched the one with a blade. Good riddance to him too. Go ahead and join the rest of your mates in hell. The voice jeered. Cloti had named it Lluvia and as of yet, she had no intention of losing control. "Finch." She called casually as she came within hearing range. Diving forwards, she slashed at yet another shapeshifter. "Watch your back." She told the boy, watching the chaos. It was too disorganized; they needed to do something, or else the city would be lost.
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Jaime Keating
Human
Sleeper
It's honestly not as bad as it seems. C'mon, find something to laugh about!
Posts: 43
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Post by Jaime Keating on Jul 30, 2010 10:39:42 GMT -8
"Finch."
Jaime jumped slightly at the name, turning to look at the human woman. He supposed that she must have heard him when he called out. The boy was glad; he wasn't sure what to do in a situation like this. Save as many as possible? Follow after the cloaked man on the horse? What? "What are we going to do!? They're dying!" the boy shouted above the screams of the fae and the crackling of wood as it burned.
What could they do? The two of them had found each other, yes, but the others were still separated. How much could the two of them do? Wait, no. That wasn't like him. Of course there was something they could do. The shock must have been dulling his brain. Immediately, Jaime looked around. The shifters were running toward the the main section of the city. A plan began to form in his head quickly. It didn't even register to him that he wasn't the leader here, Cloti was.
"We have to get into the heart of the city! Either get the fae out of there or have them stand and fight to protect their city!" the boy spouted before he thought about it. And then, without any warning, Jaime turned and darted toward the city. A shifter came at him from the side, but thanks to Cloti and Kenyon's training he was easily able to evade the oncoming attack, rolling out of the way and pushing himself back up onto his feet to keep moving.
Was he being reckless? Probably. But Jaime wasn't thinking about that right now. His thought process was on saving as many fae as he could if he couldn't save the city. They could punish him later for being reckless if they wanted.[/size]
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Calandra
Daemon
Sleeper
Game Over.
Posts: 77
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Post by Calandra on Jul 30, 2010 14:28:43 GMT -8
Calandra strode into the besieged city, laughing as she drew her blade. The chaos was wonderful; it reminded her of a bloodier, louder version of home. But unfortunately, the aspect of Than and his army rather put a damper on the mood.
Calandra snarled to herself and automatically tried stretching out her wings, which caused her to hiss in pain. She let her wings fall limp against her back again and slashed at a passing shifter in her frustration. Than would pay for that bomb incident, whether by her hand or another's, but she would see it happen.
That was also part of the reason she was here. Calandra had heard that the night elf would be here, and it just so happened that the Song was as well. Perhaps they would receive a helping hand from the lieutenant of the daemons.
The daemon glanced around, scanning the streets for Loki when she noticed a young human boy go racing by, heading at top speed for the heart of the city. She had to hand it to him, he was rather good at evasion, but to be in this little hell-hole, you had to be able to fight. Unless you were really quick that is.
He must have been part of the Song, otherwise he wouldn’t be here. Originally Calandra would have guessed that he was with Than, but by the way the shifters tried to take him out, she realized that wasn’t the case. That, and the fact that he seemed far too concerned by the attack of the city, and if the look on his female companion’s face was anything to go by, the sudden outburst was not like him.
The daemon smirked and made her way over to the human woman, assuming that she was the one in charge. “Trouble in the ranks?” Calandra drawled, her high, harsh voice carrying well over the noise. She held out a gauntleted hand briskly for the woman to shake. “You are with the Song, yes?”
The daemon fairly radiated imperious anger and disdain as she turned towards the center of the town, most likely where Than was. “I have…Personal reasons for this little endeavor, but I’d be more than willing to assist you for a time.” She paused smiling grimly, glancing around with her blade at the ready. “My name is Calandra.”
A small ball of light floated above the daemon and shifted, turning into a fox-sized cat with white striped blood-red fur. The will-o’-the-wisp’s amethyst eyes glinted luminously as he curled himself around Calandra’s neck, a favorite spot of his. “Hello Miss Cala’cal,” he greeted cheerily, sarcasm strong in his voice. “I ditched Auspice somewhere in that general direction.” Loki informed her, waving a paw vaguely behind him.
Calandra rolled her eyes and looked back at the brown-haired woman. “This would be Loki, and if you see an incredibly fat pigeon, or a skinny man who doesn’t know when to shut up, please don’t kill him. He’s mine and I’d rather he stays alive.” The daemon searched the area for a moment, making sure that nobody was trying to sneak up on them and stopped, satisfied that she wouldn’t be attacked from behind.
“Loki, go keep a look out.” Calandra ordered, smiling lightly. “Yes ma’am, Miss Lieutenant,” Loki drawled insolently, saluting. The will-o’-the-wisp leaped off of the daemon’s shoulder and shifted into a ball of light, floating away quickly. Her smile deepened into a smirk as looked curiously to the Song-woman. “So, would you like my help or am I going solo?”
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Auspice
Shapeshifter
Awakened
Posts: 100
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Post by Auspice on Aug 1, 2010 14:19:06 GMT -8
"I-can't-find-him, I can't-find the-elf-ish bas-tard, can't find him, can't-find-him, the stu-pid, stu-pid, elf-y-bas-tard... La-dee-dah-dee-dee-dah... Cal?" Auspice had been navigating the roofs of buildings with the amazing balance of his half form, constantly scanning with the added detail of his magically aided vision. Quite by accident, he'd spotted her off in the distance. How were they supposed to cover a large area if they were always running into each other?
No matter, he was going to see what she was up to, who she was talking to. Without bothering to descend, he hurried off along the rooftops after her, one short jump at a time. He'd gained quite a bit of confidence in this skill, it was easy to practice when you could just fly away after a mistake.
He stopped on the roof of a suitably short house and sat down, feet dangling over the edge. There was no need to climb all the way down just to touch base with them. "Hey! You find him? Whosshe? Human? Lovely. Has she got a death-wish for our favorite fatherless Elf? I'm Auspice, m'lady, happy hunting?"
Considering the company, Auspice shifted to his fully human shape. It was just polite, Humans didn't like to see something that only vaguely resembled them in shape, and Calandra had been having trouble flying recently. Putting the two together, he wanted to look as little like a bird as possible.
"Have we got an attack plan yet? Would you like it if I hurried off and found him, told you, got back to you, went back after him, tried to kill him, distracted him in the very least, held off the bombs for you?" Actually, that sentence hadn't made much sense. It was probably just adrenaline. How many shots had Auspice had at Than so far? He was in a good mood, hunting the Elf had become an obsession, and Calandra was finally starting to feed into it. "What I meant to say... you know, Would you like it if I scouted ahead? Then I could find him for you, it's much faster... over the rooftops," best not mention flight, "I'd report back when I found him, then I could double back and get him while the rest of you are setting up a real attack. It would make a good distraction, to keep him from blowing more stuff up." As always, Auspice was disgusted by Than's methods. The Elf didn't know much of anything about precision. It wouldn't get him very far as a leader. He'd be a tyrant at best, and peasants liked to organize against tyrants.
"Oh, m'lady?" He'd turned his attention back to the Human. "Did you know that Than dislikes your kind simply because his father was probably a changeling Human? He nearly told me as much last time we met. By not denying it. His poor damned prostitute mother must have tried so hard to keep the truth from him, eh Cala'cal?"
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Marone
Fae
Sleeper
Sans Redeeming Qualities
Posts: 7
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Post by Marone on Aug 1, 2010 15:44:25 GMT -8
Two nights prior to the attack, a rather muddy, fairly bloody, and bedraggled looking Marone had limped into the Fae city. The creature had been starved, though it was mostly by his own hand as he refused to eat the fungi and plants as he still believed, in his vain attempts to remain at least mentally and behaviorally human, would poison him. Even though he detested the area the fairy was at the point where his regard for his personal survival surpassed his rather infuriating pride, and he' sought out a free lodging where he would not have to deal with too many of "his own kind". His temperament, naturally, got him into a few fights-- if they could even be called that-- and Marone, though he lacked talent in most everything else, found himself stealing bits and pieces of food from particularly young Faes.
When the first explosion sounded, Marone had been crouched on one of the thatched roofs, quickly wolfing down a half eaten rind of what he convinced himself was an apple. The initial shock set him reeling and though he lost his balance, the fire fairy was able to latch his small fingers into the terribly flammable shingles to keep himself from breaking his small neck. Once he'd scrambled back up, the once human squinted his small eyes out to where more of the siege was occurring. Below him, in the streets, crowds were panicking and running away from the attack, while a sundry of armed Fae made ready with, Marone noted snobbishly, inferior looking weapons.
As he balanced himself, adjusting to his wings and reduced size required more time than he would have first imagined, the Fae was interrupted as what looked like an underfed Spirit Elf leapt onto the roof with him. The Fae was brandishing some sort of cream colored staff that was glowing maliciously at one end. It leered down at him, eagerly, and Marone remained motionless; as if he believed that in doing so he would be spared.
The Elf snarled low and lunged towards him and Marone barely managed to dodge the assault-- Only to slip from his already compromised position. Falling, and, on again in his seemingly infinite arrogance, refusing to make use of his wings, Marone was saw the sky blur above him. Columns of smoke were turning the midday dark and the underbellies of these great, grey beasts sparked every so often as the light from other explosions erupting below.
Figures I would die in a gods-forsaken, back water pixie hole as one of the goddamn--
Another voice, perhaps it was his common sense, kept screaming at him that death would be avoidable if he would simply make use of his new appendages but Marone decided to ignore this.
Fairing better, he thought, than the last time he'd disregarded his intellect, the fairy, rather than shattering his hollow bones on the unforgiving cobblestone, tumbled down onto the back of a large horse that had been galloping through the alleyway at the time. Marone did not really have a chance to comprehend the new danger he'd gotten himself into but was, momentarily, quite pleased to find himself still among the living.
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Than
Fae
Apprentice
"Society is flawed without coruption to drive it"
Posts: 174
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Post by Than on Aug 1, 2010 16:21:57 GMT -8
Nightshade raced through the city like a bat out of hell towards the towns center, his rider slicing through the enemy like butter. And then something large landed on the black horse's back causing Nightshade to race off towards a small courtyard filled with beautiful flowers. Suddenly the horse came to a halt in the courtyard's center and Than slid off of the horse's back to find out what had spooked the steed into racing off through the besieged city. As he slowly walked along the side of his horse he made out the very distinct wings of a Fire Fairy, a creature who had yet to become part of his group. Walking closer he drew his dagger with his right hand and heaved the fairy off of Nightshade with his left hand.
Turning he threw the fairy up against the building that ran along the right side of the courtyard and placed the dagger at his throat. "Who do you work for?," Than spat as he let the blade dig slightly into the creature's flesh, "WELL?!" Than then let the blade fall slightly and punched the fairy with the knuckles of the hand that held the knife. This was going to be an interesting take-over.
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Marone
Fae
Sleeper
Sans Redeeming Qualities
Posts: 7
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Post by Marone on Aug 1, 2010 16:38:16 GMT -8
By the time Marone had even begun to reclaim his senses, the horse had skidded to a halt in what Marone registered to by some sort of well kept courtyard. Of course his actual observation of the area was limited as the rider of the animal jumped from his mount and proceed to throw Marone off before pinning him to a nearby wall. The fairy, his small head still ringing from the first impact, barely had time to study the aggressor before the creature, he realized now that it was a Night Elf, pressed a thin blade to his throat.
Marone's body seized up and, despite himself (though at this point he had no dignity to speak of), let out a soft squeak of terror. The Elf demanded of him information, pressing the knife closer to Marone's already weakened body. The Fae, it seemed, was under the impression that he was of loyalty to someone and though Marone's previous lot with his king had been strong it, at the moment, held no real benefit for him now.
"I--"
The Elf slugged him hard and he felt his skull knock against the granite behind him. Head aching, world spinning, Marone tried to face the Elf once again, managing to say,
"I don't work for anyone-- I--"
It was at this point the new fairy discovered the second of his curses: the nasty side effect of his transformation which caused him to shrink when lying. A few inches seemed to vanish off of him and Marone was left ta little smaller, staring up terrified at the Elf.
"What did you-- Let me go!" He hissed, and tried to retaliate, only to find that he was incapable of doing so.
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Xal
Shapeshifter
Sleeper
Blood.... @_@
Posts: 30
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Post by Xal on Aug 1, 2010 18:17:34 GMT -8
A pair of eyes watched the happenings around them. So an assault was taking place. Hiding would do no good at this point. A small kid steps from the shadows from an alleyway. He was in the center of town, his brown hair was swept up by the wind and tossed about. The small kid gazed around him. Most people had vanished to their homes near him so he was relaxed. Or at least as relaxed as he could be by even being here. He'd recently attacked a group of travelers, many got away and would probably tell some people about him. Though this was of little concern. Who could blame such an innocent looking kid. Xal shook his head from the matter of being here. At the moment his options were to kill people and look like he was with the assault group, attack the assaulting group, run away, or hide again. The options he threw out of his mind was to run away and hide. Xal didn't feel the need to stand on the sidelines and watch this place fall. Before he could decide he noted that there were a bunch of shifters charging through the city. This irritated him and he snarled. Shifters. Such a disgusting race. Xal wrapped a hand around his kris. The waved dagger made for an interesting weapon. It also made for interesting kills. Only thing about having a knife like this was you had to be able to get in close to attack. Though this wasn't a problem. Act like a innocent little kid who got stuck out in the streets then kill people off when they get too close. That was all that needed to be done. Xal slipped into the fighting, the child easily took down some shifters as he went. Many of them barely gave a fight. As he went along he didn't take any samples of shifters. What good would it do him if he gained more shifter blood. Xal reasoned it wouldn't. Slipping behind a shifter that was was shifting he sliced it's neck and continued on. Not bothering to deal with the blood. "Disgusting." He muttered as he continued on. There was plenty of screaming and yelling going on. Xal just continued his path of killing any shifter that seemed to be in his way. "Really disgusting." He kicked a body of a shifter away from him. "Seven down, lots to go." Whoever was making this assault better have a good reason for using such disgusting creatures. There was no other word to describe him in his young mind. Just disgusting.
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Than
Fae
Apprentice
"Society is flawed without coruption to drive it"
Posts: 174
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Post by Than on Aug 3, 2010 5:16:06 GMT -8
"FINE!," Than spat as he moved his left arm in a very quick motion and caused the fairy to fly to the ground, "Then why are you going around falling on my horses?" He stood there for only a few seconds before he made a swift kick into the man's side, "Your lucky my attack is going on, murder, mayhem, distrust, it's happening. You see I'm gonna show the Fae the reality, show them that their system, their little code, is out of is broken, a bad joke, dropped at the first sign of difference. I move for the mound, I will rule the Fae in their glorious re-assent to power, I am Than, seek me out if you are intrigued, if not, my men will find you and kill you."
He then saddled his horse and drew it towards the gate on the other side of the courtyard, "I'm not a monster, I'm just ahead of the curve!," he called before racing off through the courtyard and then out into the streets once more and then off towards the town's center, if he could destroy it he could take the city, and then they would fear him, give him what he wanted, make them the people they were meant to be. "Leave no one alive! RAZE THE CITY! Kill these fools!," rang out cheers and yowls from the shifters and Fae as they ravaged the city and sent green flames licking across rooftops and down gutters, through living rooms, into bedrooms everywhere was a sea of green flames as the Army of Green Flames destroyed it. Then he reached it, the town hall in the center of the town, their town's leader would be in their, if he took it he took the city.
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Jaime Keating
Human
Sleeper
It's honestly not as bad as it seems. C'mon, find something to laugh about!
Posts: 43
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Post by Jaime Keating on Aug 3, 2010 7:47:49 GMT -8
The boy had raced quickly through the city, pausing long enough to help fae in need but for the most part making a beeline for the heart of the city. It was times like this that Jaime Keating was glad he was a white sorcerer and that physical exhaustion was nothing to him; otherwise, the youth would be panting and walking by now, considering the distance he had just sprinted. But as he skidded to a halt in front of the town center, the boy was relieved.
This part of the city had hardly been touched so far. He had outran the mayhem.
A quick swivel of his head told Jaime that he was alone, except for a few stray fae who were escaping from their houses as quickly as possible. For half a second, he wondered if they knew he was friendly but then realized that they probably didn't think he was. Why should they? Aw well. Let them think that. It would make them run to safety faster.
The boy charged up the steps to the town center, throwing the door open. A small group of fae had gathered there, all holding some sort of weapon, and the boy couldn't pick out the leader amongst the group. "You have to do something! Your city is going to fall and your people are going to die if you don't!" Jaime exclaimed.
"Leave no one alive! RAZE THE CITY! Kill these fools!"
Looking back over his shoulder, he could see the black horse riding up through the window. Shifters and fae poured into the town square, setting things ablaze. Immediately, Jaime's brain went into overdrive - the one on the horse must be the leader. Which meant, that if he was taken out or distracted by something, the attack would stop. The boy looked to the fae who seemed just as worried as he was.
Where was Cloti? He really needed her help. Sure, Jaime had the personality to be a leader, but he didn't know a thing about battles. So what was he supposed to do in this situation? And, suddenly, right when he needed it, a brilliant idea popped into his head. It wasn't a healthy idea, but it was brilliant. Did this madman know what the town's leader looked like? Probably not. And Jaime still had his cloak - he could probably look like a fae from a small distance with his hood up, considering he was young and fae always looked young. But it was ridiculously dangerous as well. So many things could go wrong with it. The madman could just take him for the leader and kill him; he could find out he wasn't the leader and kill him; he could know what the leader looked like and go after him instead. But Jaime couldn't sit and do nothing.
Pulling his hood up over his head, effectively hiding his face and most of his unruly hair (some stubborn strands still stuck out of the front, however, but fae could have blonde hair couldn't they?), Jaime glanced over his shoulder at the small grouping of fae. "If you don't leave, then he'll kill you. The town needs a leader to survive. Go help your people! You can escape out the back somehow." Some of the fae hesitated, some didn't. Out of the ones that hesitated, only one stared him calmly in the eye and nodded, and Jaime decided that that was the fae leader of this town. But, eventually, they all turned and trotted down the hallway before disappearing around a corner.
The boy took a deep breath. It took him a moment to realize that he was shaking, and Jaime wasn't sure if it was from fear, anxiety, or excitement. But he couldn't wait in here forever. Hopefully no one would see the fae escaping out the back or that, if they did, the fae could handle it. Well Jaime... It's now or never. Another deep breath.
And then the boy stepped out the door.
Jaime stared at the madman in front of the town center, glad that his hood had stayed where it was supposed to. He tried to quell his shaking as much as possible, halfway succeeding in that - only someone who was close would see the shivers. "I know what you're here for," Jaime started, making an effort to slightly deepen his voice from its normal higher tone. "I won't let you take this city." It was pretty obvious that the madman, whose name Jaime didn't know, either wanted to take it over or take it out. Take it out seemed more likely, but who knew with madmen?[/size]
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Post by Little Sparrow on Aug 8, 2010 1:50:08 GMT -8
"What are we going to do!? They're dying!"
Cloti looked at Jaime with an agonized expression. That was the obvious thing to say. It was an observation, a blunt, obvious observation. What she would have said was that the fae were sacrificing their lives so that they could wake others up and make them run. It was the same thing put in a different way that didn't sound so bad. What struck her was that Jaime was in a kind of panic, not that she blamed him; this was his first expedition and he was already doing pretty well.
"We have to get into the heart of the city! Either get the fae out of there or have them stand and fight to protect their city!"
The heart of the city? That was where everyone was heading and that was where the majority of the fae were. Fight to protect their city in numbers such as this? A team of battle muses might do the trick, but ordinary fae? The most unlikely thing that she ever heard of. These fae were normal civilians and probably never held a blade up in their lifetimes! But before she could tell that to Jaime, he was gone while she had to deal with the shifter in his place. She snarled. "JAIME YOU IDIOT!" She screamed at him with a curse or two as she made her way after him. He was shorter than she was, an advantage in this situation as he was aiming for speed. If he got himself killed... well, Cloti wasn't going to let him off even in death.
“Trouble in the ranks?”
The avian shaman whipped around at the startling, harsh voice, much like the call of a bird of prey like an eagle or hawk. The mere thought of the bird was enough to calm her down at the sight of the armored woman. She was definitely not fae, but the way her eyes shone, she could tell that the woman was a daemon, an avian daemon at that. She introduced herself as Calandra, had a Will-o-the-wisp with red stripes and a fat pigeon shifter that was her slave. She wasn't going to complain as of yet; she had volunteered her assistance and that was more than she could ask for. With a sigh, she sidestepped another shifter, kicking him viciously and propelling him on his way. "Assistance would be very much appreciated, especially regarding my idiot apprentice." She grimaced, nodding in agreement to the comment about the Song.
Only a moment later after she said that, another voice interrupted the fray; a thin man with a big mouth that at the moment she would have loved to slug. Too bad Calandra had told her she'd like to keep him. Also, the fact that he was a pigeon shifter slightly helped her to keep her cool. Cloti did not like harming birds--the only exception was the annoying ones.
"Oh, m'lady? Did you know that Than dislikes your kind simply because his father was probably a changeling Human? He nearly told me as much last time we met. By not denying it. His poor damned prostitute mother must have tried so hard to keep the truth from him, eh Cala'cal?"
It took all her willpower not to drive a fist through his stomach. At some other time, she would have liked to know, not now though. "Would you please shut up?!" She hissed, glaring at him. "If you haven't noticed, I have an idiot kid apprentice to save!" She gestured into the city heatedly. "And I don't think I'll mind assistance, but I'm going now before he does anything stupider than he already has!" She spat, whirling and tracing her way through the pulsing mass. Cloti had not meant to be so harsh, bur she really was desperate to save Jaime; she wasn't going to let him die on his first...
"... let you take this city."
Cloti skidded to a halt. The voice had deepened, but there was no mistaking that it was Jaime. The only thought running through her head was stupid idiot. He was acting as the town leader. An incredibly bird brained thing to do. As the co-leader of the Song, she knew what she could do, but the only way to do it was to wait for Than to take the bait.
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Calandra
Daemon
Sleeper
Game Over.
Posts: 77
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Post by Calandra on Aug 10, 2010 19:19:05 GMT -8
Calandra watched the woman go, smiling. She was obviously very worried for the boy, though she seemed furious as well. It was also very obvious that she disliked Auspice from the start. Oh well, not everyone enjoyed subordinates with a sense of humor.
She glanced over and chuckled in responce to the nickname “Cala’cal” and motioned for Auspice to follow. “Great timing,” she called over to him as she jogged after the Song woman. “Trying to kill Than again? It seems like that’s what we all want I suppose.”
The daemon shrugged as she slowly came to a halt, watching the hooded figure speak. It sounded like the apprentice boy, Jaime, and was about the same height. And by the shocked expression on the woman’s face it probably was him.
Loki landed lightly on the woman’s shoulder, a wicked smile plastered to his face. “So, Miss Cloti isn’t it?” He began in a voice quiet enough only for those right next to him to hear. “What exactly are you doing in this town without any backup? Isn’t that a bit dangerous for a woman of your rank? I didn’t think the Song was so lacking that it had to send it’s leaders onto the front lines.”
The will-o’-the-wisp’s voice was level and serious, though its tone was vaguely mocking. He shrugged his shoulders and hopped over to Calandra, still watching the shaman. “Unless I’m wrong, which is unlikely. Perhaps you aren’t actually supposed to be here?”
Calandra looked at the woman quizzically. She was one of the leaders to the Song of Heroes? While that was totally unexpected and seemed unlikely given the situation, Loki learned a lot in his solitary travels, more that Calandra even knew.
She glanced at Auspice to judge his reaction, curious to see if he had known as well. It didn’t seem likely, but yet again Auspice was an assassin and posters for her arrest were everywhere. The daemon gave a mental shrug, deciding to let the woman answer herself. If she turned out to be as much help as the rumors said, then she would not only let her go free, but would assist in keeping the humans away as well.
“Never mind all the technical shit.” Calandra said quietly, rolling her eyes. “Does anyone have plans or personal preferences on Than’s death or capture?”
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Auspice
Shapeshifter
Awakened
Posts: 100
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Post by Auspice on Aug 10, 2010 19:45:42 GMT -8
"I'd like his corpse to be warm when I get my hands on it if someone else downs him, if that's what you mean." Auspice landed on his feet next to Calandra in a fluid motion that exemplified his half-form's balance. "Though really, I'd like to have the chance to tie him up and make it a slow death. Break his nose, starve him... all sorts of good things."
He'd missed all of the talk about the Song, and wouldn't have cared much if he'd heard it. Nobody was paying him to hunt them down yet, and he'd already been denied membership once. No point in bothering with the lot of them.
Having only used his half and human shapes all day, Auspice had a knife on him. He brought it out and started twirling it between his fingers, watching Than from the shadows. "All of this fire has GOT to be killing his eyesight. The chaos in general is going to give us some cover unless we're reckless about it. Keep down and we'll all be fine. I'll go after him if he moves towards the boy, no worries there." Speaking of eyesight... "Don't look at his eyes. Avoid eye contact at all costs. If he tries to make eye contact, shut your own. Actually, if you get close enough, try to out them. Just a quick swipe at the face, with luck you'll get them. Blind him, most of his powers require eye contact, so blinding him will give us a real advantage." Falling into Than's magic once was one time too many for the Shifter, and gouging the Elf's eyes out would be a wonderful way to get revenge.
He turned his attention to the Human woman again. He really loved those Humans. She was just as practical and amazing as the rest of them, wasn't she? "You don't need him alive, do you? I mean, I'm willing to share him. A girl like you? I'd share. If you keep him alive I can always keep an eye on him for you. He wouldn't enjoy being kept alive under my watch, but I could stop short of killing him if you asked nicely." It didn't matter that she seemed to hate him. In fact, that probably went a long way in making Auspice like her even more. He'd be more worried if she started flirting back, really.
He was getting downright fidgety, and nearly cut himself with the knife. When was he going to be allowed to cut Than's throat open? It couldn't come soon enough.
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Than
Fae
Apprentice
"Society is flawed without coruption to drive it"
Posts: 174
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Post by Than on Aug 17, 2010 5:51:07 GMT -8
Nightshade pranced up from an alley way and his rider stared at the cloaked figure. He let his eyes drift over the buildings around him, catching sight of certain "creatures" that could cause a good deal of trouble for him. Than then threw his head back, "Asiri candre theris marenti fare mak isio," he chorused to the rooftops. It was an ancient form of the elvish language that he had learned during his short prow through the Mounds archives and had taught in spurts to his men as commands in war so as the other army was unaware of his intent and plan. This was meant to inform Alastor that he should await the signal and then follow suit with the plan.
"I won't let you take this city."
"I'm afraid you don't have the choice," Than almost hissed as he brought Nightshade into the light, "Asrith ma re munti." As he uttered those words a pine marten appeared on the rooftop of the town center with a dagger's blade clenched in his jaws, "Metris," Than hissed right in Jaime's face as he pranced back around to face him from a little ways off. It was then that the pine marten reared back and then flung itself off of the building, transforming into a human mid jump and taking the dagger in his hand. Reaching forward with his left hand he drew the cloaked man into his naked body and placed the dagger across his throat, "Remain calm and your life will remain intact." "Good show Alastor, good show," Than said as he slid down off of nightshade and sauntered slightly towards Jaime, "remove the hood Alastor, let me look upon the face of my captive, I want to see the look on his face when I take the city." With that Alastor removed the hood to reveal Jaime's face, "WHAT?! Why he's no more than a child!," Than shouted as he threw his hand against Jaime's face. Suddenly a chorus of yells rose from the area behind the town center, "Asiri Mantra! Asiri Mantra!" "It seems we have some prisoners," Than hissed as Alastor smirked, fighting hard to restrain a laugh, "Etre Mai! Etre Mai!," Than yelled out across the city.
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Jaime Keating
Human
Sleeper
It's honestly not as bad as it seems. C'mon, find something to laugh about!
Posts: 43
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Post by Jaime Keating on Aug 17, 2010 9:58:59 GMT -8
The man, a dark fae, was slightly terrifying to say the least. It wasn’t his appearance so much that frightened the boy – it was the strange, unstable look in his eyes and the fact that he would willingly attack and kill his own kind like this. Of course, the strange words slipping from the man’s lips were just as frightening, and Jaime wondered if he was weaving some spell. Honestly, the boy had never heard the language before (at least not that he remembered) and wondered if it was part of the fae language.
”I’m afraid you don’t have a choice.”
Jaime was about to reply, or maybe he was about to fight the fae in front of him, when he heard someone land behind him. Half a second later, the boy released a small, startled sound as he was dragged backward and a dagger was pressed to his throat. Instinctively, Jaime tilted his head back slightly, toward his attacker, to keep the sharp metal away from his skin as much as possible. This wasn’t good. This wasn’t good at all. Jaime had been taught to defend himself, but there wasn’t much he could do from this position. Not anything that didn't risk his dying, that is. And he wouldn’t be able to much good if he was bleeding from the throat, which was the only thing that kept him from twisting away from the one called Alastor, which the night elf had provided. Hey, if anything, Jaime now had some new information.
”…let me look upon his face.” Wait, what? No! Not yet! Only then did the boy try to twist away, only succeeding in nicking his throat with the dagger. As the hood fell away, Jaime had a fleeting moment of satisfaction at the look on the night elf’s face – total shock at having captured a teenage human instead of the actual town leader. Of course, that moment was broken by the hand that hit him. It didn’t hurt so much as it did startle him – the boy had never really been hit before. Sure, he had play fought with friends and Briar, but no one had ever hit him with the intention of hurting him. Brown eyes blinked in surprise.
"Asiri Mantra! Asiri Mantra!” What did that mean? ”It seems we have some prisoners.” It hit him then that the voices from before had come from behind the town center, and Jaime realized that the fae must have been captured. Again, the Song healer twisted, fighting against Alastor – it may not actually get him anywhere, but he could say he went down with a fight.
“Leave these fae alone! They’ve done nothing to you!” Jaime snapped at the night elf, dropping the voice he had been using before to let his normal, higher voice ring through. Of course, that was a pretty bold statement on Jaime’s part – for all he knew, these fae could have done something bad to this man, but he doubted it warranted their death. Either way, it wasn’t right. “Just let them go!”
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Post by Little Sparrow on Aug 17, 2010 23:15:11 GMT -8
Oh well, Jaime was in a lot of trouble. That was all she could promise. No matter how brave that stunt was, it was pretty idiotic as well. She had promised Briar not to let him die and now what was happening? Jaime was throwing his face right into death. Not to have kids was a smart idea, no kids, that would be nice. Cloti made a mental note not to have kids, ever. Well, at least not when the Song was in motion, maybe when this all this was over and "peace" was restored.
Tensing a little as the wisp rested on her shoulders, she heard his words, which made her a little more than suspicious. What was that creature anyways? It was a good thing that the wisp had gone back to the daemon, or else it might not have survived whole. Her identity was revealed. Joy. The daemon didn't seem to heed too much to this, a curious look as to whether this statement was true. Judging from the tone of the wisp, if she denied it, she would be mocked. The spy coordinator of the Song was no coward and no fool. The daemon looked trustworthy, though it was hard to tell. Why not give it a gamble? "So what? It was my own choice." She muttered. "And no, I don't happen to-"
At that moment, Cloti whipped around, hearing outlandish shouts of a language that she had never (consciously) heard before. Taking in the situation, she narrowed her eyes, Jaime had a dagger-blade pressed to his throat. A shifter was holding it. The night elf was drawing closer. How much worse could this get? Of course she could risk one of her blades by knocking that shifter out, but would she risk a movement of the shifter to jab it into Jaime's neck and kill him? Turning back to the shifter who had already come back and playing with a knife, she raised an eyebrow, indicating the situation. "If you could somehow get him out of that situation, Than's all yours. I don't give shit about what happens to him. I just want him out of commission. If you could deal with that shifter too, that'd be nice?" She suggested. Auspice seemed determined to get out there now, so why not guide him?
Judging the situation again, Jaime was still putting on the tough act, even though he was exposed and, well, defenseless. Not bad and what she'd do. She could expose herself, she could risk her life, she could do a whole hell lot of things, none of which would benefit Rodi or the Song. Cloti hated this kind of situation, especially handling it without Rodi and with a shifter, a daemon and a wisp. "Anyone else have a non-idiotic idea that could help the situation?" She asked in a more or less calm voice.
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