The Chosen [IC/PG-16]

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

"Companionship between them would form quickly, most likely. Your Chosen seems to be docile and of few words as well."

"Nice to know you're on board, now how to...oh, it's time." Flux stopped talking once he realized that Bradok had approached the tower.

 

Keres cast one glance at the group before turning and heading after Bradok. She was concerned, though she couldn't explain why, about this. She hadn't the best experiences in this place so perhaps she was just being paranoid but she wanted to be nearby, just in case. Or maybe she just wanted to see what happened. She never actually remembered seeing what happens when the tower opens up.

 

"Hey, so, the Chosen are all here...can I get my damn gold yet?" Bradock said, grumpiness making itself clear. There was a brief moment where nothing happened, then everyone in the area would feel a sudden wave of pressure. Then a voice sounded. "Confirmed. Step inside, and welcome, Chosen."

 

There was no sound, however a wave of energy would practically knock them over, and blur the air around them for a moment. When the blur vanished there was a large, rectangular, opening in the wall. Except there wasn't a room behind it. Instead there was what resembled a starry night.

Bradock shuddered. "I hate this part, always looks so creepy." Bradock took a deep breath and stepped inside...and vanished.

 

Already Keres had her journal out, writing down her observations on the phenomenon. It wasn't until Flux told her three times to get going that she snapped back to reality. She nodded firmly, and walked through the doorway...

Into darkness.

There was a feeling of grandness, and an underlying hint of magical power, in this new room. However they couldn't see anything. Even Flux's slight glow was muffled to a mere pinpoint of light.

Suddenly around them, ten feet high, blue flames flared up along torches on the wall, lighting the area two dozen feet away from them. They could see a silhouette of an elevated platform, that surrounded them entirely. Sitting behind this platform were a dozen people. Their features, and almost every detail of them, were obscured by the darkness and only a blue glow surrounding them could be made out.

 

This was the council, Keres realized. She could feel their authority, and it nearly made her sick. They stared, or at least it felt as though they did, at the group for a while until finally one spoke. "The Chosen. Those picked out to save our world from a terrible menace. Your appearance is not just a symbol of hope, but also a symbol of despair. As it means that dark forces even now move upon the Demon Gates, hoping to use their terrible power. You will face many dangers...But if you fall we all fall." There was a pause, and something in his voice caused Keres concern.

It wasn't welcoming, or kind, but instead a cold statement of fact. Her hand moved to the large flask of water at her hip, popping the top off, as the man spoke once more. "We have discussed this at length and we've decided...The blessing of the Spirit should not be the only thing to determine who will be our saviors. And thus...a test. With a simple outcome. Live, or die."

Shadowy figures moved in the darkness. They were human-height, but that was all that could be made out as they stood there. Keres' eyes widened slightly. They weren't there before or, if they were, they blended in perfectly until they moved. Clearly either some kind of magical beast or highly trained assassins. Perhaps both? Assassins from another dimension, or maybe another planet! Keres' theory grew wilder and wilder as she thought on what they could be, and she almost completely forgot the threat that just was given.

Suddenly they swarmed. One shadow for each Chosen, all of them slashing with some kind of clawed hand, moving at surprising speed.

Keres gave a start and waved her hand over her flask, hurriedly trying to cast her spell. The creature was almost right in front of her face and she noticed it had a multitude of red, bulbous, eyes. Its claw was inches from her when she finished her magic, and the water erupted from her flask, slamming into the creature and halting its attack.

But it was just the start, she knew this thing wouldn't leave it at that, and she couldn't expect help from the others. 9 Chosen, spaced at least two feet apart, 9 creatures, attacking ferociously. Their journey hadn't begun and already they were caught in a fight to the death.

[spoiler=OOC]Feel free to finish up whatever interaction you're having, then enter the tower, and react to what you find there, and defend yourself. Any information needed I can give...except I won't be on much tomorrow.

 

[Ren✧]

"Kal'bri...I hate to interrupt, your, uh, talkings, but I believe there is something happening." Kha watched as the doors disappeared with a burst of energy, strong enough to nearly knock the others down, however, Kha merely wavered slightly, to reveal a starry expanse. Even Kal'bri found herself at a loss for words, her mouth hanging slightly agape as whatever retort she held for Kha was lost somewhere between her lips and the air. "Amazing." Kha whispered, though his voice carried so anyway around him probably still heard. He began to walk towards the tower, stepping passed Keres, who had produced a small notepad and was scribbling madly. 

 

Stepping inside the building, Kha felt like this was what it felt like to die. To briefly live among the stars before starting your next life on the Earth. However, this feeling didn't last long. Blue flames illuminated the area, casting out the darkness, but causing Kha to start in fright. Kal'bri who had been nestled in his collarbone yelped and gripped his thick neck even tighter. In the face of all the mystique that the Council was presenting the Chosen with, it seemed that all of Kal'bri's bravado was replaced with some need for comfort. 

 

"No need for fear. I will protect you." Kha assured her. Kal'bri didn't respond, but the fact that she didn't lash out with some offensive remark was a good sign. 

 

Kha studied the Templar Council that sat before the Chosen. They were hidden in the shadows cast by the azure flames, only their silhouettes visible. Kha was reminded of a firelight meeting he had attended of war chiefs that had met many cycles ago. It too had carried the same gravity with it, however, at least with the war chiefs one knew where they stood. This council seemed much more cloak-and-dagger. 

 

"...rotten spellweavers..." Kal'bri whispered, venom in her voice. Kha realized he had gotten lost in thought, his attention waning. The council had addressed the Chosen and he had missed most of it. However, Kal'bri was picking up on whatever their message was loud and clear. "Be ready." She warned.

 

Her caution was unnecessary, however, as Kha had already spotted the shadow moving in his peripheral vision. As an orc there are certain things you are trained not to ignore. 1) Free ale. 2) A kinsman in need. 3) A coward that is faster than they are strong. Orcs had a history of being the victims of assassins in the night during times of war as they were often warriors too formidable for other races to easily fell on the battlefield. Thus, they grew heavy respect for the traits that would spell the most danger for them.

 

As the shadow traced its way around the edges of the room and danced around Kha's vision, the orc realized that there was more than one. In fact, there was one for each Chosen. They would have to fight one-on-one. 

 

By the time the shadow darted to make it's attack on Kha, he was well prepared for its attack. It's bulbous eyes were all trained on the orc, it's claws ready to cut him to ribbons, but before they could, Kha hefted his sword and swung it in a horizontal slash. It was a move that wasn't intended to kill, or even wound the creature, but hopefully stop it's charge. 

 

If he could just keep it stationary for a few seconds, Kha was confident, he could quickly turn the horizontal slash into a jab and wound the creature pretty severely. Otherwise, he would have to try to parry the fiend's claws with his blade and even though his weapon was practically as large as the beast, he wasn't confident he could keep up with it.

[Cherz]

Ayden's loud mouth suddenly came to a halt. For a second, he was completely silent. He then looked to the spot on his neck where he felt a sudden jab. Looking back at him was a snake. For a moment he was too stunned to even scream. But just for a moment. After that the entire group would be able to hear it. And a hideous laughter to go with it. Yet again, Nocturne found himself laughing at Ayden, though his laugh was very unpleasant, much like nails on a chalkboard.

 

"Calm down boy, its jut the Nature Spirit. You won't die." Nocturne abruptly stated, stopping his laughter suddenly.

 

"Why didn't you warn me? And why is this Snake still off me! Get it offff!" He whined.

 

Nocturne waved his hand to the Snake, motioning that enough was enough. It was then a voice sounded, and they were ushered into a corridor. From there, they met the mysterious shadows that began to "greet" them in a way that felt most unpleasant. However, Nocturne seemed on edge. He had bared his clawed gauntlents, as if preparing for a fight. He must have known what was coming.

 

"Fight or die."

 

Ayden saw a shadowy figure, but in an instant it was upon him. He had grabbed the hilt of his sword, but he didn't expect the creature to be so fast. Before it's claws could strike him, Nocturne had taken his physical form, catching the creature's claws with his own. Ayden drew his sword and prepared to strike, waiting for Nocturne to disengage and leave an opening.

 

"Seems like everyone is after my head." He uttered to himself.

[Sethera]

"Gillian...sounds like a boy's name, so perhaps Gilly fits you better. And no, no, but it's fine. I'm not opposed to it, nope. I'm always ready to listen, because that is what I do."

 

The nice woman, Anis, took advantage of Gilly pausing for breath before her next phrase to reply. However, it took the halfling girl a second to realize what she said, and once she did, she just beamed. "Aww thank you so much! You're such a great person!" If one hadn't been following the conversation, they would have no clue why Gilly had just responded to Anis's "Isn't it...kind of silly? Didn't your guide or spirit tell you about it?" with a thanks.

 

And then she realized what else the woman had said. "Oh. Uhhh, no? I mean, Snowy just said the tower was where to go, and then the nice soldiers did too, so I just went there." She tilted her head to the side. "I guess I should've asked why, but I figured it has to do with me being a Chosen, and I don't know much about that. Except that it means I met Snowy which is cool!"

 

And then the cool snake...what was their name again? Shiny? Shiny bit somebody and then they screamed and then everything was super loud and Gilly wanted to eat again but then she felt a sudden pressure, like when she had a stomachache or cramps or wanted to go to the bathroom but couldn't. Except it looked like everybody had felt that sooo maybe it was a poop spell that targeted everybody?

 

"Ugh, I have to go to the latrine now," the halfling whined. "I think I ate too much..."

 

"Wow. I didn't realize that was possible for you," Snow's voice was as dry as the Solarus Desert.

 

"Heeey!" Gilly's voice could be heard protesting as the tower opened.

 

The halfling ended up following the others in, Hob with her. They were in complete and total darkness, until they could see the council. Gilly, however, paid no attention to the atmosphere of power and grandeur in the room. No, she had a different goal in mind.

 

"The Chosen. Those picked out to save our world from a terrible menace. Your appearance is not just a symbol of hope, but also a symbol of despair. As it means that dark forces even now move upon the Demon Gates, hoping to use their terrible power. You will face many dangers...But if you fall we all fall."

 

"Hey! Uhhh hey?" Gilly took his momentary pause to raise her arm and wave it about. "Yeah, you? Behind the platforms? Yeah, do you people have a bathroom here? Or a latrine? Cuz I really have to go, eheh," she held her stomach mournfully.

 

Except they seemed to be ignoring her. Since soon afterward, he started talking again as if she hadn't spoken at all, except she wasn't paying attention because hello? Girl in need of a bathroom here. What part of that did they not understand?

 

And then a shadowy figure appeared and slashed at her chest and-- "Yeowch! Glad I'm wearing armor or that could've hurt. Waaait, you're trying to attack me, aren't you? Well that's not nice. Not nice at all," she shook her head, hands on hips. "Oh wait, this is the part where I attack you too right? Right Hob? Oh..." she trailed off when she noticed that the ram had already charged into the...thing. With Snowy on top of him.

 

"Ooh, lemme join in! Uhh, how did this happen again? Oh yeah!" and with that, she formed a spear of ice in her hands. "Dang, this is cold. I really should invest in some gloves. Ummm, pointy end is...this end? Oh wait, both ends are pointy. Uhh, hyah!" And with that, she thrust the spear outward, accidentally almost goring Hob. "Oops! My bad!"

 

"Gilly, you are being illogical. Please switch to hail mode."

 

"Don't wanna though!" she whined. "It gets all cold and then I might hit the others and wouldn't that be bad then? So lemme fight with a spear because I want to learn how to fight eventually and hey this could be practice!"

 

The ice spirit shot her a deadpan look before exchanging glances with Hob. This girl really has no survival sense, does she?

 

"Heya! Kungpow! Take that!" the girl performed some intricate maneuvers that looked more like clumsy dance steps. And each jab hit empty air.

 

Meanwhile the shadowy figure had backed away outside her range, watching her as if thinking, you done yet?

[Hälō]

"Well, sorry about that Lindow. That's how Ziiyol usually is. No idea why she was weird with you and Lily. Do fire and lightning spirits not like each other or something?" The lizard spoke aloud whilst plopping down next to the pair again. "So Lindow are you some kind of adventurer or something? You look like you could be. Well not that I've seen a ton of humans but you know. You've probably seen more of the world than I have, what's it like out there?"

 

Lindow flashed Reinaan an understanding smile. Now well aware that his presence was beginning to cause discomfort amongst some of the other spirits, the man took a moment to watch a few of the other chosen interact before turning back towards the young Draken. "I'm a hunter." He glanced towards the sword that rested at his hip and the two daggers strapped behind his back, before discreetly motioning for Reinaan to look towards the water chosen. "When a Witch goes mad, people like me are dispatched to slay them before they harm any innocents..." Talking about work seemed to put Lindow in an even better mood, and as he continued his explanation, his eye begun to glaze over slightly at the memories of some of his more recent exploits. "I do suppose I travel a lot. But more often than not I find myself in a cave or swamp, up to my knees in blood..." He was only half joking. 

 

Just then, the doors to the tower finally opened, prompting the other Chosen to begin to file in. Turning back to Reinaan, the man slowly brought himself to his feet before extending a hand towards his new associate to help the lad up. "Looks like it's finally showtime!" He chirped, only receive a large groan from Lily, who had returned to her place of hiding within his robes. 

 

 

"We have discussed this at length and we've decided...The blessing of the Spirit should not be the only thing to determine who will be our saviors. And thus...a test. With a simple outcome. Live, or die."

 

Lindow knew exactly where this was going. Watching as the other Chosen were engaged by shadowy assassins, the Abyss seeker hummed a cheery tune as he his single eye began to dart hungrily across the room. "A frontal attack?" His gaze narrowed as his target pounced from the shadows and attempted to slash at his face with it's claws. "Seems like a waste of your only advantage!" 

 

Pivoting to the right just before the creature's claws grazed his skin, Lindow quickly drew of one his daggers and sliced at his attacker's stomach as it passed by him in a blur of movement. Strangely enough, the attack drew no blood, despite the obvious signs that the creature had at least felt the blade's bite.

 

Skillfully twirling the dagger into a reverse grip, Lindow wasted no time in lunging towards his target's back with his weapon raised. Though just before he could drive his blade into the mass of darkness, the creature suddenly turned to face him with unnatural speed. 

 

"What troublesome speed..." He sneered into the bulbous red eyes of the assailant as it's viscous claws settled around his shoulders. 

 

 

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

“I…think, I really should get my Spirit now. Sorry for this, but well, I can’t just let it mess around with others like that.

 

Nice talking to you, Gilly.”

 

Anis’ face was red with annoyance and shame, and with hurried steps, she went towards the knight that Shirin bit, took the snake from him, bowed at him and the nearby people as a way for her to say sorry for the mess, and returned back to where she was, now with a snake getting strangled on her right hand. She was a bit too ashamed to even introduce herself properly to the knight however, and the presence of the orc nearby made things somewhat more awkward for her.

 

“I should consider buying a collar.”

 

“You know I can just shed this physical body, right?”

 

“I wonder if they sold magically-enhanced collars for spirits like you.”

 

“Naah, why would anyone even sell one?”

 

“Good point.”

 

However, as the two bantered, there were then a sudden wave of pressure that made them turn towards the Tower’s entrance, which was now opened. Shirin now decided to act serious, and silently tucked itself inside of Anis’ pocket while she called for Ileca before entering the now-open tower. However, while she didn’t really have expectations on what would she see inside, the doorway led her to emptiness. Even the usual light sources ended up not being much more than tiny specs of light in this room. In a way, Anis felt a sudden feeling of relief and comfort inside, and even Ileca was solemn instead of her usual rowdy self.

 

Soon, however, blue flares rose out, and the group could make out that they were being circled by…several dozen people with questionable features, still hidden by the darkness. It was rare for anyone that hid themselves in the dark to be trustworthy, but Anis said little as they began to speak. If they were her employer…

 

“The Chosen. Those picked out to save our world from a terrible menace. Your appearance is not just a symbol of hope, but also a symbol of despair. As it means that dark forces even now move upon the Demon Gates, hoping to use their terrible power. You will face many dangers...But if you fall we all fall."

 

Definitely very trustworthy. Very trustworthy. Using vague and grand words, putting emphasis on the graveness of the situation without bothering to put into details and explain about things, hallmarks of people worthy of being trusted. Anis were not really going to make much comment regarding this however, and she was content with just getting herself prepared by boarding Ileca, who was seemingly preparing herself too for whatever to come.

 

"We have discussed this at length and we've decided...The blessing of the Spirit should not be the only thing to determine who will be our saviors. And thus...a test.With a simple outcome.

 

Live, or die."

 

“People like this…they are pretty annoying, aren’t they Ileca?”

 

The bird only nodded as the group soon realized the presence of shadow figures going all around them. Their designated opponents. One of them rushed towards her and Ileca with its claws ready to slash them apart, but the advantage of noticing the shadow coming allowed Ileca to hop backwards to dodge the initial slash, and retaliate with a peck before she and Anis moved back to create some distance.

 

“The enemy is fast and close…I guess it’s better for us to go separately this time.”

 

She stored her bow, and pulled out her short sword as she came down from Ileca’s back. This creature, whatever it was, had a speed that could dance around both her and Ileca with ease if either of them lowered their guard. It didn’t attack like a beast would however, and for the combat-inexperienced Anis, it was yet another bad news. The most that she could do now was using her magic to give the back of her arms segmented turtle shells, and preparing herself for the shadow to attack her again. Going on the offensive against someone that was clearly faster than you would be a grave mistake, after all.

 

When the shadow attacked again, she would block its claw with her fortified arm, and use that moment to cleave through it with her short sword. Failing that, Ileca would come and bail her out with her charge while she held it back as much as she could. Though, she was also still thinking on what else could give her an edge on this fight. Thankfully, Shirin chose this moment to stay quiet. Seems like it did know on when to shut its mouth.

 

---

[Aix]

"Wow, I didn't think there would be someone else who knew, much less two of you!" exclaimed Qali. She beamed at them. "The Chosen really are something, aren't they, Baal?"

 

"Um... yes..." The wind spirit looked at the other Chosen.

 

"Is shyness a disease? Certainly, shyness is some sort of evil magical curse? A side effect, perhaps, of using powerful magics? Not the first time I've seen a shy magician. A lot of magic users seem shy. Either that, or they seem to be dearly overcompensating for something," speculated Qali, watching as Keres drew away from the crowd.

 

"No, I would not think so. Correlation does not mean causation," said Baal. "It's important to make the distinction."

 

"What?" said Qali.

 

The parrot sighed as best a parrot could.

 

"Hello Qali, I am Ziiyol spirit of fire. The Draken Reinaan over there is my partner I should love to introduce you two. He'll want to meet you and his scales are so beautiful in the sunlight. May I take it that you are the chosen of wind?"

 

"You're... a spirit?" said Qali. "Baal, why are you just some bird?!" She turned back to the fire spirit. "That's the Chosen of Fire, huh? I would have expected someone taller... Baal, isn't that right, the Chosen of Fire is supposed to be like a furious storm of might and fury!? Nine feet tall like the great Draken hero, A-Kill-Heels?"

 

"Just as a spirit isn't always a human, fire may manifest in more ways than an inferno," said Baal. "For example, the warm flame of the hearth. Is that not also a wonderful flame?"

 

Qali seemed strangely quiet as they walked into the darkness of the Tower. There was not a sound from her as the blue flames lit up the large room. She seemed to be putting her surroundings under intense scrutiny. "I can feel it in the air, the approach of destiny," said Qali, finally. "There's certainly suitable ambience in this tower for the start of this journey."

 

"You care about strange things," remarked Baal.

 

"Have you not already pegged me as a weird girl?" said Qali.

 

Baal looked shocked. For Qali to actually say such a self-aware thing! "N-No, I would not say you are weird, per se," said the parrot. He paused to think. "You are very special."

 

Qali put a finger to Baal's beak to quiet him as the councillor started speaking. Baal wondered if the elf's intense stare was out of concentration or just because she was trying to figure out which of them might best fit her imagining of a haughty, hawk-nosed magic councillor.

 

"Live or die."

 

Qali responded quickly to the shadowy assassin's claw by withdrawing her dagger from her belt and blocking it. She was well-used to surprises and danger. Yet as she tried looking away beyond the creature's shoulder to the area several feet behind the assassin, her concentration on her foe wavered, and another claw scratched her leg before she promptly disappeared with a gust of wind.

 

She reappeared in the spot she was glancing at. In a single motion, Qali dropped to one knee and drew her longbow along with three arrows from her quiver. There should be enough space for her to successfully shoot the creature before it could reach her.

[Andx]

Ziiyol seemed happy to be speaking with Qali and the bird that was a spirit of wind. It felt normal here. She couldn't place what had been bothering her about Lindow and Lily and instead chose to try and forget about it. The wind duo responded very energetically to her introduction of herself and her partner. Qali questioned Reinaan's height mentioning some great Draken hero of bygone ages. Baal's reply reflected an appreciation of more than just physical strength which Ziiyol soundly agreed with.

 

"Yes it's true that Reinaan could stand to grow some. But his size in no way holds back his brilliant flames and burning passion!" she said happily as she twirled in the air.

 

Meanwhile by the side of the Thunder chosen Reinaan was intrigued to hear of what it was Lindow did. As his new acquaintance spoke of witches going out of control he subtly motioned to the girl Keres. This was the girl who had been staring at Reinaan earlier. If he was following Lindow correctly he meant to say this girl was a witch who could potentially harm people. His travels seemed less than romantic or exciting speaking of swamps and blood. As he was about to reply a strange sensation seemed to sort of push on him as he turned to face the Tower. An opening had appeared and a voice called to them to enter. Lindow was on his feet stating it was time to get going. He held a hand extended in Reinaan's direction who initially seemed confused but then remembered seeing some of the crew of the ship that had brought him here do something where one man would help the other up through clasping hands. So with a bit of awkwardness and plenty of energy Reinaan took the extended hand, careful to keep his claws from digging into the man's unarmored hand, and stood on his feet.

 

"Alright about time!" he said. With that Reinaan returned to where he had left his gear which had remained undisturbed while the rest of the Chosen had gathered. Most of the others were making their way into the doorway and while Reinaan had considered putting his jacket back on determined it was better to not be late and so shoved his jacket into his bag, threw the bag around his shoulder and held his spear in hand. The council would have to live with getting a good look at him from the get go not that it bothered him.

 

 

Ziiyol returned to her partner's side as they entered the tower at the tail end of the group, laughing a bit at his choice to keep the jacket off. But soon both were captivated with the sights before them. At first there was a profound darkness which no flame or light seemed capable of penetrating. The duo attempted to look around as the group spread out some upon entering and then at once blue flames surrounded the room illuminating a group of twelve people on some sort of higher up part of the room. The men began speaking which Reinaan didn't pay particularly good attention to. Something seemed off but he couldn't tell what. But he did catch that the men intended a sort of test for them, one of life or death.

 

All at once Reinaan felt something, or rather several somethings, in the area. He should have noticed them sooner, how had they snuck up on him like that? Almost before he could react a strange claw was slashing at him from the darkness. As his spear had been in hand Reinaan quickly grabbed it with both hands and held it out horizontally to catch the strike. As it happened he more knocked the appendage around and the claws struck the scales. He could feel it cutting into the scale layer and a painful cold set into his shoulder. Pivoting about he knocked the assailant off of his shoulder with a swift strike from his tail before it could cut any deeper. Blood was oozing along the cut line but nothing too serious. The cold was unsettling though. There were red eyes that seemed to shimmer in the darkness and Reinaan could feel the creature readjusting itself to strike again. Ziiyol was alarmed seeing that her partner had been injured but there was little she could do directly to help him. But the draken seemed more than ready to respond without her assistance.

 

Before the creature could strike again Reinaan inhaled deeply as a burning sensation filled his the whole of his abdomen and chest. Soon a stream of fire poured out of his mouth and flew into the nearby creature's face. The brief light of the red flames illuminated the creature's face if one could call it that. Red eyes all over, sickly folds of green flesh and a tangled mess of hair on the top of its head. Why did it have to have hair? Something to gag about once this was over for the lizard. The creature flailed out as it was in obvious pain. The flames quickly subsided and with them the clear view of what he was fighting. The assailant retreated back into the darkness almost vanishing from sight in the process. Reinaan could just barely keep track of its presence. It wasn't completely silent. But still this deep darkness in the room made it difficult.

 

"Reiny are you alright?" Ziiyol said expressing her concern. Reinaan appeared to be on a hunt now. He was focused in on his target and didn't respond to his partner. He was scanning the room waiting for a follow up attack. The spirit placed her hand over the cut on her partner's left shoulder. The warmth of the spirit's touch combated the bitter cold that accompanied the wound and the mixed sensation almost distracted the young hunter from his target. But still he kept focused. He had no clue what it would attempt to do next and needed to be ready.

[Alaina]

Having shied away from the other Chosens, the earth Chosen stood back and just silently awaited what their entry into the large tower. While doing so, she continued to just passively observe the other of the Chosen that had gathered here. From just a cursory glance at each and every one of them, it had become readily apparently that this was an odd gaggle of people who were supposedly meant to save the world. Were she to think of anyone who was meant to be someone quite like a hero from old tales, the only two of the group who seemed to have both the appearance and demeanor to meet it were the orc and the man with the eyepatch. The rest all seemed to be a bunch of curious individuals. Between the energetic halfling, the bare draken, the eccentric elven girl and even the easily startled blond haired man, the girl felt something familiar in watching all of their antics. While they were to a far larger degree then those she had experienced before, a small sense of familiarity as she was reminded of her own group that she had adventured with. While she was still, by no means comfortable with any of them, this had manage to ease her worries a bit, and in time for the group to be called into the tower to begin their next step in being Chosen.

 

As they approached the tower, this nervous feeling of anticipation was only accentuated by the sudden sense of pressure filled the air and the tower's doors opened to reveal a large amount of nothingness behind them. While the girl wasn't incredibly keen on stepping into this, she followed everyone else and stepped through the empty square. As she walked through it, even with nothing but blackness to surround her, the pink haired adventurer could still tell the room was utterly massive in scale. This was only proven further as the room around them was lit up by sudden torches of blue fire blazing to life, aiding in adding to the already unnerving feeling of the room. 

 

While the pink haired girl had no idea what being a Chosen had actually meant, it appeared, based on the council's word, that there was far more at stake that the girl could truly understand at the moment. However, informing them of their duty was not the only thing that they had been summoned here for. Almost without warning, it seemed a small horde of shadowy figures had materialized into this room. Becoming immediately more alert, as the nature of the situation had been incredibly simple to grasp, the girl pulled out her mace and shield and took up a defensive stance. With each and every Chosen being targeted by a single assailant, the girl being no exception, she waited for the creature to approach her. When it would come to slash at her, the girl was ready to put her shield in the way of its bladed claws and follow up with a shield bash towards the target.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Kha: The shadow attacking Kha stopped in its tracks, leaning back to avoid the sweeping blade. The orc's follow up attack caught it around the middle of its body and pierced the creature. There was hardly any resistance, or substance, that Kha could feel and it seemed as though the blade just went through it.

The shadow lurched forward and pulled itself closer on the blade before latching its claws onto Kha's shoulders. A slight cold feeling would be felt where the claws jabbed into his flesh, but the wound didn't go deep. The creature pulled itself ever closer to the Orc, its eyes flashing.

 

Ayden: As it was blocked by the Spirit, the shadow seemed to be, as far as Ayden could tell, confused. It seemed to not realize what it was engaged with. The creature slipped back, untangling itself from the Spirit's clutches, and went after the Chosen once more. Ayden's attack cut across its chest but the wound was superficial at best, and the shadow suddenly dropped low to the ground with its eyes flashing up at the Chosen and slashed for Ayden's legs.

 

Gilly: The ram slammed into the shadow and would find it oddly unsubstantial. The lack of solid contact made it hard to push it back, and the shadow merely folded over before suddenly being upright once more, on the other side of the ram. With eyes flashing the shadow faced Gilly again. It didn't react much as Gilly thrust wildly but then suddenly it moved forward. The spear caught its side and it continued on, slashing across Gilly's face. The wound would spread a slight cold, but that was just the beginning. The shadow spread its arms and practically dove at the small target, claws reaching around to tear into her back.

 

Lindow: The shadow's eyes glowed a moment as it turned back to Lindow and gripped his shoulders, digging its claws into his flesh and spreading a coldness throughout the wound. It made no sound as it suddenly moved its head forward. Lindow was able to see a bit of the things face but more than that he would notice the dagger like appendage coming from where its mouth would likely be, going for his good eye.

 

Anis: The shadow facing the bird and the woman seemed to not understand why there were two creatures standing before it. Its eyes flashed as its neck was pierced by the peck, however it didn't seem to stop it much. It surged forward as its claw glanced off the armor the girl had given herself. The blade cut through its side but, similar to the neck wound, it didn't seem to do much to hurt the creature, the only indication of anything happening was its eyes flashing again. Its attempt to retaliate was interrupted by the bird.

The shadow lashed out at the large creature, cutting with both of its claws into the birds chest, which would cause a cold to spread immediately, and then lunging forward with a pointed object sticking out of its face, going for a piercing attack on the bird.

 

Qali: The wound on the elf girl's leg would start to grow cold as she readied her bow. The creature would pause for a moment before, without seemingly to actually turn, facing her. Its eyes flashed for a moment before it charged her, moving swiftly. She would indeed be able to fire off a shot but then the creature would attempt to drag her to the ground. Already, as it approached, a small pointed object emerged from its face.

 

Reinaan: The shadow facing the Draken had slipped away after its initial attack. It seemed almost reluctant to approach the Draken again...And so, it didn't. It hovered around, fading from view, reappearing a short distance away, until suddenly it moved forward...but not towards Reinaan.

 

Ryia: The shadow moved with a uniform predictability and its claws glanced off the shield the girl was holding. As she hit it with the shield, she'd discover little resistance. Not quite like bashing against air but close. The creature merely flitted around the shield after being pushed back and latched onto her arm. Its claws bit into her arm and sent a cold sensation through that spot. It's eyes flashed for a moment then it lunged forward with a blade sticking from its mouth, attempting to pierce her arm.

That wasn't all of her worries, however, as another shadow, the one that Reinaan had been facing, was now moving in on her from the other side, claws swinging as it neared her.

 

Keres: It was an unfortunate situation that they found themselves in, Keres realized. They had all the disadvantages and it was unsure they could handle them. It would be difficult to help one another in this position, given the individual threats to each of their lives. She wondered if this was truly a test or if the council truly wanted them dead. However she did take note that these creatures weren't as aggressive as she would have expected. As the things eyes flashed upon contact with the water, it seemed to almost slip away from the liquid.

It didn't immediately attack, which allowed Keres to keep control of the water, forming it into a more whip-like form. She moved to wrap the creature in the water, holding its arms to its side.
However it didn't hold, as the creature, without Keres being able to quite see how, slipped out of the grip and lunged at her.

She was unable to pull her water back to protect her and stumbled backwards, tripping and falling to the ground as the creature followed her down.

Its claw bit into her sides as it gripped her, and immediately a cold sensation spread from the wound. Poison? Perhaps, but that didn't feel right either.

She almost didn't notice the blade coming from the thing's mouth, so lost in her pondering, but as it came down at her she was able to move her head to the side to avoid it.

This close to the creature she noticed that it had no smell, and also made no discernible sound. As the creature pulled its head back she saw the eyes flash again and she began to form a plan.

When the creature thrust again she moved her arms, which the creature hadn't grabbed, and gripped the sides of the things face. It felt cool to the touch, and barely had any solid feel. It was almost mud-like in consistency. Her actions halted the creatures movement but her strength was weak and she knew it would soon overpower her.
And so she gathered her water again, trying hard to concentrate on the spell while this strange creature pressed upon her.

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

“That is weird. This is definitely not something natural.”

 

Returning herself into a prepared stance, Anis thought about what happened to the shadow. Her shell did manage to block off its strikes, but she was concerned at how the shadow was seemingly not bothered by both her and Ileca’s strikes, despite the fact they managed to hit what would be a vital spot on its body. Even with a gashed neck, it still was as active as before, and it didn’t even slow down a bit. Anis was quite concerned. Perhaps it was an evil spirit? But…her magic was unsuited to deal with one if it was really one of those evil spirits her parents used to tell her when she was a child.

 

However, she couldn’t afford to think about its nature for too long. Anis soon realized how Ileca was now being attacked by the shadow. The shadow went for two quick strikes at her chest, and Ileca yelped in pain as the hit registered on her. Although, her shock was very momentary, and just as it tried to peck her with a sudden addition of pointed edge on its face, Ileca quickly used the fact that the shadow was close to land a kick that also pushed her away from it, although the pecking from the shadow still grazed her. Making a distance, the bird was still looking quite eager to fight. Ileca was used to fighting since she was little, but Anis was still very worried about her and thus she rushed to her side.

 

“Ileca! You’re fine, right?”

 

“Kwaaaaa! (That bastard ruined my feather! And it feels really cold now too!)”

 

With Ileca’s response guiding her, Anis checked the place where the creature attacked Ileca as her partner watched over for the shadow’s follow-up attacks. Anis noticed how the wound were seemingly not deep due to Ileca’s thick feathers, but it was still a sizable gash that bled all over. Anis attempted to conjure herbs to cover the wound, but a light tap from Ileca convinced her that she would be fine with this wound for now. The graze from the creature’s peck were nowhere as bad however, and it was pretty much just a minor scratch.

 

“Rawk wrak kwaak! (Just get yourself ready. Let’s show that thing that it’s messing with the wrong couple!”

 

“Right.” With the check-up done, Anis turned around to face the shadow with her short sword brandished. She focused her mind to channel magic through the blade as she pointed it towards the shadow’s direction, and soon, it started to glow. At first it was faint, but as Anis put up more and more magic into it, the light became quite significant enough to make it very noticeable in this darkness. It wasn’t light magic at all, of course. She only thought on putting as much firefly’s lights as possible on the blade, and at the very least, the light would make tracking the shadow’s movement easier.

 

"You're right. Let's show it what we got!"

 

"Kwakwa! (I'm ready anytime if it's for this!)"

 

The two of them waited for the shadow to attack as they stood back-to-back. Facing Anis’ sword or Ileca’s pecks and kicks – the two would be the choice the shadow had to make if it wished to continue its onslaught on them. The others were also busied by their own conjured shadows too, and sadly Anis was not in a position to help them.

 

---

[Sethera]

"Baa," Hob protested, shuddering as if possessed. It seemed whatever that shadow was, the sheep didn't like it, nor the way it felt.

 

"Hob! You okay?" Gilly paused in her fancy--more like clumsy--spearwork, concerned. Before she could do more than cry out in concern, the shadow moved forward. Though the spear caught its side, it seemed to ignore that, slashing at the halfling's face. Unlike most wounds which gave off a hot feeling as her warm blood hit the air, this one felt cold. Unnatural. "Ou-ouch! What's wrong with you? Don't you know that hurt? And now my face itches. Thanks."

 

"Gilly. Behind you," Snow warned in a monotone. Gilly turned, shield catching the next attack, which would've tore into her soft, unprotected--actually, armored back. So either way, probably wouldn't have done much, though she didn't want to take the chance either way.

 

"Ha! Didn't get me that time, did you?" she made a cute face as she did so, momentarily forgetting she was in the midst of a battle. And then she waggled the spear some, attempting to hit it again.

 

Snow sighed. This girl will be the death of me, and spirits don't even die. Leaping up, it flew at the dark creature, snowstorm activated. Hob took its other side, and between the two of them they managed to push it back some. "Gilly, you really should use the spell I taught you."

 

"No way! My spear will totally beat it, I just have to hope and pray and dream and try my best just like the heroes of old. I, Gilly, will be the world's best spearfighter, believe it! You just wait, Snowy!" the girl shook her head vigorously, before resuming her flailing with the spear.

[Andx]

The Draken's focus remained mostly undisturbed. All senses were devotes to tracking the creature that had backed off after the initial counter attack. A soft deep growl escaped from Reinaan as the figure faded from sight. Tracking it was difficult. Sounds were about all he had to work off of. His nostrils flared as attempting to smell it out proved rather futile. His ears really would have to do it. But even that was tricky given the several little skirmishes that had all broken out in the same general area. His eyes took him to the sight of Ryia battling her assailant. It appeared to be holding onto her but there was something else. More noises than there should have been. Sure enough the monster he'd been battling with soon emerged from the darkness looking to assault the armored girl while she was preoccupied with her own attacker. The soft growl got a bit deeper and louder as Reinaan took off to intercept the beast. The Draken's pride had him angry his opponent had fled from him only to attack another and yet his experience as a hunter for his village had him excited to be on the chase.

 

Much as he wanted to reengage his original opponent Reinaan quickly saw he'd need to take some slightly different action to get Ryia out of things alright. He wouldn't be able to intercept the attack so best to get the girl's attacker off of her first as she seemed to be well armored and ready for such things. Reinaan readied his spear ahead of him as he ran and with an audible growl charged the spear head into the side of the creature that had a grasp on the girl before it could carry through its action to stab her arm. Upon impact the spear penetrated the creature's flesh but met with much less resistance than anything Reinaan had ever hunted. The strange sensation made Reinaan lose focus briefly and the spear slipped out of his hands as the creature was knocked off of Ryia by the impact. With the spear still lodged in its side the creature turned to face Reinaan. Strange that the first had fled after being attacked yet this one now paid him all the more attention for it.

 

"Look out behind you!" Ziiyol called out to Ryia to assure she was aware the second monster was drawing in on her amidst any potential confusion of Reinaan's maneuver. The Draken focused in on his new target. With his weapon out of hand this was now a battle of claws which had him a little more excited than it should have given what a shallow cut from the claws had done to his shoulder. The monster was approaching, it's walk noticeably disturbed by the presence of the spear in its side. Reinaan saw a chance to pounce on his prey before it could do the same to him. Reinaan lowered his head as he ran at the monster, his right claw back his left forward to guard his face on the approach. As he approached he readied his right hand and plunged it forward his target one of the red glowing eyes. It seemed like a sure hit but then all at once the monster stopped dead in place and leaned rather far backward and Reinaan's arm traveled well beyond it's intended mark into thin air. Reinaan almost stumbled but as the creature wasn't yet recovering from the position he took the opportunity to take hold of his spear in the creature's side. His grasp now secure on his weapon he took his momentum and pivoted about his right leg and swung his tail into the creature's chest, knocking it back and forcing the spear out of its side. The cold sensation in his shoulder was now somewhat present in the end of his tail, the creature must have lightly scratched it during the attack. Nothing to worry about hopefully. The boy's breathing was heavier now from the several exertions but he was ready for more.

 

But first he turned back to the girl he'd beaten the monster off of. He hadn't thought to say much to her at first despite coming to assist her and it must have been odd and rather sudden for her. Only now did his mind let him think to address Ryia. "Are you alright?" he asked remarkably late.

[Alaina]

As the girl's shield went to strike her mark, it seemed to hit square on. Yet, the girl had a brief moment of doubt as to whether or not her attack actually land, as she felt as though the shield had continued on its course, almost entirely unimpeded in its swing. However, as the girl was wondering about this lack of resistance, the creature practically snaked past her and latched its bladed claws into her arm. The girl felt a sharp sting as the claws made it past her armor, and felt a cold sensation spread through the wound as well. While it was definitely odd, it most certainly wasn't the first thing that was on her mind, as she saw the creature's eyes flare up. Seeing a blade starting to produce from its mouth like area, she figured out quickly that it wasn't anything that was good for her. So, trying to break free of its hold was the first step, though short of trying to smash it with her mace, there wasn't much that she thought that she'd be able to do here. 

 

However as the creature was rearing itself to attack her, it suddenly stopped as something else seemed to stop in its tracks. The creatures claws dislodged itself from her, also stinging a bit as they left, as the shadowy being seemed to be wrapped up in a fight against something else. Noticing that the draken boy, roughly her height, had come to her aid allowing the girl to feel a bit of relief as she now had someone else to fight this creature against with. However, this relief was quickly taken away as she heard a female voice call out to her, telling her to watch out, and see that there was another foe making its way towards her. Turning herself to face the creature, she noticed that it seemed to be bearing its claws in quite a similar fashion to the last one. As such, the girl put up her shield to defend herself with, and as the claws came into contact with her shield, quite like the last one that had done this, it harmlessly bounced off of them. 

 

Knowing the last time she had done this, the creature had snaked its way to her arm, the girl realized that something similar was likely to happen this time as well. As such, she was prepared for its odd motions as it tried to move past her shield, and so the girl managed to react in time. Sidestepping and turning all the while, the girl managed to keep the same distance between herself and the creature, and also was now still facing it. Out of what the girl could only assume was frustration, the shadowy creature reached out and tried to pull the shield off of the girl's arm. Of course, with shield fastened to her arm, it was met with little success, and the girl took this opportunity to go on the offensive. 

 

Pulling her shield arm in, trying to yank the creature in with it, she then brought her mace to the side. As the creature was pulled in closer, she brought her mace up with a swing, in an attempt to bash at its head. As the mace was being brought to its mark, the creature then seemed to contort its body, dodging the attack altogether. Looking at the creature, the girl realized that its body was twisted in a way that, despite its shape, didn't seem physically possible, and like it would've broken its spine in doing so. As if it realized this as well, the creature seemed to be momentarily stunned as it was probably trying to untwist itself. Seeing this as a golden opportunity, the girl then struck at the creature's head with her mace once again. Unable to move this time, the girl let out a bit of grunt as she swung her mace at the stunned creature, coming into direct contact with its mark. While it wasn't quite like striking thin air, the sort of feeling she got from the impact wasn't quite what she was expecting; it was a soft feeling, one that didn't belong to any sort of rigid object.

 

As the mace struck hard, the creature finally let go of the girl's shield and collapsed to the ground. Once it did, the creature seemed to start becoming more difficult to see, almost as if it were blending its shadowy substance to match the floor, until she could no longer make out the shape. All that was left of it were the glowing eyes of the creature, leaving her unsure that it was actually defeated yet. Taking a backstep in preparation for what it could do, Ryia put up her shield, only to then here a comment come from behind her. While her face had an intense expression on it before, as she turned her head to face the voice, it became one of momentary surprise as she had briefly forgotten that the draken had rushed to her aid. "O-oh," she responded, "yes, I'm alright. Um, thank you." After taking care of that, she seemed to return focus as she continued to hold her shield up and look at the eyes of the one creature and the other one that the draken was squaring off against. Playing back the whole situation in her head again, the girl figured it would be a good idea to relay what she learned and said, "these creatures seem to be very protective of their heads and its the only part I hit that felt any bit solid." After she said that, the girl realized that that wasn't a complete thought and so followed up, "s-so try and hit it, if you can."  

[Ren✧]

Kha felt a small surge of victory as his blade pierced the creature's midsection, however, any feeling of jubilation was short-lived. The blade was met with almost no resistance, it felt almost as if it were passing through water. Kha watched in horror as the shadow creature further impaled itself, running the full length of the great sword until it was within striking distance of the gargantuan orc. Unable to disentangle himself from the two-handed, broadsword, Kha found himself unable to defend against the claws that were now arcing downwards at his ashen skin that had found their way inside his guard. 

 

An icy sensation began to emanate from where the creature's claws pierced Kha's skin. It reminded him of the hunting trials that young orcs had to go through in his tribe as they neared adulthood. They were sent up into the mountains during winter and expected to survive a month alone with nothing but the weapon they chose to carry. The cold that threatened frostbite was something he would always remember and right now it was something he was grateful for as the chill that swept over the hardly superficial wound was negligible to the memory of the mountain air. 

 

As the creature's eyes flashed orange, drawing its head in closer, Kha felt Kal'bri press closer into the nape of his neck. A desperate screech escaped her throat as she cried out in terror. As big as she talked, the small spirit wilted in the face of fear. Balking against the might of the shadow creature, Kha thrust the blade of his sword into the ground, using the momentum to put just the smallest bit of distance between himself, and Kal'bri, and whatever demonic creature the council had ordered upon them. 

 

Eyes still glowing, the creature began to close the distance, its speed making short work of the few meters between them. Fortunately, Kal'bri seemed to have regained some sense and threw out her small hands towards the advancing beast. From her fingertips blossomed an orb of cobalt light, taking up the space between the orc and previously indistinct shadow. Blinded by the harsh glare, the creature recoiled, forced to stop its advance.

 

In the intense rays of Kal'bri's magic, the council's attack dog seemed far less ominous and much more grotesque. It boasted a bilious hue, reminding Kha of the sickly shade that some soldiers turned after they became infected on the battlefield or perhaps the upturned contents of an unsettled meal. It looked to be of a spindly nature, almost as if it were some unholy offspring of human and spider. Kha always did thing that they had some strange sexual practices. Of course...he doubted they resulted in this...thing.

 

"Kal'bri, please send light to the others." Kha requested. Fortunately, the spirit was too frightened to give him much attitude at the moment, sending two other orbs of light to surrounding Chosen, taking care she did not send one to the filthy Halfling. That was all the power she could muster, however. If anyone else found themselves in need of some extra light, then they would be out luck. "Thank you." Kha breathed out before taking advantage of the monster's dazed confusion, charging beneath Kal'bri conjured light and aiming a powerful horizontal slash for the beady crimson eyes. 

[Cherz]

Ayden's celebration must have been premature. As he swung his mighty sword, Nocturne instinctivly ducked. The great weapon went right over his head in a rather flashy matrix style attack, inflicting a wound upon the Shadow creature. Letting out a premature 'Hell yeah,' Ayden was punished for his arrogance. The creature dropped low, and slashed at his legs. The hulking man wasn't fast enough to dodge the strikes, and ended up with quite a few slashes around his legs, throwing him off balance and knocking him down.

 

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!" He shouted out in pain. Luckily for him, Nocturne was already moving back into action. As the Shadow beast attempted to end Ayden, Nocturne lunged, pressing his claws into the beasts back and twisting them to hold it in place. Ayden rolled bck a small distance, and began uttering a dark incantation. As the rune opened up below him, Nocturne realized it was a slowing curse. Rather simple dark magic, but effective all the same. Nocturne also new Ayden needed time to finish it, so he ripped the claws out and leap-frogged his way to the front of the creature, standing between it and Ayden. All he needed to do was buy time.

 

With that, he began his quick assault on the creature, dashing in, slashing, then rolling back. The assault happened at a rapid pace, though the wounds inflicted were at most superficial. All Nocturne was trying to do was buy Ayden time to finish the incantation. And so with that and mind, he continued his attack.

[Aix]

The shadow didn't turn, it seemed to morph and flip around before charging forth towards Qali with what used to be its back.
 
"What a disgusting creature," squawked Baal.
 
Qali fired her arrow, ignoring the pain of her leg. At this range, there was no way she could miss, and the creature fell to the ground thrashing, but it continued to scramble on the ground. It's speed was astonishing, Qali tried to react and jump away from the creature, but then realized her wounded leg was going numb. She stumbled slightly getting and was slower than expected.

The clawed hand reaching for her was intercepted by a bird, giving her the respite to avoid injury this time. She took large, jumping steps back while firing the other two arrows in her hand in quick succession.

[Hälō]

"Lily, if you'd please," Lindow called out to his spirit as he slid the dagger in his right hand back into it's holster, and moved his fingers to the handle of his blade. His eye danced around shadow figure's face as what he could only assume was some kind of stinger began to extend from it's mouth, causing him raise an eyebrow in fascination.

 

"Already on it!" The Lightning Spirit's tiny voice sounded from somewhere within his cloak, before she suddenly leaped forth from his collar towards their opposition's face. "Eat this!" She hissed before releasing short burst of electricity that danced around the creature's form; revealing even more it's shape as the lighting nipped it's body. Though it seemed that the attack was only somewhat effective...

 

"It doesn't seem to be weak to magic either..." Lindow calmly analyzed the situation as he used Lily's distraction to slice at the creator's chest with a broad draw slash with his sword before leaping backwards.

 

"No solid body... a wraith?" His smirk faded slightly as his blade passed right though creature's body with little effect. "I don't suppose you'll back off for moment to let me prepare some wraith oil?" He chirped sarcastically as the creature lunged towards him. "Didn't think so..."

 

Reacting quickly, Lindow skillfully sent one of his daggers spinning towards the center of the creature's face. "Oh?" He watched as the creature suddenly bent itself backwards at an unnatural angle to avoid the weapon before lingering in that position for a moment.

 

"It's protective of it's face." Lily's growled as she leaped up on his shoulder. "I see that..." Was Lindow's response, before shifting into a defensive stance.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Keres struggled against the beast that was on top of her, shaking as her arms began to give out. If she were to lose her tentative grip on the oddly fluid creature she would be skewered through the throat. Suddenly bright lights, coming from the Spirit of Light, flared up. While the lights were not extremely bright in this darkness it was almost blinding. Once the initial shock cleared up the creatures' forms would be mostly revealed to them. Keres had never seen a creature like this before, though they didn't seem expressly demonic in nature.

Nonetheless they were dangerous and they were to become even more so. She noticed a faint trail of magic coming from the council, whose faces were still shadowed, and connecting with the creatures.

All at once they grew, growing a foot in height and nearing seven feet tall. Keres grunted as the creature pressed upon her with more strength. She had one shot at this and that would be it.

She gathered her water, already reaching her limit of how long she could hold the single spell, and made her attack.

 

Anis: The shadow facing the bird backed away, eyes flashing, from the somewhat wild slashes the bird was employing. Giving enough time for the faint light of the Light Spirit to partially reveal its face. But it wasn't until Anis brandished her glowing sword that the creature seemed to react. It crept backwards, farther into the shadows, while watching the two get into position.

Then the council's magic enlarged the creature and this acted as a signal for the creature to rush forward. It ignored the bird entirely in order to focus on the woman. Its larger size didn't seem to slow it at all, though the lights going on seemed to disorient it as it went for a headlong charge, attempting to wrap its arms around Anis and drag her into the air.

 

Gilly: The creature facing the Halfling seemed none too bothered by her wild flailing, however the sudden magical attack did force it to back away, just as its face lit up from the Light Spirit's magic. It stayed out of reach of Gilly's spear and seemed to simply wait for something to happen.
And soon after something did happen, it grew in size. As it did it reached forward and grabbed the spear, lifting it into the air and dragging Gilly upwards as well. It then thrust one hand towards the girl's neck, claws aiming to pierce her throat.

 

Reinaan: The shadow, still bent double, was shoved away from its target rather forcefully. It stood still momentarily before slowly righting itself while the Draken said something to Ryia. As it did the creature was affected by the council's magic and grew larger. However it didn't have enough time to launch another assault, as it spent too much time simply righting itself. It simply crouched down and prepared to spring at the Draken.

 

Ryia: The shadow stared at its target from the ground and, as she turned her attention to replying to the Draken, began to creep closer to her. However it paused as the light from the Spirit brought its body partially into view. Then it began to grow and, with the added size, was now close enough to Ryia. It wrapped a pair of somewhat spindly legs around the girl's closest leg and tried to pull her down. As it did this it bent its body upwards in a kind of sitting position.

 

Kha: The light having been thrust into its face seemed to distract the shadow creature. It didn't even so much as move as Kha's blade went for its face. However that was when the council's magic kicked in and the creature grew. The blade sliced instead into the thing's chest, cutting halfway through the creature and forcing it lopsided for a moment. Kha's blade was embedded halfway through its chest when it managed to right itself, its body seeming to reform around the blade itself as the creature pushed forward and tried to thrust the blade creeping out of its mouth into Kha's head.

 

Ayden: The shadow shuddered to a halt as the Spirit's claws bit into its back. It seemed to pause more for the physical object blocking it from moving quickly than from any damage to its body. As Nocturne rained blows upon the shadow it continued its advance, seemingly not concerned for the numerous gashes that, with the dim light from the Light Spirit, they could see opening up on the creature.

The spell that caused it to grow larger only made its progress faster. It swatted absently at Nocturne and lunged for Ayden, grabbing the man's head and lifting him up to eye level with the creature, whose red eyes were flashing rapidly now. A blade emerged from the creature's mouth.

 

Qali: The speed at which the creature recovered allowed it to reach the girl before she could properly ready herself. The thing was backlit by the Light magic but it only barely helped her find her mark. The arrows sunk into the thing's chest and passed through it. Its eyes flashed but it seemed to show no other response. Except for suddenly growing in size. It lunged forward once more, keeping low, and crashed into Qali, slamming her into what was apparently the wall where the council members were sitting behind. It twisted its neck and spine at an awkward angle in order to attempt to gouge her eye out with the blade emerging from its face.

 

Lindow: The creature was bent over double, and unmoving, while Lindow took on a defensive stance. Its body was more visible now due to the lights but it seemed none too bothered by the magic. It simple righted itself while growing. The large creature began to slip away, farther from the rest of the group, and out of the glow from the lights. All that could be seen was a flashing from its eyes as the creature waited for Lindow to make a move.

[Sethera]

Bright orbs of light appeared over three of the beasts, though Gilly's was still shrouded in darkness. The halfling hadn't thought anything of it, too concentrated on her own fight. Once again, the shadow being seemed unaffected by Gilly's attack, though Snow's attack did cause it to back up. The ice spirit connected the dots. "Gilly, this creature seems weak to magic. I'd recommend using your hail attack." The rabbit paused, noting its increased size. And when the creature aimed to kill his Chosen, he once more manifested itself, and leapt at the being with his snow flurry, aiming for the claw itself. Managing to push it away so it swept past her shoulder, he landed on the ground, spent.

 

The halfling herself seemed unaffected by the fact that she almost died, though she did glance down worriedly at the rabbit. "Aww, fine, I'll use my hail," she pouted. "Uhh, in the name of the moon rabbit--wait wrong. In the name of the ice rabbit, Snowy, I command you, ice, to fall from the heavens and smite my opponents thee thou uhh something something thy."

 

Said ice rabbit smacked a paw over his face. "You do realize you don't have to say all that, right?"

 

"But it makes it cooler!"

 

Hob stood back for now, seemingly realizing he wouldn't be able to do much in this fight. However, the sheep stood ready, ready to help his owner if needed. Earlier, he had almost charged the creature, when Snow had intervened instead. Now, he watched as a dark cloud appeared above the creature, and large chunks of ice fell from it, raining down upon the being. Meanwhile, Gilly was sulking in the background. "Someday I'll get good enough with a spear. Just you wait and see."

[Ren✧]

Kha felt the all too familiar sensation of the ghoulish, shadow creature taking advantage of its insubstantial form and ghosting along the sharp edge of his sword. However, this time the monster was much larger, matching even Kha in height and upon seeing the blade-like appendage that it sported like some deranged beak primed to gouge out his eyes, the orc immediately started backpedaling. Throwing himself backwards, the healer did his best to keep out of the creature's range but unfortunately he was running out of tricks to pull. Orcs weren't known to have a wealth of stunts that they could rely on battle. It was pretty much just hack and slash your way to victory. 

 

However, it was at that moment that the simplicity of the situation set in. Kha nervously eyed his blade, still caught in the creature's abdomen, currently being used as a very ineffective tool to ward off the nightmarish, blade-beaked, spider-human, ghoul creature, Kha made a mental note to ask for the official name of whatever of these beasts were if he survived. For once though, the creature's impalpable body might actually play to his advantage.

 

"Let us hope that its head is more important its body." Kha said to Kal'bri, readjusting his grip on the hilt of his sword, taking a moment to dodge another deadly peck from the ghoulish monster. Twisting the blade so that it was vertical in the crimson-eyed nightmare, Kha heaved upward with the blade. The creature's immaterial form immediately began to come apart at the mercy of the hard steel of Kha's blade. Panicking, it's eyes began to blink rapidly and just as it seemed that Kha might split the monster straight down the middle the beast leaned to the right, craning its neck so the blade just barely missed slicing into its head.

 

Kha couldn't help but feel irritated at the string of events as he stared at the strangely split, though very much alive wretch. The beast had been speedy, sure, but how it had managed to avoid dying by his blade, whilst it was already impaled upon it..Kha was honestly at a loss for what to do next. 

 

"Don't just stand there like the dumb brute that you are! Kill the bastard before it knits itself back together." Kal'bri hissed, obviously whatever venom that had been scared out of her returning when faced with Kha's stupor.

 

Invigorated by the words of his spirit companion, Kha swung the sword in a deadly overhand arc, aiming for the creature's hanging, lopsided head.  

[Alaina]

After thanking the draken boy for his aid, the girl went to back on her watch for the creatures, only to then be taken by surprise by the creature's sudden attack against her. Wrapping its legs around her left one, the girl felt her balance shift completely as it was pulled out from under her. As the creature appeared to be sitting upright, she fell down and onto her back, having the beast seemingly about to pray on her. As a light seemed to shine throughout the room, and the creature appeared to be much larger than before, the girl seemed to finally get a good look at what it was she was dealing with. A ghastly creature, unlike anything that was native to the area around her home city, it appeared to be made of some kind of shriveled and wrinkled green flesh with large bulbous eyes staring right down at her. It was, of course, frightening to behold, but the girl let out no sounds of terror as it made its move.

 

Going to grip at her shield arm, once again, the girl did not want to give it the chance at another power struggle, and instead swung her shield to the side, attempting to bat the claws away from her. With the arms of the creature being knocked to the side, and the girl's own arm now clashing against the ground, she looked up to see that the creature was none too happy by this. With a blade protruding from its mouth, the girl could tell that it was about to do something rather unpleasant. Yelling, "Ackrin!" the tall goat like creature seemed to nod as it merged itself with the girl, hardening her skin and making it more difficult to pierce overall. Yet even then, she did not want to chance a direct hit from the creature, and so as it went in for a stab, the girl twisted her body to the side, attempting to avoid the attack altogether. As the creature missed with its mouth blade, it brought its hand back around and grabbed at her face. 

 

Its claws now gripping her face, slowly making their way through her skin with an unusual and unnatural strength given its more fluid like structure, the girl was face to face to the creature. Realizing that it was likely to attempt to stab at her with its blade once again, she needed to hit it hard and fast. And so, gripping her weapon tighter, she brought her mace up at full force, striking into the face with more of a the weapon then an actual swing. With the weapon landing straight on with the creature's mouth blade, the force of her attack seemed to snap the weapon and send the creature into what she could assume was some degree of pain. In response to her action, the fiendish ghoul like creature let go of both her face and leg as it seemed to slowly crawl backward. 

 

Letting out a large breath, both from slight fatigue and relief, the girl got her balance back. Bringing herself back up, standing upright and no longer in a less favorable state, she looked at the creature before her. While it was crawling back from her, seemingly more wary of the girl, it still seemed to have a predatory feeling behind its actions; looking as though it were to pounce at a moment's notice. With a determined look on her face, the girl was not ready to fall prey to such a beast, she raised her shield up and made her stance more firm, awaiting the next attack of the beast. 

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"...It's working?"

 

Slightly taken aback by the result of her action, Anis saw how the shadow was temporarily repelled away from her due to her now shining sword. She wasted no time to start figuring out how to make it work to her advantage, but a cruel twist happened - the council decided to soup up the size of the shadow. It then rushed towards her without wasting much time, although, Anis noticed something odd was happening with it. Perhaps it was due to the lights spread out on the field, the shadow looked somewhat disoriented, yet its charge was still as fast and deadly as before. It prepared its arms to grab her as Anis' attempt to get away from it failed due to reacting a bit too slowly, but she was saved at the nick of time by Ileca dragging her away at full speed, although the creature's arm still managed to give her legs some injuries.

 

"Maybe you should consider something brilliant like creating fireworks powered by the voltage of an electric eel or something. Go make a big explosion that'll show that thing to not mess up with you!"

 

"Shut up, I can deal with this on my own." She was not really appreciating to hear Shirin's sudden remark while she's using her magic to restore her damaged leg tissues as a quick patch-up, although she's probably not going to be able to walk without assistance for the time being. Preparing her bow as she rode around on top of Ileca, Anis then took the time to enchant the arrowheads with the lights of the fireflies, making it glow especially bright on the dark room they were in. In hindsight, Anis felt that maybe Shirin's idea of utilizing electric eel's shocks to do something might work, but as of now, she couldn't figure out well what would she do about it.

 

Once the preparation was done, Anis instructed Ileca to start moving around so she could get into a clearer position to aim at the shadow, while avoiding other people and their shadows. She couldn't be staying still on one location while shooting. The creature, as fast as it was, would be quite hindered by its size, as it would make it had less control of its movement. In a charging move like earlier, it would have a hard time turning around whenever the more agile duo moved and attacked it from another angle. With that plan in mind, Anis pulled the bowstring.

 

One shoot. The first one was aimed at its head, hopefully not hitting anything else despite the fact that Anis wasn't really that concerned if any of the council members got hit. Two arrows. Three. Four. Five. Several shots were fired in succession, always from different positions. By this point the creature would start chasing her, and it would make aiming at it a lot easier. If the arrows did anything to it, then Anis would continue firing it until her quiver's empty, but otherwise...

 

Anis looked at the shining sword on her belt. She knew what she must do in that case.

 

---

[Andx]

The girl seemed rather on the shy side as she addressed Reinaan, thanking him for his help and advising they attack the faces of the creature. The idea of the face being their weakness made sense as the creature had contorted itself into a very vulnerable position simply to keep the Draken's claws from piercing one of its eyes. Reinaan nodded in agreement as he turned back to face the other monster he'd fought off of the girl earlier. She seemed capable of taking care of herself against one of the beasts. As the boy looked on orbs of light came to his side which slightly illuminated the darkness. At the least it gave him enough to see the creature he was fighting in more detail again. Just as he'd seen before it had sickly green flesh, red eyes all up and down it's front side and... there it was again that mess of hair up top. After shuddering some he refocused as he noticed the creature began to swell in size. It was beginning to feel like the this council wanted them dead more than they wanted them to save the world. Yet his opponent did not attack, perhaps still reeling from before. Best to take it out before it could do anything else then.

 

"Ziiyol let's go!" he called back to his spirit partner. Ziiyol perked up not having expected him to ask her assistance for this fight and came twirling to the air to his side. "You mean we're really going to do it?!" she questioned excitedly. "Only long enough to kill this thing. I don't need anything blowing up in my face again." Reinaan clarified. But nothing of what he said to the fire spirit would calm her. Ziiyol stepped up behind her partner wrapping her arms about his neck and chest and leaning her body in against his back. The warm sensation from where she touched soon began to fill Reinaan entirely as the spirit disappeared, infusing her power into her partner's body. The boy's scales seemed to almost glow now with the sparks that were dancing on and off his scales. Reinaan held his spear in his left hand as streams of fire began flowing from the center of his chest along his shoulder and arm and gathered in the palm of his right hand. As he closed his fist around the flame and reopened it what looked almost like red hot swords extended two feet from his claws. Reinaan could feel Ziiyol's fire all throughout his body. His eyes took in every detail of his opponent, his ears listening for any movement. The hair didn't even bother him at the moment all he wanted was his prey. As Ryia's struggle broke out nearby he heard it but kept his focus on his mark.

 

"Alright let's do this" Reinaan said as he adjusted himself to the sensation of Ziiyol's power. He readied the spear in hand and threw it at his opponent hoping to open him up. To his surprise the creature leaped into the air dodging the attack and was moving towards him fast. It was all he could do to jump off to the side and sort of roll as he escaped the creature's attack. Getting back to his feet he saw the monster land on all fours where he had just been and thought this to be his opportunity to attack. Reinaan charged in and thrust his right hand forward to hit the monster with the flames protruding from his claws only for the arms of the monster to wrap around his own stopping the attack. The flame claws about Reinaan's right hand dispersed into trails of fire that traveled along the length of his arm quickly back to the center of his chest and then to his left hand where the claws manifested again. The creature moved back some not relinquishing its grip on the boy's arm and readied what appeared to be a blade from its face. The monster was moving in to stab Reinaan with this weapon from its mouth. With a surprising deep growl that sounded something of a roar almost the Draken swung his left arm straight up aiming to skewer the creature's head from the bottom of its jaw to the top of its skull, if it had either of those bones anyway.

[Hälō]

"Lily, we'll go with a pincer strike." Lindow whispered to the small feline atop his shoulder before suddenly breaking off into a sprint towards the shadowy figure. 

 

"I need more time before I can use that spell again..." Was the lighting spirit's response as she tried to her best to hold on to Lindow's robe as his speed increased. 

 

"Fake it then." Lindow chirped as he shrugged Lily off, prompting her to begin scurrying across the ground in a flash of blue light.

 

Flanking the shadow creature from both sides, the pair lunged towards the beast in an attempt to overwhelm it with their superior numbers. "How about another helping?!" Lily roared as she jumped up towards their target's face as if she were about to use her discharge spell again. Though it would appear that the creature intended to target Lindow regardless.

 

"Not falling for it, eh?" Lindow jeered as he watched the beast set it's sights on him. Swinging his blade in a broad arc, his expression remained the same as his weapon passed cleanly through the shadow's midriff; just as it had done before. Naturally, he was prepared for what game next...

 

Seeing an opening in Lindow's attack, the shadow creature hastily lunged forward with it's claws extended towards the man's face and chest. "Gotchya~" Lindow cooed as he suddenly erupted into his own flurry of movement. Pivoting his body to the left, the witch hunter revealed his second dagger; stepping in and twirling the blade so that its edge was level with the monster's face before driving it into one of it's many eyes as it lunged towards him.

 

Time seemed to grind to halt as Lindow sensed a much larger amount of resistance when his dagger plunged into the creature's face. His single eye danced around it's form, causing his smirk to grow wider as he realized just how dire his situation was. With one of the creature's claws inches from slashing at his face, and the other pointed towards his right shoulder, Lindow's adrenaline was pumping through the roof!