GoldenCat/QueensoftheVoid
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Queens Of The Abyss
Northern Threshold...
Yeddims calmly walk through endless pastures on the distance, but around the Angels, a caravan burns. Bodies fill the ground, those of two Princes of the Earth, and of many mortals. Blood soaks the ground, and a panoply of arrows, all having missed the sleek Dark Angel, lay scattered about.
An onslaught of energy rays crash against the Jade-clad form of Kar, sending the Fire Aspect falling hard to the ground, cursing as he takes his face out of sand, eyeing the newcomer in rage. Another volley of arrows flies towards the dark, alluring form of Selina... fruitlessly.
And as the ray fades, the newcomer that unleashed the Arcanoi steps ouf of the shadows.
Sixteen bolts line the ground near the Dark Angel, cut and rripped or floating on the dark whirlwind of her black anima... soaked and broken by the building water maelstrom in front of her, burnt black by the fire anima building behind her...
Demigods fight, Essence roars, and the earth trembles.
Hearing the roaring elemental animas, seeing the dark light, seeing their own innefficiency... the bandits cast aside their bows, and run. Adrenaline served them well against the newcomer until her anima shred their flesh, until their presence was all but forgotten, until their arrows proved to be as effective in her than on a storm.
Mere human beings cannot fight a storm, mere human beings cannot fight a goddess of death. And so, they ran.
Leaving four angry demigods to shake the land with their roaring elemental essence... day darkened by iconic shadows, lit by flame and glittering droplets.
After a moment of concentration, the Red-Jade clad Fire Aspect gets up, effortlessly rising like a well-fed bonfire, rage on his eyes, “Who dares to attack a Prince of the Earth such as myself? Who dares to attack a heir of House Cevis and the New Realm? I shall burn your bones to as..”
”No, Kar. Think. Take care of the lady of dark winds,” Says the Immaculate, his fingers like claws snapping, his normal clothing soaked by his anima as he eyes the Ghost-Blood, “The newcomer’s mine. Those foul creatures protecting this evil stablishment need to be dealt by the great righteousness of the Spear!”
Selina De Windia: My my...who is that?
The enemy of her enemy is her friend...for now. The assassin leaves the Immaculate to the newcomer. Spreading her wings of night Selina takes to the air once more, rising in a storm of shadow and lightning, the death wind incarnate.
"I'm coming." She purrs at the fire aspect, the lightning strikes over her body intensifying as water condenses around her. Stretching her left palm outward at the dragon-blood, she utters an unintelligible low-pitched syllable that seems to make the very air vibrate, and lets loose a storm of small slivers of ice, the projectiles streaking toward the fire aspect as her aura roars to nearly twice its normal size from the brute release of energy.
Dragons: The Fire Aspects grinds his teeth and tries to dodge... fruitlessly. As he takes the shards of ice to his chest, unnafected by his fiery anima, he grunts in pain, going to one knee over the force of the icy onslaught....
Vorpal The fury of the battle and the flare of Essence have allowed the new participant to close in unnoticed. A figure clad in a long, worn travelling cloak, currently in the process of calmly dismounting a brown horse. Even with the voluminous cape it is obvious that the arrival is female, momentary parting of the dark-green cloth revealing ample curves sheathed in black leather and bits of armor. The cat-like agility of her movements and the long handle of a Daiklave jutting over her shoulder further add to the warrior impression: this is a dangerous woman they are dealing with.
"One thing is for certain, oh Dark Angel", she states off-handedly, turning to face the combatants. Although the hood makes it difficult to clearly see her features, there is something decidedly disturbing in what little is visible of her complexion - it is as if her skin had no color at all. "Your assassination style throws stealth to the winds. At least it was easy to track you down."
With those words she begins to advance directly towards the Water Aspect, the feminine sway of her stride giving an odd allure to the unhesitating determination of her pace, one gloved hand rising up to grasp the sword at her back and slowly slide it free from its scabbard.
Dragons: Kar touches the shards of ice where they ruptured her flesh, feeling his Exalted lifeblood fall out as his fiery anima melts the slivers... too late. Daiklave still in hand and seemingly lost to the meaning of a tactical retreat, the cocky fire aspect rushes towards Vorpal, since striking at the black-feathered assassin on the air has proven to be an exercise of futility... his movements slow, the ice hurting his insides, his body close to death....
The Water Aspect, on the other hand, does the same he did against Selina.... sharpens his fingers into draconic claws and darts in Vorpal's direction, intent on making her drown in blood....
As the Immaculate attempts to strike Vorpal, her blade violently deflects his hands away, cutting him in the proccess...
Vorpal "Hmph", the Ghost-Blooded mutters as the Water-Aspect falls on her, her Daiklave trailing wisps of white-grey light as it whips up to swat the offending claws away, before blurring down in a counterattack at his arms...
Dragons: Strangely enough, even cut deeply like he is, the Water Aspect simply... ignores it, and laughs. "No matter how many new ones of you come up, see?" he says, rising his hand as if he had something in it, "The albino’s dead, and you newcomers shall be next!"
Both the Dragon-Bloods have their heart's blood trickling on the ground even as their animas rage, roaring and dimming any other noise....
Selina De Windia: Another Abyssal? The greeting does not please Selina, however. Some vagrant, churlish specimen, no doubt.
"Bothering to hide myself from mere warriors?" Selina's tone groups the newcomer and the dragon-bloods together as she flies to about 70 yards away from the group, aura whispering malevolently amidst the crackling of the lightning bolts. "It'd be like casting pearls before swine."
With that she releases another burst of lightning and wind, pale blonde hair streaming behind her, the dome enveloping the two dragon-bloods, but off-center enough to not catch Vorpal in its fury. One more yard, however, and it would.
Dragons: Caught in the display, the unprotected Water Aspect is burnt by the lighting, his corpse falling to the ground, twitching lifelessly, his fading anima conducting the lighting...
Vorpal The Ghost-Blooded quickly lifts an arm to shield her face against the explosion. The fierce gust of wind sends the heavy cloak fluttering around her lithe form and hurls the hood off her head. A mane of snow-white hair suddenly billows out into air, and the woman lifts her red eyes for a moment towards the sky.
"Your words and deeds ill fit together, assassin!" she exclaims, nimbly changing the grasp of her sword, lifting the blade to the same level with her shoulder. "If you insist of hurling Essence around like that, at least aim it properly!"
With that, she darts forward in a sudden gust of motion, pale-white flames of an anima bursting into life around her as she dances between the two Dragon-Blooded, her Daiklave but a blur of deadly motion.
Dragons: Vorpal's sword slashes into the Fire Aspect, cutting him in half, blood and entrails flying everywhere as the sword slices him to little Exalted piece, covering the ground, his Water-Aspected companion, and the Pale angel in blood....
Vorpal "...Like so", the Ghost-Blooded finishes as she slowly rises from her fighting stance, the lifeless corpses of the Dragon-Blooded falling to the ground behind her...
Dragons: And then, quickly as it begun, it ends.... the animas vanish in explosions of elemental power, leaving only Selina's mystical whirlwind exploding about her, her winds changing the clouds and the air around her as she hovers like a dark goddess above the ground, Vorpal like a goddess of death, pale flesh covered in her enemies' blood on the ground.... and the rest of tghe caravan still too scared to come foward.
Selina De Windia: Hovering in the air above the carnage, Selina considers eating a few of the dead, or perhaps chasing down some of the reavers and doing for them in order to recover a bit of her expended essence.
I probably shouldn't do that in front of the caravan...
Shrugging, Selina sheathes her sword at her left side, having never touched the sickle on her right hip, and flies back to the last wagon in succession, looking for her wadded up greatcoat.
Vorpal ...I think I overdid it, Vorpal thinks dryly as she inspects the blood-splatters on her costume. The scent of blood and the power it contains hangs heavily in the air, tingling in her unusually Essence-refined nostrils...
Sticking Mournful Kiss into the gruond next to her and reaching into a pouch by her side, the Ghost-Blooded pulls out a small goblet. She crouches down to the ground, hunting for a good piece of Dragon-Blooded to squeeze some red nectar of life from...
Selina De Windia: Landing behind the final wagon after finding her greatcoat, Selina shrugs it on, leaving the front open for now, however. Then she begins to walk around the wagon to the side the battle took place on, taking care to stay far enough away that her still raging anima does not damage them any further.
And sees the new Abyssal hunting for scraps of corpse. She sighs and murmurs (more to herself) in exasperation "Oh gods, no."
Swinging her gaze toward the caravan, she stares blankly at the cowering guards and others sheltering behind the wagons. "I hope," Selina begins in a matter-of-factly tone, crossing her arms (the long black gloves mostly covered by the long sleeves of her greatcoat) over her chest. "That I'm getting a bonus for this."
Caravan: Silence.
More silence.
All the eyes on the carvan staring at Selina, at the bleeding mark on her forehead, her dark wings and her dreadful anima, powerful enough to take any looks away from her ravishing body.... and only to the fearful power which people would think demonic even if it was colored in gold.
Vorpal "Do not be silly", the Ghost-Blooded states as she approaches Selina, a goblet full of blood in one hand and her sword hanging lazily in the other. At some point she had apparently found a scrap of cloth to wipe away most of the blood with, and oddly enough, her travelling cloak seems to have become thoroughly spotless as well.
Selina De Windia: Raising her eyebrows as she turns to look at the other Abyssal, Selina shifts her weight to one of her high-booted legs over of the other. Her unfastened greatcoat shows flashes of the likewise black leotard underneath "Are you still here?" She asks in a forebearing tone more suited for addressing the peasantry. One of her wings cocks up slightly in pace with the question. "This is none of your concern, deathknight."
Vorpal "Yes, I am still here, and you'll find time to choke on your pride later, Dark Angel", the Ghost-Blooded responds, not even breaking her stride at Selina's glum response. Vorpal's voice more than matches Selina's own in its freezing coldness, and she pulls no punches in taking advantage of the fact that the Dark Angel seems to consider her Pale equivalent an inferior. "And yes, it is quite my concern, as the orders from your employer have changed a little bit since the last time her envoyer visited you."
Selina De Windia: "Oh?" Selina asks flatly, eyebrows raising a bit higher in mock surprise. "And I am supposed to believe you? For all I know, you're a servant of the Bishop."
Vorpal "If I did not know better, there would be little that could convince me from believing that you had a place of honor in his altar room", Vorpal counters, shifting her own weight to one foot and placing one hand to her hip, while lifting the goblet to her lips. After a quick sip, she adds sweetly: "As I recall, he is quite fond of whores... that is what you called his minions when you spoke with the Prince of Shadows, wasn't it?"
Selina De Windia: "No, I simply labeled them as whores." The Windian replies . "So far, I have not been proven incorrect." To punctuate her point, she looks the other deathknight up and down, then returns her gaze to her face. "At any rate, there are many ways to spy. So without any proof, you may as well tell me whatever rubbish she changed my contract to -- without informing me directly, I may add -- and be off with yourself."
Vorpal "In case you did not notice, she is informing you directly - through me, that is. You are thinking far too highly of yourself if you believe that the Lover would bother to come to see you all by herself." The Ghost-Blooded lifts her hands over her head even as she speaks, arching her back, leather straining against her body as she stretches with all the languid grace of a cat. "Mmm... But if you insist, I am in a far too good mood to deny you..."
Vorpal "The situation has changed", she begins as she lowers her arms down and takes another sip from the goblet. "It seems the Bishop outwitted Lover this time, and sent in a far greater army than anyone expected. With the numbers he is bringing forth to bear, he certainly is planning to thump an angered rabbit with a claymore."
Selina De Windia: So shameless.
"Wonderful." Selina replies in a dull tone, eyebrows coming back down. "I suppose this accounts for her sloppiness in sending someone I have never seen before -- Prince of Shadows must be busy with damage control."
"And," She adds in a dry tone, looking back at the caravan for a moment, before regarding the deathknight again. "You are insane if you think I am going to provide them with that kind of show."
Vorpal "Again your words and deeds ill fit together", Vorpal sighs, shaking her head slightly. "Pretend to be however prudent you want now, your certainly did not hesitate to show off a bit of yourself to everyone when you fought them -- " she gestures at the sliced-up remains of the Dragon Blooded with her goblet hand, " -- just a moment ago. Jab me however you like, but please try to do it honestly, would you?"
"But in any case", she continues softly, "you are simply too late to fulfill your mission as originally planned. The Whiteshield has fallen, the Royal Family slaughtered... except for one boy."
Selina De Windia: That irks Selina -- to have her contract voided before she even has a chance to work at it. Even if there is someone left. "I see." She says in considering tone, fingering her chin absentmindedly with one black-gloved hand. "I suppose I must go after the boy, then. Very well."
Coming out of her thought, she regards the other Abyssal once more. "If this is true, then I have a lot of hunting to do for this boy. I should begin at once."
Vorpal "A few more details you should be aware of", the Ghost-Blooded adds and takes a new sip from the goblet. "The boy's name is Alex Holysword, and he is carrying a number of artifacts with him. He and a young woman named Fiona are currently fleeing through the countryside not far from Whiteshield. Both of them are Solar Exalted."
Her red gaze gaining an abrupt intensity, she aims it directly into Selina's own eyes. "They must be found and protected from the Bishop's minions, which are no doubt on a very hot pursuit. Furthermore, they will need to be herded a bit, and taken to the Fortress of Crimson Ice as soon as possible..." Her tone of voice, originally no-nonsense and filled with conviction, gains a sudden edge of mild disdain as she finishes: "So that the Lover will have a few new Solar toys to play with."
Selina De Windia: "How droll." Selina states disinterestedly, not enjoying the prospect of going near the Fortress of Crimson Ice, much less going inside it.
And that randy bitch will likely attempt to lure me in. She thinks in disgust, recalling what she's heard of the Lover. As if I'm another one of her playthings.
"Well, if that is all the case, I should be going then. Nothing to be gained staying here after all." She looks back at the caravan again, eyeing it ruefully. The Windian had rather enjoyed the slow pace and opprotunities for laziness it brought on. "And I suppose you will be going as well." Not a question, more of a statement, really.
Vorpal "Mmm-hm", the albino responds absently. Downing the last remains of the blood, she shakes the goblet upside-down for a moment to get rid of the last drops of the red fluid before packing the item away for later use. "That brings me to the last matter you will need to know of."
Nimbly shifting the grasp she has of her sword, the Ghost-Blooded whisks it around over her head and down into its sheath. "From this point on, you should treat whatever words I say as if they came from the Lover herself."
Selina De Windia: "Oh?" The assassin gazes at the other deathknight with a questioning look, then shrugs. "Perhaps you are not aware of this, but I am an independant agent, not one of her pet deathknights."
And I don't ever intend to be.
After pausing for a moment, letting that sink in, Selina continues just as matter of factly as the other deathknight had. "As such, I am only bound by the contract, which stated nothing of constant and burdensome micromanagement. I will carry this job out to the best of my judgement, and if the Lover does not like it, she can have her jade back. The Dark Angel works on her own terms, none other."
Vorpal "Your contract stated that you should always be on stand-by for further orders, didn't it?" the Ghost-Blooded shrugs dismissively and turns her back to the Dark Angel. "It is more convenient that the Lover has a channel by which to issue those further orders, don't you think?"
Selina De Windia: "That is one thing." Selina says acidly, beginning to get visibly irritated now. "Having someone looking over my shoulder, telling me what to do every minute, is something else entirely."
Vorpal "Have you ever been to a war before?" the albino asks over her shoulder.
Selina De Windia: Voice becoming a tad openly annoyed, Selina replies with "This is not a war. This is something quite different. Something, I daresay, I have more experience than you with."
Vorpal "This is war", the Ghost-Blooded responds, thoroughly ignoring the rest of Selina's words. "A mission deep into the enemy lines, with the realm swarming the dead soldiers of our enemy slaying the living soldiers of an another enemy. You and I are mercenaries, Dark Angel, two little pawns in the middle of it all who do their best to fulfill a mission they were hired to do, and herd a pair of Solars to their destination while fending off all manner of creatures the Bishop has to send their way. Do you think you can do that alone?"
She half-turns in a nonchalant manner, to get a better view at Selina and to further empathize her point. "Do you truly think you can fight off the Bishop and guard those Solars at the same time? In a war, people who have someone to guard their backs tend to survive longer."
Selina De Windia: "I've done it before." Selina retorts, running over the other Abyssal's words just as she did to her own. "Are you daft? I'm an assassin. I know more than enough to survive while sneaking about in places I should not be. You are only coming along if you drop this pretense of command -- I will not be hindered in my trade by a rank amateur, no matter how long you've spent doing something else."
Vorpal "Oh, please." The albino lets out an exasperated sigh. "How petty do you think I am, play a commander with one underling? If it strains your ego so much to hear someone give you orders, then think of it this way: I am the mouthpiece of the Lover - if I receive any further orders to pass over to you, you will consider them as 'further instructions' stated in your contract. Other than that, we shall take care of this matter as equals... Is that too difficult for you to swallow
Selina De Windia: "As equals? That's more like it." Selina replies in a more satisfied tone. Regardless of what the other deathknight says, she showed enough bad attitude from the start that the windian didn't intend to back down.
"And, I think you're about as petty as me." She begins to laugh, the sound echoing out over the plains, as she looks back to the wagons. "Stop cowering. If I wanted to kill you, you'd already be dead!"
Vorpal "What did you fear I would command you to do in any case?" the Ghost-Blooded puts in with a slanted smile, before turning around and striding across the battlefield towards the slain Dragon-Blooded.
"The horse can carry your supplies as well", she calls over her shoulder. "Come to it once you're done with whatever you need to do."
Selina De Windia: A number of things...
But Selina doesn't reply to that, though her laughter dims a bit as she stands looking at the caravan, waiting impatiently. "Lot of cowards." She murmurs under her breath, not showing her irritation openly for fear of making them inch further away. "It's not like I'm trying to kill them all."
Merchant Prince: "My, my... our saviors!" A voice comes from between some of the wagons, going towards the girls... at a safe enough distance, a wary eye at Selina's still, showing Caste mark, tears of blood coloring her face red, as he walks towards the Dragon-Blooded corpses... Selina would recognize him as one of the two Merhcant Princes in the Carafan Jaquar, a corpulent Southeastern man.
"I suppose you will be leaving now, yes? And with our thanks and best wishes, yes? And I suppose you won't be taking any of these beauties... yes?" He says, trying to lift the Red Jade Daiklave from the disemboweled corpse... and utterly failing at that.
Selina De Windia: "Keep them if you want." Selina states offhandedly, trying to assess how much of the guard is left on the caravan.
Merchant Prince: Most of the guards are corpses at your feet, killed during the attack... less than ten are probably alive and at full condition from what you can see where you are, with a considerably lesser number being tended to their wounds.... the guard made up for their number of guards with their own Dragon-Blooded, his corpse burnt not far from Selina's feet....
Vorpal
Vorpal Now, about that other matter... Vorpal thinks silently as she returns to examine the slain Dragon-Blooded once again. Their behaviour during the battle had been decidedly odd - judging by their words, it was as if they had been fighting an entirely different battle in their minds alone.
Carefully sweeping the hem of her cloak up from the ground so as not to stain it with more blood, the Ghost-Blooded crouches down to stare thoughtfully at the gore-filled remains for a moment. Then she brushes lighty a gemstone attached to her breastplate with one hand and taps the clammy cheek of the Water Aspect's dislodged head with the other. "Hey."
Dragons: The Water Aspect's head, hanging on the low grass over a darkened earth, his bowels hanging with a sickly, warm scent of a man's insides around Vorpal... would suddenly have its eyes snap open, eyeing Vorpal... strangely. "You are dead." He says, "I gutted you where you stood and saw the life leave your pale eyes. Why do you trouble me?"
Vorpal "I have died a few times before", Vorpal responds, evenly. "There is little new in that for me. Now tell me, why did you attack this caravan?"
Dragons: "Riches. They have a few more Jade items than most, and even a couple Moonsilver trinkets... we need these items, and their riches, to spread the Perfected Creation and the New Realm... we asked for them and their allegiance, but they, on their wicked evil, denied us, so we had to kill them guards and take our right!”
Vorpal "And what is the Perfected Creation and the New Realm?" Vorpal inquires, leaning her head against her knuckles.
Dragons: "Like something like you could understand.... the Perfected Creation is just that. The existence inside the Sea of Mind, that is simply... perfect. Everything you have ever seen, in its perfected, wonderful state, where death just isn't.. If you see it once... you never want out of this vision. and it needs power to spread it to the whole of creation."
The head chuckles, "The New Realm? Just what it sounds like, dark one. the foundation of a New Realm, led by Cevis Gahandarva of house Cevis... of which one of the heirs of was here in his Red Jade armor, showing all of you his power, and killing your dark-feathered friend!"
Vorpal "She is hardly my friend on the moment", Vorpal responds with a quick glance at Selina, to check out what the Dark Angel is up to. "So where is this Cevis Gehandarva on the moment?"
Dragons: "Cevis Ghandarva? He is at the center of the Perfect Creation, at Pherenike's Garden and at the foot of Astiliuth Eternal... the Sea. The Great Sea that will swarm over Creation, and make it perfect. Perfect, as it should be, led by dragons to its great apotheosis... and on that day, you will see. That your existence in wickedness will be over.” It says... words echoing in the very fabric of Creation.
Selina
Selina De Windia: Raising an eyebrow as she examines the carnage, Selina looks back to the caravan master. "How much longer have you got to go before you reach somewhere where you can hire more?" Her tone pretty much leaves no room for stalling.
Merchant Prince: "Ooh, but my savior is so generous!" He says with a polite half-bow, motioning for some strong men, his own bodyguards, of course, who wouldn't enter the melee until he was directly threatened, to take the artifact pieces away.... "Oh? Many miles until the next city in these damned plains... if these are Forest Witches, we didn't count on them raiding so far from their home turf...."
Selina De Windia: "I've heard of them." Selina says dismissively, then looks at the master again, her tone much more final. "If they raid again, you're all going to die."
Merchant Prince: "That... is true." The Merchant Prince says, shrugging, and walking closer to Selina in a more conspiratory tone, "But sometimes, taking risks is part of bussiness. Now, you tell me, oh unearthly beauty... would it be more of a risk to be by myself, or to hire you as our protector?"
Selina De Windia: "I'll summon an elemental up." Selina says, shrugging at the merchant. "But...if you mistreat it, it's allowed to severely hurt you in retaliation. I prefer not to leave my contracts unfinished."
Merchant Prince: "I will remember that," he bows slightly, "That is most gracious of you." he says, coming closer to Selina, so no one else would hear, "When I have need for your favors some other time... and this time I will know not to place a pearl among the rubbish... Aine Blackwater, was it?"
Selina De Windia: "Yes, it's Aine Blackwater." The Windian says in a level tone. "Mind, this doesn't mean you'll get through...but better with some chance than no, yes?"
Merchant Prince: "Well, yes... since some might fear your state... while others, beautiful one..." He says, his hand going to her long pale blonde hair and stroking it slightly, "See its... possibilities. Many possibislities... think about it" He says, turning around then... “We will talk some other time, I suppose. Now, there is Jade to collect, and a Caravan to keep going... and riches waiting!” He says, a last wave to the Dark Angel as he returns to the caravan, his subordinates picking the Jade from the corpses... the Caravan carries on.
And the Angels, together, run to their destiny...
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