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Post by Swim on Feb 25, 2020 20:19:36 GMT -5
The monster was suddenly revealed to be Silver, back in her blighted form. This time Enfurnus wasn't around to pin her down, and Celestrus was worse than useless. For her part Terra wasn't quite sure what to feel, a mix of shock, annoyance, anger and pity. The last time they'd seen Silver she'd fled without a word of explanation and very nearly gotten the rest of them killed in the attack that had followed. After that unexpected betrayal Terra felt it might be best never to see the dragon girl again, she didn't think she'd have anything kind to say. Not that any words were likely to resonate at the moment, not when she was in this feral state. She hadn't been like this before, Terra wondered if she'd been captured by the blight mages after she'd run away. Regardless, it had been crystal clear that they'd all gotten in over their heads dealing with dragons and blight, and she had been more than happy to leave the matter to the military and wash her hands of it all; and now Celestrus had brought trouble down on them yet again. They'd traveled an enormous distance from Eulene, how had the dragons even tracked them here anyway? She was going to force an explanation out of Celestrus, but first they had to make sure that no one was killed in Silver's rampage.
Her friends had already begun trying to wear her down, strategically using ice attacks to freeze her joints or slashing at her hamstrings. It probably wouldn't be enough to cause lasting harm, dragons were tough enough to take a beating, and they usually healed fast. But Terra had already returned Angelheart to Alriik, the best way for her to take Silver down non lethally would be to go for an old fashioned knock out. At the moment the dragon was preoccupied slashing at Alriik with her front talon. Which meant that one leg wasn't being used for balance, and there was already a decent build up of ice on her joints. Terra stomped down causing the earth between the dragon's legs to divide, hoping to drive her further off balance. Then she coiled her own legs and used her fire magic to propel her through the air toward the dragon, delivering a fiery punch to the side of its face.
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Post by Vic Alriikerson on Feb 27, 2020 13:20:24 GMT -5
As Alriik went to freeze her jaw, Silver reacted and swung a mighty electricity filled claw at him. He'd react, stopping and attempting to lean back, but she would leave a cut across his face and take his wig with one fluid motion. He'd step back, and a curious thought came across his mind… With the color of his blood matching her scales and the hardness of her hide… Would she even know she cut him? He'd grit his teeth, gripping his long saber tightly, attempting to infuse it with whatever ice energy he could to make Aqua’s spell last as long as possible. He was going for soft spots… And he couldn’t forgive himself if he was the one to land the blow that killed their friend.
He’d dash at Silver, and would channel a powerful gust of wind on the greatsword on his back. Firing the wind down at the ground, he’d leap to about twice Silver’s current height. “ICICLE….” He’d plunge down towards her neck, but he planned on her reacting, looking to catch him in her maw. If she did not, he’d slam the ice blade against the back of her neck, in an attempt to restrain her head and keep it still. If she did, however, he’d attempt to shove his feet against the sides of her mouth… And release the burst of ice at her eyes to blind her. Either way, he thought up the name of the move, he was going to use it. “PLUNGE!”
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Post by Bloodbane on Mar 1, 2020 13:31:36 GMT -5
As the others continued to focus on wearing down Silver, Rion frowned. Despite the blade of light cutting into her leg, Silver seemed unaffected. How many wounds could she sustain like this... what condition would she be left in if this kept up? 'I have to finish this quickly.'
With Terra and Alriik both going for the face, Rion was sure they were going to draw the ire of the dragon first. Aqua continued to work on freezing Silver's limbs to keep her immobile, which meant it was up to him to try and bring her back to her senses. The blade of light began to shrink down, as particles drifted from it and into Rion's other hand until he had a smaller blade in each hand. He pushed off of the ground, diving through the air until he drove the dagger-sized constructs into Silver's hide. It was unclear how she would react to this, but his hope was she would be distracted enough to allow him to slowly work his way along her back, using the blades to keep himself from falling. His target? Wherever the excess blight within Silver was being contained; if this was the result of her taking in even more darkness, then there had to be some sign of a focal point. All he needed to do was find it, then draw out the darkness like he had before. With her in this state, however, it was going to be difficult, and if there was no such weak point, then he would have to resort to another means of ridding Silver of the darkness that clouded her mind.
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Post by Sorrum on Mar 2, 2020 21:14:47 GMT -5
Aqua watched with a pained expression as Silver was bombarded with attacks but shrugged them off. Watching Rion's light magic have little effect on her, she felt her hope wavering. As Silver roared, she couldn't help but remember the shrieking dragon. It filled her with anxiety, but that anxiety atop the struggles she'd been enduring as of late were wearing on the girl's mind. She felt her concern slipping. She just wanted this to be over so she could sleep and get home to her father as soon as possible.
Sharksbane swelled with mana as the crystal pulsed with energy unlike anything they'd seen before. Aqua carved glyphs in the air over the spear that seemed to siphon it's energy, enervating her spell with droves of magic. She gripped Sharksbane with both hands and shoved the spear through the glyph, spider like webs crossing the spearhead tip and splitting the crystal into blocks.
Glyphs as wide as the spear's shaft opened around Silver's front talons and rear legs. Beams of ice shot out and coiled, trying to encircle and trap the dragon's limbs in heavy blocks of ice. As they connected they solidified together, and more ice shot out from the glyphs to add to the weight. Without interruption, the blocks would soon anchor the dragon to the ground.
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Post by Arashi on Mar 2, 2020 22:38:34 GMT -5
The earth dividing managed to knock Silver off balance a bit, but being built for agility, it did not stop her for more than a moment as she stumbled and leaped over the divide. It would likely take some time before the ice caused any notable effects, with the blight heavily increasing her strength and tolerance to injuries.
As Terra landed the punch on Silver's face, the dragon took the hit and staggered...but it failed to knock her out. Instead, the dragon's attention was now blindly focused on Terra, and the intensity of the deadly lightning on her spines grew. Silver snarled with ferocity, aiming to snatch Terra in her jaws...only for Alriik, who she was ignoring at the moment, to smack her head out of the way and in to the ground with his blade of ice before she could connect a hit.
Pinning her down by the neck, however, would prove to be impossible. She would thrash about wildly, freeing herself from the blade.
She was, at this point, completely ignoring Rion and focusing on the larger threats that were currently attacking her. This may or may not work in his favor, because it seemed as if this was just the beginning...and he would likely need to be ready for a rough ride. Silver was no different from any other blighted dragon at this point it seemed; she was smaller than a typical dragon, sure, but this only made her faster and more difficult to catch.
She had ice weighing her down though, and now the added weight of Rion as well.
As Aqua aimed to trap Silver in ice, Silver dashed out of the way after taking notice of the attack, but not quite quickly enough. One of her hind legs got caught in the chunk of ice, and she stumbled and fell over...but quickly got up, despite the ice. She could move, but not move much at all.
Which would bring on what some may call phase two.
Silver roared in anger with the same haunting roar that echoed through the forest earlier. Her spikes and claws crackled with black lightning heavily, and would likely shock anything they came in contact with. Her eyes began to glow deeper and deeper dark blue until they were almost black...
...And a few moments later, black lightning rained down upon the battlefield threatening all within it, similar to what happened with the 3 headed dragon, but with less intensity and range. It was magic that Silver was incapable of outside of her blighted state. It struck in random locations all in the immediate area, including the ice block that kept Silver from moving much.
It started to crack.
There was limited time before the ice holding the dragon down would break, but anybody approaching the beast would have to face her flurry of claws and teeth, without knocking Rion off...and they would need to avoid the random lightning strikes.
Silver held still, but only because she was forced to. She stood her ground, snarling; her focus shifting from Terra and Alriik, to Aqua.
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Post by Sorrum on Mar 3, 2020 11:04:28 GMT -5
Aqua froze as Silver's form took on the dragon in her nightmares, made worse by the fact that the girl was out of her mind. Her deadly attacks were nothing to laugh about either, one strike from that dragon's claws could put any of them out for the fight. The lightning striking randomly sent a shiver down Aqua's spine, and she felt terror gripping at her heart as the old memory was recalled in vivid reality. Her knees started to shake and a cold sweat began to form on her skin.. but, seeing Rion atop the dragon brought her back from the breaking point. This was her home. She brought her friend here and now he was in mortal danger. They all were. One strike from this lightning, or a cut from her blighted talons could put them in the ground, as well as any human or elf living in the country, and she would not allow that. Aqua stared at the monster and refused to think of it as her friend. That wasn't Silver. This is a monster. And to destroy a monster, you can't hold back. Now Silver's soulless stare at Aqua was not being returned with fright or concern, but piercing rage, coming out of the ice mage like an avalanche. Her traps and attacks were slowing Silver down, but more brutal methods were quickly selected as her anxiety over the past few weeks ignited her soul like a wildfire.
Aqua tossed Sharksbane aside, knowing the weapon would only attract the lightning strikes. She put her hands together in front of her as mana gathered like a violent torrent of water, spreading her hands wide as a glyph appeared in front of her. "You disappear when we need you the most, abandon your kind to a disastrous fate, leave us with no whisper or mention if you'll return, then attack us in the dead of night in this dreaded state!?" Aqua's snapped at the dragon. From her hands, a massive block of ice formed and blasted forth from her open palms at breakneck speed, directly at the dragon, smashing into the immobile dragon as it remained planted. "Who the hell do you think you are?! You can stop the crystals but when it comes time to face up against the ones making them you run? You told me you wanted to stop the blight because of what happened in your past, and I knew you were hiding what it cost you to do so, but when we could have brought it all to an end you left us all to get nearly killed!" Aqua charged up another ball of ice and fired again, and again and again between her words. The thick mana in the forest provided her all the ammunition she needed, and she was hardly getting winded from the onslaught.
"This is my home! My Frontier! If you're going to become just another blight creature than I will destroy you to protect it! I can't rely on someone who disappears in the final hour, and if I save you or not than that's one less thing on my f***ing plate to worry about! My father is here! My people! My friends! And you won't touch them as long as I draw breath!" Finishing off her attack, more glyphs formed around Aqua, this time firing a multitude of boulders at the dragon, aiming to overwhelm her completely.
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Post by Tony on Mar 3, 2020 13:39:04 GMT -5
Arne continued to slice at Silver, trying his best not to cut deep enough to cause serious damage... each strike followed by a blast of flame from Hien, in order to burn any wound shut. However, it quickly became apparent that his assault wasn't even slowing her down. "Is she even feeling any of this?!"
As her body began to crackle with black sparks, Arne and Hien quickly backed away... just in time to avoid the rain of lightning that started falling around her. "Damn it... what the hell do I do now?" Arne muttered to himself. His ranged options were incredibly limited... and getting close to her in this state clearly wasn't the best idea when all he had was some basic armor. However, a new plan started forming as Aqua started to let loose on Silver.
"Guess holding back isn't an option anymore. That's fine... Al! Head's up!" Arne stuck his halberd into the ground and drew the two dragon fangs, changing up one with lightning and the other with wind before tossing them both to Alriik. He then started pulling out his javelins, charging them with electricity and throwing them around Silver... hoping they would draw in the black lightning, making for a safe approach. "Get in there! I'll be right behind you!"
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Post by Vic Alriikerson on Mar 3, 2020 14:34:32 GMT -5
Alriik leapt off of Silver as soon as his last attack struck, landing not far from Terra. With a flourish of his blade, Alriik would touch his hair. “… I paid good money for that wig…” He'd sigh, and prepare for his next attack… Until the lightning began to crash around them. Alriik would instinctively drop his sabre, grab for his sword harness's buckle with one hand, and one of his dragon tooth blades with the other. The problem was, the sword wasn't there. “Sh@t! I-“ His eyea would widen and he would almost begin to panic...Before Arne tosses him his swords. He would chuck his sword harness into the air, the lightning striking his blades.
They'd fall to ground as Alriik caught his treasured dragon teeth, one in each hand. “Aw, Angel, you always know when I need you.” He’d look to Arne with a confident grin, the energy in his hands almost erupting from the fangs he held. “Alright... Now gimme a move name, on my mark.” He’d watch Aqua’s onslaught begin on Silver, as she let out all of her emotions on her friend. “Wait for it…” As the frozen boulders continued to rage against Silver, he'd wait for her to flinch. “NOW!” He'd follow behind another of Aqua’s projectiles, tossing one of his blades into it, adding Arne’s energy to it.
As the electrified ice ball struck, hopefully stunning the dragon, Alriik would grip his remaining blade with both hands, leaping at the largest source of Blight he could see on the dragon. He’d run his blade into her with all of his strength, hoping to pierce her hide. If he struck, he’d get a strong grip… Attempt to steady himself… And then scream the name Arne gave him, as he let loose the storm remaining in his blade.
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Post by Tony on Mar 3, 2020 15:51:06 GMT -5
"Wait... what?" Arne looks over at Hien, who tilts his head in confusion. "Putting me on the spot here... weird attack names are kind of your thing, not mine."
"Ok... let's go with..." He picks up his halberd and changes it with wind. "Twin Piercing Storm. That good enough?"
As Alriik ran in, Arne followed behind... leaping high into the air and plunging down next to the elf, with his halberd pointed downward... also planning to release the wind magic contained within his weapon.
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Post by Bloodbane on Mar 3, 2020 21:53:19 GMT -5
As the successive attacks managed to slow Silver down, Rion continued to try and climb toward the dark spikes that appeared to be the focal points of excess blight on Silver...
... only to find himself forced to release his hold as the spikes darkened and released powerful bolts of black lightning. 'Dammit... at this rate she really may be too far gone.' Judging by Aqua's fierce reaction, it seemed she had all but determined whether Silver lived through this or not would be of little consequence to their goals. He doubled back, doing his best to avoid the dark lightning as Arne and Alriik moved in, using their metal weapons as a means to try and direct the lightning away from the members of the group. Looking around, Rion's gaze fell on one blade in particular.
"Al! I'm gonna borrow this...!" He called out, making his way toward Shirosame before taking it in his hand. The blade began to glow with that same radiant aura as seen back on the Shepherd, though as he raised the sword and prepared to make his way toward Silver once more, the sound of other creatures caused him to whirl around, rolling to the side just as a mutated bear rushed into the clearing. Silver's blighted presence, in addition to the intense battle, appeared to have drawn some unwanted attention, as the wildlife appeared to have grown more aggressive in the presence of the blighted dragon.
"This isn't good..." he said quietly, as he turned his head to the sound of howling; a number of canine creatures also began to enter the fray. He looked to Aqua. "I'll hold these off for now, do what you can to slow Silver down; I should be able to turn this around if we can just keep her from darting around us." With that, he swung Shrosame, releasing a number of radiant streams of light that struck the bear, causing it to growl in pain as the light magic struck it full force. Rion then called over his shoulder to the other members of the crew.
"Keep them away from Aqua, let her handle Silver for now!" It only made sense to him, Aqua had the most familiarity with the effects this particular region had, and was already well versed in drawing from its power. If anyone could handle Silver's ire alone at this moment, it had to be her in his opinion. They could come to her aid once the creatures were scared off or defeated... and it would be then that Rion would enact his plan.
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Post by Arashi on Mar 8, 2020 4:48:27 GMT -5
As the barrage of attacks struck Silver, she was unable to do much to prevent Alriik and Arne from connecting direct hits on her. However, any electricity channeled in to her seemed to amplify the arcing electricity on her spikes.
She took multiple hits from the ice because she still could not move, and the attack drove her to step backwards a bit. It seemed to be beating her down, however...
The dragon soon had enough and roared in fury. A few moments after, she reared her head back for a moment, and then opened her jaws to release massive burst of black fire, aimed directly at the ice headed towards her. It was no match for the fire, which seemed to burn hotter than any fire Silver had ever used before. It heated up the immediate surrounding area enough to free Silver's leg from the ice block; the previous cracks from the lightning left gaps that allowed for the heat to melt enough to free her. Her skin where the ice held was red and irritated, which would likely aid in slowing her down some.
The fire kept going though as she held still and stood her ground, as if she did not notice her leg was free. It was aimed directly at Aqua.
Arne was successful, though, in his attempt at drawing the lightning in. Despite its blighted nature, it still behaved like regular lightning strikes would, and it was drawn in to the javelins.
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Post by Swim on Mar 8, 2020 23:34:40 GMT -5
As Silver began to produce lightning Terra observed the others begin to toss away their metal equipment, and she hastily followed suit by peeling off her armored shell. This would certainly increase the danger of Silver's claws and teeth but it was better than being cooked inside her own armor. The attack reminded her of their fight with the three headed blight dragon, in her current state Silver seemed far more similar to that than the girl who'd flown them to Eulene. For the briefest of moments Terra remembered the Eulene carnival and the Dunkin Dragons dunk tanks, how much Silver had hated the cold water. Shame there wasn't a stream running through the forest that they could submerge her in, maybe a little cold water would jog her back to her senses.
Her armor discarded, Terra ran back to rejoin her friends. Silver was thrashing about knocking over all sorts of crystalline plants and trees as Frida pelted her with enormous ice boulders. Terra didn't think her friend possessed the power to throw out such powerful attacks, certainly not one after another. Now that she thought on it though, she could sense a sort of magical energy in the air. Something that she could tap into, almost like those strange belts from the other world slowly increasing her power.
Arne and Alriik were able to land some powerful attacks of their own causing Silver to howl with fury, but the dragon turned its fiery breath on Frida and unleashed its own attack. Terra rushed to stand in the line of fire between them and erected a wall of earth to protect her friend from the blaze. Once the fire breath stopped Terra placed her hands against her earthen barrier and pushed, building up speed and intending to slam into the dragon with her payload of stone. While Silver would roar and thrash about looking for the earth mage who'd struck her, Terra would roll underneath the dragon clearly not finished. Terra would raise a fist, willing an enormous pillar of rock to thrust out from the earth and strike the dragon's belly. She'd punch again with her second fist causing a second slab of earth to shoot out of the ground, aiming at Silver's exposed underside. If this worked she would rise to her feet, calling her spires to push still higher and attempting to flip the dragon on its back.
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Post by Bloodbane on Mar 9, 2020 18:39:34 GMT -5
Although Terra was successful in getting a means of protecting herself and Aqua from Silver's black fire blast, but her plans to strike further would be temporarily thwarted; no sooner had she begun using her enhanced power to try and force the dragon off balance did the howls grow louder. It was unclear just who the frenzied canines were targeting, as they did not seem corrupted the way Silver was, but the dark presence appeared to be enough of a threat to the area to stir up the animals.
In fact, as some of the beasts rushed Terra, some appeared to break off from the pack and lunge at the open wounds left on Silver! Meanwhile, the bear staggered briefly as the intense light beams struck it, but it also appeared too frenzied to flee just yet, picking up speed as it ran toward Rion!
The addition to the chaos made it clear; the animals needed to be dealt with before the group could really focus on Silver.
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Post by Vic Alriikerson on Mar 9, 2020 20:26:09 GMT -5
Alriik poured the energy into it, screaming his attack. “TWIN PIERCING STORM!” However, soon an errant bolt would strike his shoulder, tossing him from the dragon's back, still gripping his last blade. He rolled a bit in the dirt, forcing himself to his feet as Rion shouted to him. “Yeah, sure, whatever!” He'd grumble, looking around to the myriad of beasts as he discarded the ruined remains of his disguise. “… Motherf- ON CROWD CONTROL.” He'd dash at the blighted monsters, pouring flame into the one sword he had left. Raising it high, he came down upon the beasts.
His head was a little fuzzy, but he was still mostly together. He was mostly just miserable because of the situation. There was no story telling tonight. There was a blighted friend to save or slay. Either way, emotionally traumatizing. Just like Aqua’s father. Just like being attacked by pirates then tossed into another universe and meeting god. Maybe if he just shut his damned mouth things would go better. Next time he brought it up they’d probably be attacked by 12 liches riding undead hydras. Hydras with cannons that could fire blight rockets. And the cannons were triple barreled.
Diving into the canine pack, Alriik would swing wide, keeping them at range, and selectively stab at the beasts if they tried to charge. Attempting to stand between his captain and anything that might f@ck with her fight, he’d almost be caught off guard by a dashing blighted canine. During a large swing, the monster would leap over his blade, aiming to catch the half elf’s jaws within his fangs. The beast wouldn’t even see Alriik’s left hook coming, but it would feel bones break and it’s neck snap. The beast would stand, head limply bobbing after Alriik’s attack, but would soon be cleaved in two by Alriik’s flaming fang. “ANYONE ELSE WANT A F@CKING TASTE!?”
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Post by Sorrum on Mar 9, 2020 21:05:09 GMT -5
As Aqua's last volley of attacks was eaten away by a massive fireball of blight and fire, she couldn't help but be surprised. She wasn't an arch mage, but that was still a substantial amount of mana she'd thrown at her, and now suddenly she was on the defensive. She made a move to erect a wall of ice, just for Terra to dive in and protect her, after removing her armor. She was shocked. "T-Terra.." she said, but the girl took off, intent to use the momentum to counterattack. Aqua watched her offset the beast's balance before, but her attempt this time around might be met with fierce resistance.
Before that could happen, she'd call out. "Terra, get beside me! There's only one thing that's gonna take Silver out, and that's Silver herself!" Aqua's gaze darted around the battlefield as the predatory denizens came in packs. Aqua carved several glyphs in the air and with a flick of her wrist sent them out. The translucent circles with arcane inscription soon appeared next to her friends, offering them assistance and driving an icicle into the beast nearest them. "Be careful, they're stronger than their regular forest counterparts!" She yelled out.
Once Terra joined her at her side, she quickly told the girl her plan, but first would scold her. "You're nuts taking off your armor at a time like this! But whatever! We can redirect her fireball at her, same way you pulled that giant pillar out of the ground. Listen, if you can manipulate the flame through the loop I'm going to make, we can reflect the fire back at her. We'll only have one shot at this, if she catches on we might have to give up on saving her. Understand? You should be able to direct it well enough if you tap into the forest's mana."
Once Terra understood her part, Aqua called to Rion. "Rion! As soon as Silver blasts me, blind her with light!"
Now that the plan was set, Aqua grabbed Sharksbane off the ground, this time though she gripped the mana crystal at it's end and tore it from it's bindings, and left behind the spear, now with just one jewel left in place. Aqua blasted another volley of ice at the dragon, no doubt gaining it's attention and further irritation. "What's the matter? You getting desperate?" Aqua taunted. Lightning cut the ground and left it bare between them, an effect Aqua remembered that the blight crystals had on the environment. Instead of getting angry, she looked into the smoldering eyes of the dragon before her and laughed. "Look," She said, patting herself down in front of Silver. "not even a scratch from that overblown fireball! Or this gaudy purple light show of yours. I guess I hadn't considered that you'd were just too weak to face the blight mages, but it all makes sense now why you'd run." Aqua coaxed her further, trying to bait the dragon into blasting her again while the ice crystal hidden behind her swelled with energy at an intense rate. "I mean, you can't even kill me!"
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