NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: Rave, this isn't Hell. This is worse. Much, much worse...

IC: Alexander started, and turned around. A tall, imposing figure stood there. "My... lord?"

"Yes, that I am. And you," the figure turned to Rave, "Should recognise your master when you see him. I am the darkness between the stars. I am the shadows behind the fire, the archtype of existence... count it a blessing that I appear in this form, and not in my true."

The Nameless One laughed then, and then pushed the hand out towards Rave, forcing her back. Power the equal of God became bent towards destroying Rave. All of a sudden, TNO stopped, and looked confused. "Damn it... Taliya's mortal shell has been shattered. Alexander, deal with this!"

ooc: Oh yay. Just make it believable, ya?

Ravelyn grinned slightly. That was my Enamarcia... she thought to herself when she had heard of Taliya. Maybe my sister accepted that she wasn't the one who was "supposed" to be on this plane. She knew very well that Ena had traveled to a different world.

She was pushed back by a hand and returned her glare with all her strength behind her. "And you may count it a blessing I do not appear in mine."

She quickly side stepped and twisted from the hand, gathering distance between the two. In stepping back, her left hand swept up, the metal slashing at the man without hesitation, the speed of an ancient vampire behind her. She backed off. Finally, a ball of yarn for the cat...

Qui sighed heavily, and put his cigarette out on the ground. Well then, I guess that's my que... He walked off into the night.

Xyorph saw the body, and turned to look at Daniel.

"So, what now?"

ooc: back from spring break...thanks for being patient.

IC:
With a gasp, Maximus opened his eyes as the last of his wounds finished their healing. A normal vampire would have taken longer to heal, but he was no ordinary vampire. He was of the Elven descent as well, and strangely enough, it made his wounds heal faster...

Maximus stood, staring out from the peak of the mountain. Below him lay the forest from which he had come earlier, several thousand feet below him.

With a sigh, he drew Glamdring from its sheath once again, and closed his eyes, focusing upon the few remnants of his friends still on Earth: Xyorph, Daniel, Enamarcia...the others were missing and could not be found...

Behind Xyorph and Daniel, Maximus silently flashed into existence.

"Miss me?" he asked, grinning. No wounds could be seen on him, and it seemed as if he had completely healed in quick time. His eyes found Enamarcia, lying on the ground. She looked hurt. He saw the demoness on the ground near her, with some of the conjured beings approaching her, beings spawned by Xyorph and Daniel.

He sniffed the air discreetly. Daniel...a vampire? what had he changed to?

He spoke telepathically to him:

Tell me, Daniel, what is this change I sense about you? You are no longer human...

Lord Arithon followed the wandering Qui. It was time to act. The demon lord blinked out of his realm in an instant, appearing behind Qui. Arithon had taken his human form, a tall, muscular male with short black hair. His skin was a silvery white and his eyes were pure darkness. Arithon hid his demonic presence for the moment as it would not sit well for him to be noticed in the mortal realm.

He continued to watch the Shentavo, contemplating how he would go about his task.

Daniel nodded.

"I am still Agent Daniel Able, but more than the sum of my parts. If that does not make sense to you, do not worry. I... do not quite understand either."

"Now... we have a demoness Taliya to stop. Shall we?"

Daniel again closed his eyes and swept up the winds in the forest, trying to knock the monster down.

"You know," Qui said cooly. "If I had wanted you to stop following me, then you would be left about ten paces back." He did not turn around, but continued walking. Arithon could sense something different. He didn't sense any part of his mother in him. He saw refined darkness. Maybe that is what it was.

His white hair fell in short strands which he pushed back from his eyes. His right eye was a deep crimson red white his left was a brilliant ice blue as Kenja's had been. His skin was deadly pale in the moonlight. He continued to walk on. "Please...walk with me."

Omnus felt the darkness attempting to steal his life energies. With a grunt, Omnus slowly began to accept the darkness and slowly melded it into his being.

"Do you believe a dragonlord cannot handle darkness? Dragonlords walk a thin line between light and dark. We see the world in shades of gray. We possess the power of the dragons, the protectors of the world, and of the demons, the destroyers of it. We are both the yin and the yang."

Nez'gah displayed his razor sharp fangs in malice.

"There is much you do not understand about the way demonic power works. You may think you bear such power and knowledge as I, but you can't even begin to grasp what you meddle with."

The darkness still under his control, Nez'gah pushed forth his final command to the demonic energy. Expand......

The energy ripped forth, tearing through muscle and tissue that combine to form Omnus' legs. In a shocking burst of power, blood and tissue covered the grove as the energy was freed and dissipated. The demon lord laughed at the misguided dragon rider.

"Fool. You cannot control what is mine! I am demon lord. This is my power and my knowledge. It cannot be harnessed by beings such as yourself! You have no demonic blood within you, it is not your heritage!"

Omnus laughed coldly at the foolishness of the demonlord.

"You do not know anything, you fool... Your power is miniscule in comparison with the powers of a dragonlord... Time to feel the wrath of the yin and the yang..."

With that Omnus roared and extended his two palms sending waves of light and dark energy streaming towards the dark tendrils attached to him.

(OOC: They should break...)

"It is good to see you again Maximus. I hope the healing process was not painful."

Xyorph saw Daniel straining his mind around the forest.

"A demon will take steps to coneal itself if it knows we are here. Maybe a physical sweep would be more beneficial?"

(OOC: You guys should be able to track me and Nez'gah fighting... A lot of dark energy is being released, so you guys shouldn't have any trouble...)

"Yes, a physical sweep is more inconspicious, although it will take a little longer in time. Time I'm not sure we have anymore...but first, what should we do about them?"

Maximus gestured to the two fallen women lying prostrate on the ground. He was more concerned with the demoness actually, for she might inform the others of his return. Besides, leaving an enemy to simply walk away was foolish.

"As I returned, I could not sense some of the more important members of our group. I fear they may have been taken captive. What do you say that we take the demoness with us? She may be a good bargaining tool for our disposal."

Maximus kept all senses alert about them. Anything that had been hiding, would have been found by him, but the area around them was clear. The winds from Daniel's summoning whipped the air about him, his hair snapping quietly in the gusts.

"Daniel, relax. Save your strength." he spoke to him.

Daniel slowly lowered his hand, and closed his eyes.

"I... apologize Maximus and Xyorph. I am still adjusting to these powers and I have some... urges to deal with. The power... the responsibility."

Daniel walked over and lifted up Taliya's form.

"If one of you could get Emarcia's body, we can..."

Suddenly Daniel winced, nearly dropping Taliya's body.

"What is it?" asked Xyorph.

"Dark... energy. There are two others in the forest?"

"Friend or foe?" pondered Maximus.

I do not know... let us find out.

*********


OOC: Swordmaster? who is on the "light" side? You are right?

Daniel slowly lowered his hand, and closed his eyes.

"I... apologize Maximus and Xyorph. I am still adjusting to these powers and I have some... urges to deal with. The power... the responsibility."

Daniel walked over and lifted up Taliya's form.

"If one of you could get Emarcia's body, we can..."

Suddenly Daniel winced, nearly dropping Taliya's body.

"What is it?" asked Xyorph.

"Dark... energy. There are two others in the forest?"

"Friend or foe?" pondered Maximus.

I do not know... let us find out.

*********


OOC: Swordmaster? who is on the "light" side? You are right?

Kain stared at the walls in his cell. They were rough and hardly the straight stone ones which were the conventonal ones. He was looking around the chamber, trying to remember spells, to remember which ones which he could cast now.

Well, at least without becoming unconcouis from the overload.

He tapped against the floor, hsi cell totally pitch black. He remained patient, time was on his side, and he certainly was not going to starve. Not with the jewel Rave had given him.

He looked at it, the bleeding heart sustaining him still in the dark chamber. Kain sighed and closed his eyes, reaching back in his mind to where the knowledge was kept.

(OOC: A little bit of both. He classifies himself as Gray...)

"You know," Qui said cooly. "If I had wanted you to stop following me, then you would be left about ten paces back." He did not turn around, but continued walking. Arithon could sense something different. He didn't sense any part of his mother in him. He saw refined darkness. Maybe that is what it was.

His white hair fell in short strands which he pushed back from his eyes. His right eye was a deep crimson red white his left was a brilliant ice blue as Kenja's had been. His skin was deadly pale in the moonlight. He continued to walk on. "Please...walk with me."

Arithon smiled as he began to walk forward.

"Somehow, I think not. But that is not the issue."

The demon lord seemed to glide across the grass, moving next to Qui.

"Tell me Shentavo, what is your purpose here?"
____________

Omnus laughed coldly at the foolishness of the demonlord.

"You do not know anything, you fool... Your power is miniscule in comparison with the powers of a dragonlord... Time to feel the wrath of the yin and the yang..."

With that Omnus roared and extended his two palms sending waves of light and dark energy streaming towards the dark tendrils attached to him.

Nez'gah knew Omnus held admirable power but he lacked knowledge on what he was dealing with. That was of little consequence.

"Tell me dragon rider, what do you think your so called yang can do to me? Perhaps you are not as observant as you used to be, but I am now a lord of the Yang."

Nez'gah lowered his arms, keeping full attention upon Omnus. Within seconds, darkness began to pour out of the night sky, completely enveloping the trees and land. It was life a fine liquid flowing through the forest, turning everying into a blanl abyss. Living creatures were absorbed and light was extinguished. The darkness flowed toward Omnus, picking up speed.

Alexander held up his human hand and pointed the palm at Rave. The air around her thickened incrediblyy, making it difficult to move. She started to seem as if she was in slow-motion compared to Alexander. He laughed, and then leaned forward, slapping her hard across the face with his ebony hand, and then delivering a powerful backhand.

He stared into her eyes. "Ravelyn Shentavo, I must ask that you politely agree to enter your cell." His hypnotic eyes began to drill deeper and deeper into her skull.

Maximus whispered an incantation:

n'tess gothamin aetha Enamarcia

Moments later, Enamarcia's body was leviated and floated next to the three as they moved further into the forest, Xyorph leading the way. Maximus followed and Daniel took the rear, constantly glancing backwards and around them. The dark energies were obvious to be seen in their effects as they began to pass the foliage and wildlife. Dead things lay about them. Moments later, Maximus lowered the body of Enamarcia gently to the ground, and covered her with some of the leaves and brush, both to keep her warm and keep her hidden. He did so quietly, making no noise. Once finished, he turned his attention back to the clearing that lay several hundred feet in front of them, in which a powerful looking demon was fighting some dragonlord. Maximus shot to the treetops silently and moved with ease to watch the fight from a closer vantage. It appeared that the dragonlord was apparently on their side. This was good news for them.

Maximus felt the darkness summoned by the demon course through him, yet he did not worry. Technically, he was already dead, so it did not effect him. He searched for the edges of the darkness, and found that it was not thick in its width, only stopping several feet behind him, well clear of Enamarcia. His black eyes keenly watched every movement of the two combatants.

Xyorph winced at the pull of the darkness by the Demon. Because of his ability to summon, he was himself partially a dark creature. But he was also a creature of the light; being human and able to raise heavenly beings also.

As a result, half of him was being pulled like metal to a magnet, whilst the other half was trying hard to wrench away. It was a painful experience. Nevertheless, he kept himself together . Pausing to become phoenix again, Xyorph raised up into the sky with Maximus.

I did not know we had a dragonlord on our side. Maybe there is hope afterall. I presume we are staying out of the way unless otherwise indicated?

Maximus didn't look at Xyorph, but replied back to him in their telepathic speech:

Correct...oh...and if you don't mind, revert back to your human form...your pheonix state might draw attention we do not wish right now...

One more thing, there was hope already, there always is, no matter how bleak a situation may be...trust me on that Xyorph, trust me...

ooc: Enamarcia's body isn't there. SHE was not really there, therefore there was no body. She was energy, and projection of a being deceased. You'll understand later.

IC:

Qui chuckled to himself, and turned around to look dead in the eyes of Arithon. Arithon may have now pegged him as homicidal... His brilliant eyes, different of color, pierced into Arithon. It was a Shentavo trait...

"Why would I tell you what my purpose here is," he said in a dark voice. "Even if I was inclined to do so, do you honestly think I would tell of what doesn't concern you? And if I said I'm here just to make you're life a living hell, would you beleive me?"

Omnus sat down quietly on the ground his hands held tightly together.

"So Nez'gah, you think you can cow a dragonlord with your pathetic darkness?"

Manipulating his hands, Omnus reformed the Hellblade and sent it wheeling around him as a defensive shield, the core of the powerful Infinity Swords Skill.

(OOC: Guys, you don't know if Omnus is really helping you guys, cause he's also radiating darkness along with the light...)

OOC: Sorry Rave. We must have misread the posts :oops:

IC:

Daniel looked over at Maximus and Xyorph. They seemed to be noticing the dark energy that was emanating from Omnus and Nez'gah. He noticed too... and he liked it.

"Maximus, Xyorph. One of those two works in league with Arithon and the others. If we plan to find where Rave is, we must ask him."

Daniel closed his eyes and concentrated on the two men in front... he winced, and opened his eyes again,

"They are too powerful for me to break through. What do you guys think we should do?"

Qui chuckled to himself, and turned around to look dead in the eyes of Arithon. Arithon may have now pegged him as homicidal... His brilliant eyes, different of color, pierced into Arithon. It was a Shentavo trait...

"Why would I tell you what my purpose here is," he said in a dark voice. "Even if I was inclined to do so, do you honestly think I would tell of what doesn't concern you? And if I said I'm here just to make you're life a living hell, would you beleive me?"

Arithon smiled in return, a smile so perfect it was disturbing. There was no mirth, just the coldness of a being with no emotion. Arithon returned the glare, not wavering from Qui's eyes.

"You seem to be forgetting, in this time, all the happenings of this realm are my concern. Telling me your purpose, merely makes things easier for both of us, but it is not of great concern. You are not here to bother me. You are far wiser than that, it's not in your nature. Qui, we are similar beings, keep that in mind."
__________

Omnus sat down quietly on the ground his hands held tightly together.

"So Nez'gah, you think you can cow a dragonlord with your pathetic darkness?"

Manipulating his hands, Omnus reformed the Hellblade and sent it wheeling around him as a defensive shield, the core of the powerful Infinity Swords Skill.

Nez'gah shook his large head.

"No dragon rider, you have already shown your basic command of darkness. I have something far better in store for you."

The darkness continued to flow until it finally reached Omnus. The dragon rider's defensive spell forced the flowing darkness to move around him, completely surrounding him as it engulfed the forest.

The darkness continued to move, waves passing through like it was a thin liquid. Then something strange happened. At a glance, it appeared as if there was a face attempting to force its way out of the darkness. Gone. Then another face, and another. They continued to move through the power, until the layer finally burst. The black cover dispersed and inside were the ethereal forms of thousands upon thousands of tortured souls, a mixture of tormented races. The wailling of the souls echoed through the dark forest as they began to pour into the open, flowing around the clearing.

Maximus didn't look at Xyorph, but replied back to him in their telepathic speech:

Correct...oh...and if you don't mind, revert back to your human form...your pheonix state might draw attention we do not wish right now...

One more thing, there was hope already, there always is, no matter how bleak a situation may be...trust me on that Xyorph, trust me...

Xyorph grinned; an odd expression for a phoenix.

Very opitmistic Maximus. Always hope...yes, I will trust you

Xyorp flew back down and reverted to human form. Turning to Daniel

"Maximus seems content to wait for now"

Just then there was a bursting of dark magic, and suddenly the forest was a wailing mass of souls. Being a necromancer, Xyorph often came into contact with the dead, so other then the surprise of their sudden appearance, he was unphased.

Qui flashed his eyes at Arithon. "I suppose your mother was a seraphim as well? I suppose that your father was a demon lord, too then?" There was a bit of rage behind his eyes, as he stepped toward Arithon, and backed off again, continueing his walk. Then I guess you would be as messed up as I am. He thought to himself, and the conflict within him.

"This realm doesn't belong to you," Qui said softly. "I thought you would come to realization by that now. Why do you think everyone wants to kill Azrael so badly?" He shot out coldly.

Arithon shook his head, remaining completely calm at Qui's taunts.

"Things work differently in the demonic realm. I have no real parents, but I am a creature of darkness. I said we were similar, not the same."

The demon lord remained still as Qui moved toward him, then continued walking.

"This realm may not be mine at the moment, but it still concerns me a great deal. I know of many reasons why your mother is wanted dead, but that is not our concern at the moment either. Qui, our concern is your presence, your role in this game."

Omnus grimaced in pain as he felt the darkness engulf the shield. Then, he heard the wails of the damned...

Muttering incoherently, Omnus began to rise into the air, taking the darkness with him. As he rose, Omnus became a perfect lightning rod and immediately, storm clouds formed in the heavens and thousands of lightning bolts began to slam down into the darkness surrounding Omnus.

"My roll in this game?" He chuckled to himself. Of course...that was all it was to him. "Well, I'm a high roller... I have a lot on the line to loose and even more to gain. But I have enough to lose that I should not be concerned with the gain or loss where as in the end everything works out in my favor. That is all I am concerned with."

Qui turned his eyes back upon Arithon. "I bid you adieu...for my presense is my concern, and mine alone." He stalked off into the night. He heard the call again, as if a beacon was sent into the sky.

I know...I'm coming.

Omnus grimaced in pain as he felt the darkness engulf the shield. Then, he heard the wails of the damned...

Muttering incoherently, Omnus began to rise into the air, taking the darkness with him. As he rose, Omnus became a perfect lightning rod and immediately, storm clouds formed in the heavens and thousands of lightning bolts began to slam down into the darkness surrounding Omnus.

Nez'gah laughed to himself as he watched the Omnus' attempt to stop the tormented souls. As they are ethereal creatures, the lightning merely passed through their transparent, matterless forms.

"Come now dragon rider. Tell me you know enough of magiks to realise the physical cannot harm the ethereal?"

The souls continued to flow through the air, drawing closer to Omnus. Their goal was not quite obvious, but Omnus could at least tell it was sinister.

Omnus smirked at Nez'gah's complete lack of knowledge. With a roar, a thousand lightning bolts smashed into the ethereal darkness and slowly the darkness began to fade back to the ground. With another roar, Omnus melded the lightning with his psionic energy, creating a powerful sphere of energy around him.

"You have much to learn, Nez'gah. Your lessons begins today."

OOC: It isn't actually darkness, it's a mass amount of demonic spirits that are flowing around the grove

IC: The demonic beings wailed in frustration as their dark veil was pushed back, completely exposing them. Adding to their fury was the shield Omnus had just erected around himself. Many brave spirits bombarded the shield, recieving a wave of energy for their trouble.

Nez'gah cursed, the dragonlord was definitely powerful. Emitting a few signals to the spirits, Nez'gah unleashed a wave of dark power into the ground, melting a small portion into molten rock. As the spirits began to inhabit trees or continue their path around the grove, a large beast began to shape within the molten rock, visible only to those with mage sight.

Seeing the spirits start to pull away from the Demon, Xyorph pulled up a spirit of his own. Armed with a dead mans sword, the spirit circled Xyorph, keeping him protected from any that may wish to harm him.

He felt the dark power melt the rock even before he felt the heat from it. Something in his mind told him that the rock was being changed. But he could not see into what with his eyes. But it was not nice.

He sent a thought to Maximus
I do not know how strong your magical abilities are, but whatever that rock is turning in to isn't going to be pretty

Suddenly Kazar-Tiyon stepped out of the shadows behind them. His armor didn't even show a scratch from the slice Maximus had put in it, and he moved easily, without sign of a wound. He carried Shadowfang in his right hand; in his left, he held a sphere of what looked like black fire. His red eyes glowed brightly in the darkness of his hood.
"So, vampire... we meet again. I see you have friends with you this time; they will not save your life.
I admit I underestimated you before. It shall not happen again."

Maximus allowed a snarl upon his face. His eyes changed from their jet black shade to a bright crimson color. His fangs shone menacingly. Yet, he did not turn to face his enemy.

"You dare show your face again?! Very well then, you will suffer the consequences!"

In his mind he spoke the elvish spell quickly, and soon a shield of sorts covered his entire body. Closer inspection revealed the shield to actually be shimmering water, covering every ounce of his exposed body.

All the while, he kept a wary eye on that sphere of flame in Kazar's hand. Well...not technically, but more so with his mind's eye.

An explosion of movement came from where Maximus had been as he launched himself backwards in a backflipping 180 degree turn, all while drawing Glamdring once again.

"Prepare to meet your death!"

Maximus charged with lightining speed.

"Ah, but I'm not showing my face, am I?"
K-T stepped forward to meet Maximus, his sword darting forward in a chest-high slash. He moved with speed that would surprise someone who had watched the earlier fight.

Xyorph saw the creature that had duelled Maximus earlier step out from nowhere. Before he could say anything Maximus was charging at him, sword raised. The creature responded in kind, and within a moment the duel was underway again, both seeming as if the previous one had not happened.

The world around him was at war. Up above him the demon and dragonlord were still pulling each other apart with huge natrural forces that any normal mortal being would be afriad to come into contact with. Beside him Maximus and the Being were fighting at speeds that only those in the post-human realm could appreciate.

Xyorph turned to Daniel, calling across to him above the tearing of supernatural forces and the clashing of metal.

"You watch Maximus, we can't afford for him to be seriously injured again. I'm going to keep an eye on the demon and dragonlord. If they're going into the realm of summoning, I can take part in that."

Without waiting to see if Daniel had acknowledged, Xyorph moved closer to the duel between the two immense beings; keeping a careful eye on the melting rock. The spirit he had raised earlier still dancing around him, scaring away the occasional dead raised by the Demon.

What is happening to that rock? Xyorph pondered.

(OOC: Whoops sorry... :oops: )

Omnus slowly raised his hands into the sky and began to summon his own creature. The clouds gathered once more and a massive downpour began, coating the land with water. Massive lightning bolts flashed from the sky and charging Omnus with powerful electrical energy fueling his psionic powers. With a roar, Omnus opened a small passageway in the heavens and a powerful creature began to appear. First a arm with massive claws and then a hand. From its shape it was a dragon, but none that was ever seen before in the lands west of the Middle Kingdom...

"Now we shall see Nez'gah if your creature is a match for my lightning dragon..."

One moment Maximus was in front of KT, the next moment he was simply...gone.

KT could be seen looking about, trying to find Maximus, a partially confused look on his face.

With an eerie voice Maximus spoke to Kazar, but it could not be determined as to where he was, for his voice came from every direction, or so it seemed,

"You have only begun to see what I am capable of. I am more than a regular vampire!"

Maximus circled KT using his vampiric speed and came up behind him. Glamdring rippled through the air once again, hurtling toward his enemy at an astonishing speed. A vampiric growl was heard, deep and deadly in tone. Maximus's misty form solidified quickly as the sword moved closer to Kazar.

Daniel nodded and pulled out his Upir sword. He tried to send a quick thought message to Maximus.

"My friend. If you need help, do not hesit..."

All of a sudden, a loud scream/cry echoed throughout the clearing. Most were too busy battling to take notice, but Daniel looked straight up.

Flying towards Omnus's Lightning Dragon was Daniel's dragon steed Gisc.

Daniel looked down at his emerald ring and then back up at Gisc.

Gisc continued to cry, and fly towards the Lightning dragon.

Daniel nodded and pulled out his Upir sword. He tried to send a quick thought message to Maximus.

"My friend. If you need help, do not hesit..."

All of a sudden, a loud scream/cry echoed throughout the clearing. Most were too busy battling to take notice, but Daniel looked straight up.

Flying towards Xyorph's Lightning Dragon was Daniel's dragon steed Gisc.

Daniel looked down at his emerald ring and then back up at Gisc.

Gisc continued to cry, and fly towards the Lightning dragon.

(OOC: I control the lightning dragon not Cousin Eddie's Xyorph...)

Kain remianed within his cell, waiting.....thinking....

(OOC Have we forgotten Kain? :( )

Edited Omnus :wink:


OOC: where is everyone else, Kain? who put you in jail?

(OOC: And why is that dragon steed flying towards my lightning dragon again?)

Kazar-Tiyon did not move until Glamdring touched his cloak... then whirled about with speed that made him a blur even to Maximus. Shadowfang crashed down, knocking Glamdring toward the ground, and a dart of black power shot from the sphere in Kazar's left hand.
"You may be unusual; I am unique. Before, I did not use magic once... nor was my concentration complete."
(OOC: I'd advise you to block or dodge the dart. If it hits you, it will cause extreme pain and weakness, enough to kill lesser beings, though it will leave no mark.)

(OOC: And why is that dragon steed flying towards my lightning dragon again?)

OOC: You know, I didn't really have a reson for why its flying towards the lightning dragon. Just added it in for another twist. Here, let me continue. You can do what you wnat with it.

IC:

Gisc flew up to the lightning dragon's face and cried again. In contrast, Gisc was a speck against a black canvas.

Daniel concentrated on his emerald ring, but could not get Gisc's attention.

"Dammit. What the hell are you doing, Gisc?"

(OOC Alexander did. I am in a chamber in the place, locked up)

Maximus smiled in response as he held his own hand up and spoke flowing words of an elvish spell:

lietha guldur! [Translation: Dispel magic]

A slightly visible bowl of a sort of shield formed outward from his hand, and engulfed the dart. Inside the dart shattered into millions of particles, dispersing harmlessly.

"You and I seem quite alike, yet different in our own respects, for I myself have not revealed what I am! Thus I propose! Cast thy sword down, and let us battle using our magic alone! We shall soon see who is the better!"

With that, Maximus raised his other hand, leviating his weapon. He thrust his hand aside, and the sword followed individually. It hurtled toward nearest tree and buried itself deeply, the tip of the blade soon protruding from the other side of the trunk, stopping centimeters from Daniel's face.

Darkness boiled about Shadowfang, and when it vanished the sword was gone. Kazar-Tiyon stood calmly, with both hands ready.
"So be it, then. Make your move...."
OOC: I'll be gone for the weekend, so my next reply will be delayed. Sorry...

OOC: That's fine, have a good weekend, and we'll see you when you get back! This thread's just fun to do! hehehe! :D

IC:
Maximus grinned wickedly, throughly enjoying the thrill of combat. Never a dull moment!

With that, Maximus floated upwards several feet off the ground, holding his arms outward to the skies. In a melodic, yet loud voice he chanted,

KHELEK HURRO'

Dark and ominous clouds moved rapidly overhead in a giant swirl above the two. The air surrounding the area began dropping rapidly in temperature, dropping far below the freezing point of water. It fell into subzero levels, and continued dropping. Puffs of breath were seen coming from Maximus's mouth as he breathed.

Looking down at Kazar-Tiyon, he revealed his eyes as having turned a bright bluish color, and his skin began to glow the same hue and radiance. His eyes were intense and extremely focused upon his task, glaring at Kazar-Tiyon. He blinked once.

At that moment, the ice storm began. Tremendous amounts of ice hurtled downward toward Kazar-Tiyon, immediately trapping him within an icy tomb, threatening to freeze Kazar-Tiyon's body frozen solid.

Maximus smiled as he watched the awesome spectacle of the fury of nature upon his enemy. All around him, the trees were becoming frozen solid, and snow gusted downward.

(OOC: Whoops sorry... :oops: )

Omnus slowly raised his hands into the sky and began to summon his own creature. The clouds gathered once more and a massive downpour began, coating the land with water. Massive lightning bolts flashed from the sky and charging Omnus with powerful electrical energy fueling his psionic powers. With a roar, Omnus opened a small passageway in the heavens and a powerful creature began to appear. First a arm with massive claws and then a hand. From its shape it was a dragon, but none that was ever seen before in the lands west of the Middle Kingdom...

"Now we shall see Nez'gah if your creature is a match for my lightning dragon..."

OOC: Ok, if you guys are going to start raising things, I would like in. My character is a Necromancer afterall. I know he is not as powerful as you, but baring in mind that I have stated his is a necromancer, perhaps you would give him some credit...

IC:

Xyorph tore his eyes away from the bubbling rock to look at the lightning dragon.

"Wow" he exhaled, truly impressed by the magnificence of the beast. He had never seen the full powers of a dragonlord called into use before, and it was an astonishing sight to behold. He had never seen a demon calling on full powers either, but with an eye back on the bubbling rock, he felt he was about to.

Well, if they were going to do the summoning thing, he could do that too. He raised his arms, with his staff gripped tightly in his left hand. Eyes closed; he began to hum. His tone was answered by an identical hum, but a superhuman one that shook the clearing. A blast of cold air nearly knocked him off his feet, and the humming stopped as his concentration was broken.

"Damn man. Concentrate" He said to himself.

He tried again, but this time was ready for the blast. It tore through him as if searching his soul, but left him standing. With an inhuman smile on his face, he opened his eyes. One was glowing with the dazzling white light of pure magic, whilst the other absorbed the light; representing the dark magic corsing through his vains.

"My turn boys" he growled in a low, wolf like voice.

The air behind him began to tear with a deafening sound. Through the portal leapt sparks of blue flame...

(OOC: In the interest of not getting in your way, I will leave it here until I am given the go ahead to join the duel. But please let me know shorlty lol :wink: )

Kain got up from the cold hard floor, the spell which he wanted fully formed within his mind. Through his mind, were many of his own spells, ones which he used as a mortal and learned as a vampire. But those in the deepest reaches of his memory were the ones which the demon had imparted to him.....it took Kain many minutes to recall to demonic words, the gestures and the thought process to do such a spell.

He got up and flexed his pale white hands, hands which he still had not grown fully accustomed to. He was still expecting the reflexes of his three taloned hands. He did not miss the three talons...but he had to learn how to write and cast spells again when gestures were required. There was no better time to learn....but mistakes could cost him dearly in such a sitation.

The chamber he was in was small, and the door was hardly visible. Regardless, Kain placed his hands to the demonic door, locked by the magic of Alexander. The door responded with a malicous red glowing. Kain expected this and realised what he was up against.

Closing his eyes, he began to visualise the arcane words he would have to chant, the sensations he would have to contend with, the powers he would have to summon.

Kain began to chant, his hands rooted to the door, the protection spells around the door begining to take effect. Kain felt his arms become painful, a deep pain from within as if the bone was vibrating and goign to shatter. Kain, armed with the knowledge that this was not actual physcial pain, that it was only the mental pain, armed by the demon who he had existed with for so long gritted his teeth and continued.

With his mouth he began to form the demonic words which few non-demons could prenounce, let alone understand. Kain only knew these words for the time being, not knowing the language fully as he did with the demon. But the knowledge was enough. The words flowed into Kain, making him cold and into the door. The pain intensified, yet Kain held his discipline. His arms began to shake, and had Kain had his eyes open, he would see black trails flowing from his arms into the red trails coming from the door, like two snakes in bitter combat.

Kain continued to chant, the pain was growing by the second, his arms now seeming like thye were having earthquakes occouring inside them.

The two forces were in balance, Kain was losing in the war of attrition, he had a high pain threshold, but the door felt no pain.

The Shentavo's robe began to flutter, the white robe being slithered over by the black energies he was summoning. Black words formed around Kain, they span in excitement.

Now....the tricky part. Kain visualised the door was movable, pushable as it was. As if it was just a sliding door going backwards. The demon told him this much, that this was rather hard for non-demons to do, while maintaining the magic.

He visualised the process.....and lo and behold, his feet began to move as he pushed the door. Kain in fact, was pushing nothing but himself through the door. What the spell was doing was making himself incorperate, which itself was not a hard feat for a mortal to do, but Kain hadf to fight the enchantments. Without the demonic knowledgfe of the nature of the enchantments placed on the door, Kain would not have stood a chance. The pain was pulsing still through his body....yet Kain continued on, his entire body screaming in protest.

And then, Kain fell.

He fell onto the stone floor. Only this floor was outside of the chamber. Kain had succeeded!

He lay there panting, recovering from the odeal, he felt as though a knife had been removed from his body and the wound was slowly healing over. And sprawled upon the floor, Kain Shentavo was freed.

But at the moment when he was vunerable, would someone attack and imprison him again?

(OOC I need description of the area, and where he is in relation to everyone else. I decided to take matters into my own hands, I was bored of staying put.)

(OOC: And why is that dragon steed flying towards my lightning dragon again?)

OOC: You know, I didn't really have a reson for why its flying towards the lightning dragon. Just added it in for another twist. Here, let me continue. You can do what you wnat with it.

IC:

Gisc flew up to the lightning dragon's face and cried again. In contrast, Gisc was a speck against a black canvas.

Daniel concentrated on his emerald ring, but could not get Gisc's attention.

"Dammit. What the hell are you doing, Gisc?"

The massive lightning dragon roared and with a flash of his eyes, sent massive lightning bolts flowing swiftly from the sky towards the small dragon. And with a massive roar, the lightning dragon sent a wave of positrons and electrons into the smaller dragon, destabilizing its molecular structure...

Omnus slowly raised his hands into the sky and began to summon his own creature. The clouds gathered once more and a massive downpour began, coating the land with water. Massive lightning bolts flashed from the sky and charging Omnus with powerful electrical energy fueling his psionic powers. With a roar, Omnus opened a small passageway in the heavens and a powerful creature began to appear. First a arm with massive claws and then a hand. From its shape it was a dragon, but none that was ever seen before in the lands west of the Middle Kingdom...

"Now we shall see Nez'gah if your creature is a match for my lightning dragon..."

Nez'gah didn't take any notice of Omnus as he continued to summon his creature. The molten rock bubbled and flowed out of the hole, not allowing any to see what was within. The demon lord extended a clawed hand toward the hole of molten rock and released several strands of darkness. The power twisted through the air, flowing through a seemingly random path until it plunged into the molten rock.

Silence. There was no reaction at all for a few minutes. Finally, the land began to shake as the molten rock itself began defy gravity and push through the air, into the forest grove. Sitting over the dead grass, the bright orange rock began to take form, a beast on two legs, around the same size as the lightning dragon.

The creature was composed of jet black rock, with a crimson red fire running between the joints of the rock. The fire matched the colour of the beast's eyes as it looked up to see the lightning dragon engaging another dragon. The land shook as the beast took steps toward it's master, awaiting orders. Massive rock hands flexed as a violet flame burst into existence and licked the edges of the demonic golem, flowing around it's massive form.

"Destroy the lightning dragon."

The beast nodded in acknowledgement and gazed upon Omnus' creature.

OOC: You're welcome to join in Cousin Eddie.
__________________

Arithon watched as Qui began to walk away. He couldn't let that happen. Arm outstretched, Arithon released a stream of crackling dark power that ripped open a hole within the hard ground, directly in front of Qui.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that Shentavo."

OOC2: Rave, have you read my tg's?

Ravelyn was struck across the face viciously by Alexander, turning her head at the vicious blow.
(can"t type messed up keyboard???? finish later>>>> )

Through the portal ripped the body of an undead. Blue flames ripped at the enormous torso of the beast as it pulled itself from the ground. It snarled at the open air, enjoying the feeling of freedom once again. As it rose out of the ground it saw its opponents, and grew to the appropriate size.

Blue flames licking around its body, the creature acknowledged Xyorph with a bow, and turned to face the flaming rock monster that had bubbled out of the ground.

It noted its surroundings. The life if the forest made it feel so alive. Its grew brighter and bluer as the power started to rise within it. It acknowledged the lightning dragin as an ally with a bow.

With its power now brimming inside it, it turned its full attention to the rock beast. It raised an arm and unleashed a volley of the searingly cold blue fire.

Alexander stumbled back as his magic came unravelled. "I'll deal with you later, Shentavo. For now," he released her from his paralysis spell, "kindly enter your cell. It'll be over soon."

He stood up, and growled. "I have an old friend to see..."

(OOC I need description of the area, and where he is in relation to everyone else. I decided to take matters into my own hands, I was bored of staying put.)

OOC: You are currently trapped in another dimension, very far from everyone except Rave, the Nameless One, Izual, Alexander, and another character, who shall be divulged shortly.

Alexander has decided your continued existence offends him, and has left Rave to hunt you down.

Taliya's soul energy is also coalescing there, but it's a bad idea to disturb her.

IC:

In the darkness by Rave, a voice hissed, "Pardon me, madame... I don't suppose you could shine some light here? Only I've spent the last 20 years in pitch darkness..."

<=========>

Alexander walked forward, his cape flying around him and a rapier in hand. "Kain... where are you? Come out, come out, where-ever you are..."

OOC: That's fine, have a good weekend, and we'll see you when you get back! This thread's just fun to do! hehehe! :D

IC:
Maximus grinned wickedly, throughly enjoying the thrill of combat. Never a dull moment!

With that, Maximus floated upwards several feet off the ground, holding his arms outward to the skies. In a melodic, yet loud voice he chanted,

KHELEK HURRO'

Dark and ominous clouds moved rapidly overhead in a giant swirl above the two. The air surrounding the area began dropping rapidly in temperature, dropping far below the freezing point of water. It fell into subzero levels, and continued dropping. Puffs of breath were seen coming from Maximus's mouth as he breathed.

Looking down at Kazar-Tiyon, he revealed his eyes as having turned a bright bluish color, and his skin began to glow the same hue and radiance. His eyes were intense and extremely focused upon his task, glaring at Kazar-Tiyon. He blinked once.

At that moment, the ice storm began. Tremendous amounts of ice hurtled downward toward Kazar-Tiyon, immediately trapping him within an icy tomb, threatening to freeze Kazar-Tiyon's body frozen solid.

Maximus smiled as he watched the awesome spectacle of the fury of nature upon his enemy. All around him, the trees were becoming frozen solid, and snow gusted downward.
Surprisingly, Kazar-Tiyon's breath did not form mist in the chill air....
As ice surrounded him, he thought Ice... Fire's the obvious counter to that. The surprise of a pattern broken is far greater than that of a patter never started....
Lines of bright crimson flame snaked across his body, and soon the icy prison fell away in pieces. K-T moved a bit stiffly, but seemed otherwise unharmed. ((We wouldn't want to make this too short, after all...))
"K'zaltan Aferdiyan! Zorkai tuvarok delgrath!"
Kazar pointed his right hand at Maximus, his fingers spread, and made a lifting gesture with his left. A stream of greenish fire roared toward the vampire; at the same instant, the ground below him was smashed open, and lava began welling up from the jagged pit.

Distracted from the lightning dragon, the demonic golem leaped forward the dived into the molten rock pit once again, completely disappearing. For several minutes the undead creature merely stood there, unable to locate the golem.

In an explosion of of molten and solid rock, the beast erupted out of the ground and unleashed a thunderous head sandwhich between two massive, flaming rock fists upon the undead creature.

Nez'gah smiled in triumph as his golem displayed unexpected agility.

(OOC: Can you guys give me an idea of scale. Are these things the size of men, Twice the size, or larger?)

The undead creature staggered backwards, dazed and confused from the blow to the head; which had changed shape due to the blow. Being an undead, his skull readjusted itself back to normal size, distorting some of its facial features. Flames were starting to burn the flesh on the side of its face. Raising its hands, it destroyed the heat with its ice cold flames. The sides of its face were black and charred, and the flesh began to peel away as the creature moved. It let out an earing tearing screech of fury.

Below it on the ground Xyorph was also realing from the consequences of his creature taking a blow. Stars had appeared in front of his eyes. "Crap, hold it together man!" he roared. As the magic tore through him he started to rise off the ground. He looked again at the Golem. It had a lot more agility then he had anticipated. Thats the price you get for screwing with a demon's Golem I guess. He also began to consider that maybe an ice-flame enchanted undead had been the wrong choice of being for this battle. But too late to change now. Hopefully the tides would change once the lightning dragon made a move.

Taking control of his summoning once again, he charged it at the Golem. Aiming for the weak joints between the lumps of rock with its ice-fire, the creature simultaneously swung a blow at the Golem's torso, with enough force to shatter a building.

(OOC: My lightning dragon is the size of a small mountain...)

With a roar, the lightning dragon descended from the heaven like the bringer of judgment and destruction. Behind it, thousands of lightning bolts flashed through the sky, scorching the air around the sky. With a roar, the dragon unleashed a blast of scorching electricity laced with powerful psionic energy towards the demonic golem.

With that, Omnus Stormrider descended from the sky, his hands blazing with powerful psionic energy. With a roar, Omnus spoke.

Behold, Valkor, the lightning dragon… Though shall fall before his power.

Azrael’s eyes flickered open. She felt so dizzy. Soon she was in her right mind once again, and her surroundings became apparent to her. She felt the cold dampness of the stone across her back of the cell and the endless darkness that seemed to come. The air was frigid, and as she inhaled, it sent shivers down her spine. She never liked feeling helpless. Thankfully, she didn’t.

The bold seraphim were alive for one reason. She wasn’t like the others. She disobeyed; she thought for herself with a quick wit and sharp tongue. She was a rebel in the least…but at the same time, she was the most obedient of all of them. She lifted her crimson eyes immediately to her hands. Her muscles tensed as she jerked her hands up, now realizing there were chains on both her wrists.

The cold metal cut into her skin, and she winced. She looked around. It was only a matter of time before she would call herself to break the bonds. She needed a source of strength. Qui had not arrived, Enamarcia had not survived. Her fayth was not gone however. She thrived on her own fayth when it came down to it, and her soul was strong.

I could use a cigarette right now… she thought to herself in spite of her situation. She pulled one seemingly from the air, though it really wasn’t so. She looked at the end as it ignited in a white flame. She took a drag an inhaled deeply.

"Don't suppose you could shine some light here?" she heard, her sensitive ears quickly picking it up. She turned toward the voice.

"Sorry, Junior." she said softly. "It's not mine to give at the moment." she took another drag on the cigarette, the chains hurting her wrists.

Maximus had expected Kazar-Tiyon to escape from the ice tomb, and had already be preparing for his next spell. He remained floating above the ground.

Kazar's lifted hand began shooting green flames at Maximus at which point Maximus activated the spell with haste:

"lietha vil!!"

The flames emitting from Kazar-Tiyon suddenly began to shrink rapidly due to the oxygen being drained from the air around it. Finally they extinguished safely from Maximus.

The surging lava however, had caught Maximus unprepared. Had it not been for his quick reaction, the upward spiraling lava would have taken him by surprise and rendered him quite possibly defeated. The lava would have been hot enough to ignite Maximus's skin, and became even more of a threat due to his vampiric vurnerability to fire.

He was glad he had still kept the aqua body shield active, for it was what kept him from immediately igniting from the searing heat of the lava. However, his trenchcoat was not as lucky. The bottom of it caught flame, to which Maximus quickly yanked off and dropped it to the lava below. It fell somewhat heavily and immediately combusted into flames upon contact, destroying it in a matter of moments.

Maximus looked back at Kazar-Tiyon with an immense glare.

"That was my favorite trenchcoat...You make me very unhappy now!"

"Luhta kanta!!!"

Maximus suddenly began to multiply into dozen Maximus's and all glared at Kazar-Tiyon with an equal hate. The real Maximus could not be found by simply observation alone, he could have been any one of them. When Maximus spoke, so did all the others in perfect sync:

"Pilin en' templa!"

From each of the Maximus' outstretch hand came a magical arrow made of elven steel, and magically capable of penetrating quite a number of surfaces. One dozen in total all suddenly shot quickly at Kazar-Tiyon, deadly approaching from every direction.

They're too fast to block... I'll have to deflect them somehow.
I might as well use them....
"Zor tu'kainin duhryn!"
Shadows swirled around Kazar-Tiyon in a mighty whirlwind, and the gleaming arrows were pulled into the flow. They circled around Kazar's black-armored form, moving faster and faster...
"Tan korath lir durogast... D'vergim yl-tori!"
The whirlwind unravelled. Each of the deadly arrows, released with careful timing, shot back toward the image that had fired it. The elven steel glimmered in a solid wave of dark power and pure kinetic energy.

One by one, the different apparations of Maximus disappeared under the dispelling effects of his own magic against one another. It merely caused a cancellation of powers. The one headed for the real Maximus was caught by his hand and cast down to the ground, where it disappated long before it would have landed.

Kazar-Tiyon is much more skilled than I realized...I'm going to have to come up with something that is sure to hurt him greatly...

Maximus then thought of it. It could just work, it would at the least injure Kazar-Tiyon to a painful degree. If the spell caught him completely off guard, Kazar-Tiyon would fall...

The lone Maximus glared downward at Kazar-Tiyon. He didn't know about Kazar, but the immense magic so far was slowly draining him, beginning to bring fatigue. He may have been a vampire, but even they had their limits...

Suddenly, with a burst of determination and strong will he bellowed to the winds, the earth, and the heavens rapidly, summoning the spell in mind.

RAM EN' TEMPLA-AMAN TEL' SELDARINE!!

An immensely bright green and yellow energy field began spawning downward around Kazar-Tiyon, it's ripples of magic spiraling rapidly and closing in upon Kazar-Tiyon, constricting the space between him and the walls of the field with alarming speed. Suddenly, bolts of yellow lightning shot from every part of the energy field and dove into Kazar-Tiyon's body.

Any other type of spell, Kazar-Tiyon might have easily avoided. But this one was different. It was a spell blessing his very soul! Light to drive away the darkness, light to destroy or greatly weaken the evil inside...

Maximus watched as the spell took effect upon Kazar-Tiyon. He would be surprised if Kazar remained upon his feet after such an attack. Only time would tell...

OOC: Where is this thread going? I've been waiting to make a more meaningful post. :P

OOC: I don't have time for a long post right now, and that deserves one. In the mean time...
IC: As the lightning struck, a cloud of darkness blasted forth and drove the glowing bolts almost back to their source. Then they resurged, pushing forward again. A dome of energy formed around Kazar-Tiyon as shadow and light clashed within it... the battle between Good and Evil for the control of his soul, made visible to the naked eye.
A scream of mental pain rang out through the clearing.

OOC: My golem is slightly smaller than the dragon. Also, how can cold fire exist? Fire requires 3 things to exist heat, fuel and oxygen.

IC: The golem jumped back in another act of pure agility, leaving an exact clone composed of fire in it's place. The golem watched as Xyorph's creature plunged into the flaming copy, catching alight.

Distracted by the undead creature, the golem had not time to react as the lightning surged into it's stone form. As rock was not a conductor, the lightning itself did not harm the golem, but the force of such power sent it spralling across the clearing, crashing into a large tree.

Quickly getting up, the golem stood still as the earth began to rumble. Within seconds, several pools of molten lava had appeared within the earth, all launching flaming rock after rock at both the dragon and the undead being.

Nez'gah eyed Omnus cooly.

"You're full of so much hype dragon rider. It's about time you were put in your place."

OOC: My golem is slightly smaller than the dragon. Also, how can cold fire exist? Fire requires 3 things to exist heat, fuel and oxygen.

OOC: Its a slight artistic licence. But if it were an endothermic reaction (i.e a reaction that takes in heat), then the coldness would be produced. It doesn't produce a flame, but simply firing a cold beam at people would not be as interesting. So I add in the flame to make the description more colourful. If you consider flames that are used for underwater exploration, heat and oxygen are debateable. They are needed for the reaction, but not for the actual flame. If the definition makes you happier, picture it as blue flame rather than fire.

IC:

The creature plunged its fist into the flame clone of the Golem. Fire spread up its arm and onto its torso. It bellowed with pain and quickly retracted its arm. It sucked in the heat of the flame with its cold energy, putting out the flame. But much of the flesh on its arm and chest was black and peeling. It roared with pain as the muscle fell away from its body. The creatures' mass readjusted itself to cover the damage, but it was seriously weakened.

Then came the flaming rock. Several pieces crashed full on into the undead, sending it sprawling across the clearing. Flames once again shot up its body, transferring onto nearby trees. The being once again doused down the flames, but this time the damage was too much. Because of the force of the rock, much flame has spread into its inner flesh, causing much damage. With a bellow of rage and agnoy at being defeated, the creature was once again swallowed by the earth. Not destroyed, but defeated for the day.

Xyorph was left stunned and dazed as a result of his creature being beaten. He staggered backwards and leant against a tree to catch his breath. Ok, wrong choice. Maybe something else is required
As he paused to consider his options, he watched the lightning dragon reacting to the onslaught of the Golem.

ooc: whistles for Roania. As he approaches,*slaps him upside the head and points toward post*

The lightning dragon wheeled into the sky, showing surprising agility for something of its size. But it was unable to evade the majority of the molten rock flying towards him. Three of the rocks headed straight for the dragon, but using his sizable claw, the dragon managed to catch one of the rocks, while diverting another with a burst of psionic energy. But the last rock slammed right into the dragon, knocking him backwards. Dazed, it flew higher into the sky, now more careful and wary then before...

Omnus ignored the comment by Nez'gah, instead resheathing the Hellblade and sat down upon the ground.

OOC: Not much that I can do right now, except watch the spell being battled on you Kazar-Tiyon. Besides, it'll give you a chance to do the decent post in reply that you've been wanting to do. :wink:

IC:
Maximus watched carefully as the spell clashed with the darkness. Out of the magical warfare came many blinding explosions of light. On one side, the elven magic appeared to be having the upper hand. Yet, on the other, Kazar was putting up a decent counterspell to it.

Not if I can have anything to do about it...

Maximus raised his hand toward Kazar-Tiyon, holding his hand oustretched, with his palm flat. Slowly he began to close his fingers, clenching tighter and tighter. And surprisingly, the elven magic increased its efforts as it began to clench tighter around Kazar-Tiyon.

Earth...and Wind...Fire and Water...and Light.
Each of the Forces is a finger.
When I close my hand, it becomes a fist.
And if I wish,
I can turn it against you.

(adaptation to the quote from the movie "Gangs of New York" :P )

OOC: Rave, I know. I was waiting for Kain, but he's not active right now. Don't worry, his character will suffer for it.


...

Just joking.

IC:

The voice seemed to carry a smirk. "Youngster? Is that anyway to talk to a proper ancient, half-breed?" There was the sound of clinking chains. "It's a good thing real vampires can see in the dark. I was just wondering if you had something you could use to see with." The man, if it was a man, sighed.

"You had it lucky. I was stuck with Madame Taliya. You don't want to know what she looks like on this dimensional plain. Though, having Alexander attempt to forcibly remove my essence wasn't the nicest of sensations..."

Arithon watched as Qui began to walk away. He couldn't let that happen. Arm outstretched, Arithon released a stream of crackling dark power that ripped open a hole within the hard ground, directly in front of Qui.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that Shentavo."

OOC2: Rave, have you read my tg's?
____________

Izual moaned as he heard voices. He couldn't place them to a name, but he knew at least one of them wasn't servant of the demonic realm. The angel moaned in pure agony, echoing around his confinement.
____________

OOC: I see. I've got no problems with the cold fire, just wondering where it came from.

IC: The golem roared with a mix of triumph and frustration. It had defeated the undead being yet the lightning dragon is ascending quickly, moving out of rock range. The demonic golem increased the frequency of the rocks in an attempt to knock the dragon out of the sky before it reached a point where gravity would protect it.

Just joking.
ooc: Damn straight :P

IC: “Youngster?” she smirked. “No, I find it highly appropriate…” she inhaled once more on her cigarette, knowing very well that this one, if her chains were broken, would not prove much challenge. That was if her chains were broken, and they were not. “And yes, I can see you…” she said softly, not lifting her eyes. She just wanted to get her hands around Alexander’s neck. Whether it was to strangle or decapitate him, one could not be sure. “Don’t give me a lecture on pain boy,” she said harshly, her crimson eyes finally flickering up with a death glare. Her ethereal beauty was apparent as she did so as she felt the emotion inside of her. “You have no idea.” She said softly. The last thing she needed was advice on torture or pain. She had been though enough in her lifetime…

The vampire chuckled. "Well, madame, you seem to have an impasse. You want to kill Alexander, and he wants to kill you, but neither of you are able to do so." He paused, adjusting his hat down over his pale ears. "However, I know how you can break those chains without him instantly knowing of it. And I'll tell you, on condition that after you free yourself, you get me out of here."

Xyorph watched as the Golem continued to fire rocks at the Dragon. The Dragon was obviously well prepared for the attack, and had swiftly avoided the onslaught.

Xyorph stood panting against the tree. Losing his summoning had really knocked it out of him. He stood in awe and fascination looking at the Golem; it was stronger then any other he had encountered.

fight fire with fire perhaps? he considered. Standing up straight away from the tree, he once again began to open a portal.

(OOC: You guys like Tolkien? Can I raise a Balrog?)

"These chains are not the problem," Ravelyn said cooly. "It wouldn't be the first time I have been chained. I put Hudini to shame..." She looked at the chains. It would only be a number of time before she could get out of those. She raised her eyebrow at him. "And what would be my motivation to get you out of here? You are after all, a creature of hell. And I am...well..." she didn't really know. Becareful whom you speak Azrael to. Many people may turn their heads and perk their ears.

OOC: At last! Time to write a post! Just in time to write an IC excuse for spring break... Sorry about the delay; I had two tests yesterday.
This attack was an assault against Kazar-Tiyon on two levels, magical and philosophical. It was a test of his power against the strength wielded by Maximus; it was a challenge of his philosophy.
Either one alone would not have concerned him. By now, he had regained enough strength that few mages could even approach his power, and he had gone through the reasoning of his beliefs long, long ago. Both attacks together, in one unified spell, was a different matter entirely. He had to divide his concentration, to struggle against both aspects of the attack at once; the spell did not have this difficulty.

Memories flashed through his head, some drawn forth by the spell and some by his defense against it. Images flickered across his vision. He saw:
A family, gathered cheerfully around a table... a young child, killed by his sword... a farm, destroyed by an attacking army...
On and on the images went, showing critical scenes over the course of his life. They weren't in any particular order, but this was still a lot to go through.
A cat purred contentedly on a small boy's lap... joyous songs drifted from around a campfire... a farmer smiled, watching the first rain of the season fall upon his freshly planted seeds...
The light surrounding Kazar-Tiyon grew brighter and brighter.
The grim look on the face of a victorious invading soldier... the suffering of a dark king's realm... the empty life of thet king himself...
His armor and cloak glimmered white in its brilliance.
The relief visible on a refugee's face... the laughter of children playing together... the quiet bravery of a healer...
His red eyes faded to pale blue... but then he managed to turn his thoughts.
The Inquisition... the sieges... the street gangs... the homeless...
A flurry of images and thoughts raced through his mind, like a slide show played with a movie projector. His eyes flared a deep red; spears of shadow shot out from him, shattering the bubble of light.
Kazar-Tiyon staggered backwards, and leaned against a tree, breathing heavily.
"Clever..." he said. "Very clever."
Then shadow boiled up around him, and he vanished... but something in the air remained, a unique flavor of dark power that made it clear he had not gone far.
Some distance away, K-T focused almost all his power on hiding his location, and sat down to rest. The spell Maximus had used hurt him more than he liked to admit... even to himself.
OOC: I'll be back in a little over a week. It's possible I'll have a chance to post before then, but unlikely.

Kain shuddered, a cold chill coming over him. He was sweating, but not a hot one. It was a frozen breath upon his neck, the feat which he had just performed was still leeching him of his energies. It was if his stomach was being pulled out slowly, so that it was a great carpet. It was a most sickening feeling, one which Kain had not felt in a very very long time.

He retched as the sensations continued, still upon the floor, his great white mane of hair flailed around his pearl white face. It was paler than normal, even for a vampire. Kain's pendant of the Heartstone still pulsed, keepign him sustained. Without that powerful artifact of the Shentavos, this situation might have gone into a fatal turn of events.

The feeling soon washed over Kain, and he was only felt the empty drowsniess of expending his energy so much. He cursed his weak body, his mind was strong, far stronger than it had ever been, his memory full of fragments of knowledge of the demonic magic and the reasons behind it's workings, the knowledge behind banishing demons, the very knowledge of the demon society and history! Yet it was so infuriating to Kain, that he could not access it with confidance, his blurred mind still had trouble delving into his hazy memory.

Kain got up, his white robes a great mass of folds. He seemed like a greta pillar of white in this very depressing enviorment. His usual calm denamour was replaced by this irritable presnace. He was successful, but he had to expend far more energy than he would have hoped in his escape. The Shentavo smoothed out his hair, so that he could see without a curtain of the white fibre. He wondered if he should get it cut....


For the moment, he discarded the thought. He had more pressing issues.....like escaping this place. But first, he needed a weapon. Currently, he was weaponless, only his spells at his disposal. And at the moment, with his current condition, those would be tempermental.

Reaching out into thin air, Kain began to visualise his staff coming into being. He spoke his complex command word to get into his pocket plane....and found the entire process more difficult for some reason. The staff came into being though, a small portal appearing, and a long, wooden shaft being produced from it's swirling self. And at the end, was a small blue sphere.

He held the wood, the wood being familer to his hands, the grooves and indentations being familer and welcoming to him. He had carved it and placed a few runes upon it, ones which would use the staff's own power to cast.

Armed and ready, the now free Kain looked around for an exit. He peered around, his staff in both hands. He looked upon a passagway and decided to walk up it.

He walked silently up the cavern, his eyes not needing any light to see the dark path ahead of him.

(OOC Needing to know what will happen to Kain next, where he is going. And sorry for lateness)

OOC: Umm, sorry to interfere, but that staff burned when Kain's spell misfired.
But then, something happened. Kain's eyes changed in thier emotion, something had gone wrong. The sheild began to flicker, the shield was breaking down. The staff became a column of flame, and Kain screamed as his hands were consumed by the devil fire.

(OOC: Im bored, so Im beginning my post)

A Balrog required a lot of effort. But it should be more then a match for a Golem, so it would be worth it.

Xyorph pulled together an image of a Balrog in his mind. He slowly began to reach through the portal into the realm of his god Krajyk. All of his creatures were there, waiting for his command. Slowly he found the Balrog, and began to pull it fourth into the world...

The vampire laughed, and moved slightly. He was also chained down. "I, a creature of hell? Please, madame, you sound like an inquisitor. You can break out of those chains, but doing so will call Alexander back. No. You have to think... what does Alexander do? He makes use of the powers of sadness and anger, the negative emotions. You need to counteract that. While you remain depressed, you're trapped. Get angry, you're even more trapped. You must fight the urge to be sad. That's the only way."

<==========>

OOC: Didn't Tarlachia tell you? Well, it's all moot. Eventually, if you keep walking forward, you'll find a sealed portal.

IC: Kain could hear powerful strides behind him. The darkness echoed with them. Then a familiar voice, distant and yet near, could be heard. "What, Kain? Not staying? How rude."

the smart man said to the dumb man, "It sure is pathetic that people spend so much time talking to imaginary people about imaginary places and imaginary situations." the dumb man sucked his thumb.

OOC: Umm, sorry to interfere, but that staff burned when Kain's spell misfired.
But then, something happened. Kain's eyes changed in thier emotion, something had gone wrong. The sheild began to flicker, the shield was breaking down. The staff became a column of flame, and Kain screamed as his hands were consumed by the devil fire.

Thanks, I was tierd. The staffs gone then. :)

OOC: Umm, sorry to interfere, but that staff burned when Kain's spell misfired.
But then, something happened. Kain's eyes changed in thier emotion, something had gone wrong. The sheild began to flicker, the shield was breaking down. The staff became a column of flame, and Kain screamed as his hands were consumed by the devil fire.

Thanks, I was tierd. The staffs gone then. :)

(OOC right, Kain lost his staff. Whoops, forgot about that one.)

Kain turned around, the white of his robe flowing with his movements. Kain's pale white hands were raised, ready to cast his own spells. They were shaking very slightly, due to his previous expendature.

"I suppose the whys are out the question, it alwasy is the same reason I am inprisoned for one reason or another. A who then, who have you become Alexander? Please, remove this fog of confusion around me, it is most irritating."

Kain's eyes seemed to glaze over slightly, with a silver finish, his mind recalling spells, rune structures, movements, counterspells.

With his Demonic Golem occupied, Nez'gah was growing rather impatient. Suddenly he noticed two idle figures, seemingly vampires of some sort, or perhaps something different. Rising out of his groove in a massive oak, Nez'gah marched towards Maximus and Daniel with only one thing on his mind.
__________

Arithon was becoming frustrated, Qui was being useless. Raising a prism of intense demonic flames around the Shentavo, Arithon made some comment about staying put before he disappeared, back towards the action.

Summoned by their master, several breeds of demon emerged from the bushes, forming a vast perimeter around the two figures.

(As no one said no I will raise the Balrog)

Immense heat seathed out of the portal, as a being of fire and black form burst through.

Maximus, behind you

"Whoever said I was sad?" she asked with a strange smile upon her face. "The only thing I wanted was for Vaughn to see me in these chains." The hellspawn shifted her gaze upon the man, her hands still behind her back. "You see..." she said softly. "It's all a game of luck. The...slip of a hand."

She slipped her hands from behind her back, the chains letting go on each, but remaining unbroken. Either that Max, or you can be a telekenetic. she recalled silently within her mind. She stretched her arms out in front of her.

Only a matter of time.

Alexander stepped out of the shadows. The part of his face that had retained its humanity was twisted in sadness and anger. "Insolent fool... is it not obvious? I performed dark rites, and this was my reward. There was no chance for confession for me, I was assassinated and killed instantly. No blessing of the priests. This is what you have to look forward to, after I kill you."

<========>

The vampire smiled. "Well done, madame. Now, kindly release me from these chains." He held his own up. "When you've been trapped as long as I have, it is difficult to think of enjoyable things or pleasures lost."

Xyorph's warning came through Maximus's mind, but Maximus had sensed them long before the warning had come.

"Daniel, keep your eyes out, we've got lots of company. Apparently I've drawn an audience..." Maximus said with his face darkening with shadows of concentration.

Maximus looked about him as the demons emerged from the forests around them. He snarled, before noticing Daniel only had his Upir.

"Daniel! Take this!" Maximus cried out as he tossed him Glamdring and drew his twin Elven Daggers. He turned and faced the demons and called out tauntingly with a mix of English and Sindarin(Elvish).

"Come on Usquenerea!!"
"Come on smelly ones!!"

Maximus swung both daggers about as he menacingly snarled at the oncoming demons. He turned his head from side to side, quickly getting an estimate of which would be the first threats.

"Gurth gothrim!!"
"Death to the foes!!"

Maximus exploded into action, charging the nearest demon.

Arithon appeared directly next to the moving form of Nez'gah. The pair didn't seem to acknowledge eachother as they advanced towards Maximus and Daniel. Finally coming to a stop, the two demon lords watched as a small horde of their kind sprung out of the bushes and charged towards the two creatures.
___________

Several smaller creatures charged towards Maximus, drawing his attention. As he met the front line in battle, five massive creatures could be heard stomping towards his location.

Blood soaked and standing over some trees, the large demon withdrew their acidic blades and rushed towards Maximus, completely surrounding him whilst smaller creatures engaged Daniel.
___________

Izual moaned as he regained consciousness. He could sense the presence of another angel. A seraphim. It must be Rave, it must be. Calling out with what little energy the tortured angel had, Izual reached Rave.

"Seraphim. I am in dire need of your assistance. I have been captured by the vile demons of this world and am incapable of escape on my own."

Alexander stepped out of the shadows. The part of his face that had retained its humanity was twisted in sadness and anger. "Insolent fool... is it not obvious? I performed dark rites, and this was my reward. There was no chance for confession for me, I was assassinated and killed instantly. No blessing of the priests. This is what you have to look forward to, after I kill you."



Kain remained silent for a moment, his composture never changing, his face remaining the pinicle of perfect calm. He said, rather monotonously, his voice deep.

"You knew the price I am sure Alexander".

Kain's eyes seemed to change in thier intention, the usual still ocean becan to stir within those pools. They began to flow once more, a storm within those eyes was being summoned, a great whirlwind of emotion was breaking through the surface.

Kain stood completely still, his arms by his side. He spoke again, his voice now darker...filled with hints of irritation and anger. It was like the old Kain, Kain Irenicus, the bitter hating one who still dwelled within him somewhat. His voice was cynical and one mocking Alexander.

"I am growing tierd of this constant threat of death. So far, I have been threatened countless times, and I have resisted your attempts. What makes you so damn sure that you are going to "kill" me, Alexander? Huh? Is it that you have me down here? Or that you have increased in strength?"

Kain grew in intensity, his voice rising...like a storm of passionate hatred for his foe. His voice was a hiss, nothing like the pure and good Kain Shentavo. This was like when he had the demon sword still at his side, and his life was misery and filled with the single drive of revenge. Kain's eyes grew into a storm, the brown holding flecks of crimson as it swirled in its complexities. Kain seemed to grow larger almost.....his aura was increasing as his mind was working faster, the spells springing to mind....and some....were not of this realm in thier origin....

"You seriously thought you could defeat me? I am sick of you whelps constantly threatening me, humans, elves, dwarfs, imps, dragons, demons, devils, Gods all singing the tiresom hymn of "Kill Kain!". And, what, may I ask, is your single minded drive to kill me? To remove me from existance? Why, do I, cause such irritation for you, that at every turn of any dark in this world, I am pounced on, by dogs like yourself?" Kain hissed in challenge, his voice holding dark undertones.

Kain stood, defiant of Alexander, his face contorted into a mask of irritation of resolution against this enemy. His face held many shadows as the light made him look like a demon himself...

He cared not for thier past together, he was sick of this.

Arithon appeared directly next to the moving form of Nez'gah. The pair didn't seem to acknowledge eachother as they advanced towards Maximus and Daniel. Finally coming to a stop, the two demon lords watched as a small horde of their kind sprung out of the bushes and charged towards the two creatures.
___________

Several smaller creatures charged towards Maximus, drawing his attention. As he met the front line in battle, five massive creatures could be heard stomping towards his location.

Blood soaked and standing over some trees, the large demon withdrew their acidic blades and rushed towards Maximus, completely surrounding him whilst smaller creatures engaged Daniel.
___________

Izual moaned as he regained consciousness. He could sense the presence of another angel. A seraphim. It must be Rave, it must be. Calling out with what little energy the tortured angel had, Izual reached Rave.

"Seraphim. I am in dire need of your assistance. I have been captured by the vile demons of this world and am incapable of escape on my own."

As Omnus meditated, he felt a powerful presence enter the area. Startled, Omnus sprang out of his meditation, the Hellblade exploding out of its sheath and into Omnus's right hand as Omnus leapt into the air. What he saw chilled his blood. There were now two demon lords along with an army of lesser demons. And the newcomer seemed to be more powerful than Nez'gah. His eyes than turned to the pair of fighters surrounded by a horde of lesser demons. Gritting his teeth in frustration, Omnus flew over and landed alongside the two.

"Stay back... I'll clear these lesser ones out of the way..."

With a roar, Omnus threw his Hellblade into the horde of oncoming demons. A second later, Omnus charged into the midst, his hands flashing psionic and draconic energy and roaring, "Come spawn of darkness! I am Omnus Stormrider, successor of Azakala the Twisted, Dragonlord of the Realms of the East! You will tremble under my power!"

The Hellblade flew through the air as if it had a mind of its own as it headed towards the nearest group of demons.

Alexander laughed brutally. "Killing you brings me one step closer to freedom." He drew his sword. The blade emitted a darkness that blighted the surrounding shadows. "I truly regret this, my old friend..."

Alexander raised a hand, and shot a bolt of crackling energy directly into Kain.

Nez'gah and Arithon watched as Omnus slaughtered the lesser demons. Arithon frowned.

"Is he always like this?"

"Yes.... I'm not sure what is more powerful, his ego or his strength."

"I see."

A flick of the wrist by Arithon found Omnus laying flat on his face, newly formed stone engulfing his ankles. The lord of hell stepped forward, looking down upon Omnus.

"Dragon rider, you interfere in business that is not of your concern. Our issues are with the Shentavos, not the dragon riders. Make a wise decision and leave."

OOC: Note Arithon is still in his human form.

Maximus looked up at the imposing figures surrounding him. He continued looking up...man, these guys were tall!

"Oh sh*t..."

Might as well as give 'em a show...

Maximus heard the roar of Omnus nearby and was glad to hear it. Using this as motivation for himself, he let out a blood-curdling scream and moved with vampiric speed, bounding upward between the demons surrounding him, slashing with his daggers as he went. His blades tasted demonic blood, the smell lingering up to Maximus's nose as he darted about, narrowly avoiding the demonic swords.

Alexander laughed brutally. "Killing you brings me one step closer to freedom." He drew his sword. The blade emitted a darkness that blighted the surrounding shadows. "I truly regret this, my old friend..."

Alexander raised a hand, and shot a bolt of crackling energy directly into Kain.

Kain saw the threat. His eyes sparked into a chemistry of thought, the catalyst streaking towards him with vicous intentions. He saw the bright blue comlextion of the bolt like a deadly dagger thrusting towards him, scorching the air as it flew, causing the corridor to become illuminated in it's blue malice.

Kain now became lost in his magic, as one deep in playing music might be, listening to all the wonderous things he has created as his own soul is played out into the air, a fabric of raw passion. Kain was deep in the art which he understood.

He closed his eyes and chanted the spidary words of magic, they were deep and were still audible over the crackling of electricty. The words seemed erratic, and they flowed onto each other like a great river would, each sound flowing onto the other, a great creshendo of words.

His hands worked in the air, the spell was coming into place. He wove a possibility that the electricity, was in fact, had a new route, a path of least resistance. And that route was around Kain, a spiral which would shoot back at Alexander, a slingshot. It curved around Kain as it should, and was sent crackling back to Alexander.

However, Kain did not intend this to hold back Alexander. It was simply his defence turning into a conveinant counter-attack. His attack was in the motions.

Kain crossed his arms in an X pattern, and chanted once more, closing his eyes as he did. He went upon one knee, lost within the working of his spell. He was weaving a spell which his people, the Psi, used often in thier combats. Alexander could sense that Kain as drawing power around himself, the senses of the magic user could sense such things. It was swirling around Kain it seemed, as if he was an eye of a storm.

Alexander stepped forward, and took the blast. He stumbled momentarily, but then launched into the attack. His rapier sliced for Kain, in an attempt to distract him. "Fool! What can you do to me, who is already dead? You do not control power pure enough to exorcise me, not here, not in this world..."

He withdrew his rapier, and started to speak eldritch words. Around them both, the shadows pressed in thicker, hands reached from the darkness for Kain.

"Well," she said softly. "Now that I am free..." She lifted her hands before her, and a small white orb appeared. She lifted it up toward the sky in a ceremonial gesture as light was spread upon the room. "There is the light which you've asked for."

She removed the cigarette cooly from her lips and inhaling once more before putting it out. She ran her hands along the steal bars as they seemed to writhe in pain at her touch. Her wings had vanished from her back, and trails of blood from the wounds began to disappear as they closed up.

The bars bent enough for her to get through. She looked around. She would have to call on her psionics. it was the only way. "Ethereal light, break these unseen chains." She whispered to herself as the light within her began to grow.

http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=137271&highlight=

:tag:

Izual groaned in agony as he began to crawl. His surroundings were strange, just pure darkness. No chains, bars or walls, just darkness. His message to Rave hadn't brought him any aid and hence the angel decided to escape of his own accord.

Stumbling to his feet, Izual called upon his angelic/demonic blade to help him stand. The clank can be heard echoing around the room as the floor appears to be stone. Another presence nearby breaks into the angel's attention. Kain. With increased enthusiasm, Izual breaks through a small wooden door and into a dark corridor.

Quickly adapting to the darkness, Izual observed Kain on one knee chanting, whilst Alexander held his rapier.
___________

The massive creatures swiped and slashed at Maximus, yet their extreme size prevented them from striking the agile vampire. The elven daggers cut the skin, yet caused no significant damage to creatures of such a size. They roared in a unified fury all plunged their gigantic fists toward the small, humanoid figure.

Several small demons also leaped after the vampire in an attempt to taste the blood.

Maximus laughed in response to their slow movements. Tauntingly he called out to the five large demons in Sindarin:

"Lle n'vanima ar'lle atara lanneina!!"
"You're ugly and your mother dresses you funny!!"

Maximus laughed once again as he saw the looks upon the demons' faces. He noticed the smaller demons giving chase to him and merely laughed.


"Amin n'nowa ikotane!! Russe tuuloa' moriloomir!!"
"I don't think so!! Lightning!!"

The clouds overhead rolled over the clearing once again, and quickly rumbled with ferocity, lightning flashing amongst the clouds fearfully as they charged up in intesity. Bolts shot out and directly aimed at all the demons Maximus was facing, striking each with thousands upon thousands of volts of electricity! Rain began to fall from the sky as well, gusting about and nearly blinding to look into. Yet, in all this, Maximus remained completely dry and safe, watching as he levitated himself high above the ground.

The smaller demons chasing Maximus were immediately fried to a crisp upon being struck by the lightning. The foul stench of burnt demon flesh began to fill the air as the creatures lay motionless.

The larger demons were quite different though. One took the full force of several bolts, causing it to die in a violent fit of screams and burning flesh. The other four fell back as the force of the elemental energy arced into them.

What Maximus didn't see was the small, agile demon quickly scurrying up a tree behind him, waiting. As the vampire ascended through the air, the creature jumped forth, plowing it's spiked shoulder into the back of the vampire and crashing to the ground with a loud thud.

Maximus's upbeat yet ticked off attitude was interrupted rudely as he felt the impact of the demon's shoulder into his backside. Maximus roared in pain as he felt the spike jam into his shoulder. Over and over the two tumbled, crashing heavily into the Earth below.

With a gasp for air, Maximus lay momentarily upon the ground, his Elven daggers still miraculously within his grips. He quickly felt the wounds healing, mending any broken flesh. With a burst of energy, Maximus flipped forward onto his feet, flipping the demon before him as he did. Both of Maximus's blades whipped about and plunged into the demon's chest. It screamed it's gutteral pain as Maximus withdrew the blades and quickly swiped them sissor-style, decapitating the demon's head, effectively killing it.

Maximus stood once again, a smile forming upon his face as blood covered his torso. However, it wasn't all his blood, but rather the blood of the demons. Maximus looked hideous with the blood covering his menacing body, making him seem to be a pure embodiment of evil.

Such was the confusion of war that some made...

Alexander stepped forward, and took the blast. He stumbled momentarily, but then launched into the attack. His rapier sliced for Kain, in an attempt to distract him. "Fool! What can you do to me, who is already dead? You do not control power pure enough to exorcise me, not here, not in this world..."

He withdrew his rapier, and started to speak eldritch words. Around them both, the shadows pressed in thicker, hands reached from the darkness for Kain.

The rapier came quickly towards Kain, but by that time, Kain had cast his own spell.

With his arms crossed, and upon his knee, he uttered the last word of the spell with a trumphant cry. Flames flowed from himself, in the form of an X, the flames not the conventinal flames of earth. These flames, were not the crimson flickering flames of the mortal conjouration, these flames were the green acidic ones of the demonic realms, a great gas of burning death.

Such a spell was a minor one for demons, yet it had required much of Kain's own energies. But....he was not practiced at it. A demon, would have cast that spell without a thought, a second perhaps to cast it. Kain had taken much longer than a second, his mind racing through the complications of the spell.

But.....as the flames flowed from his arms in thier bitter malice, Kain was struck by the steel. It went into his chest, his blood flowing from the wound before Kain reacted. He faded away into mist, his face in the shock of pain, and the flames receeded. Yet they had gouted upon Alexander for a few precious seconds...

Kain was in his mist form, and he retreated a moment, recovering. He was becoming suffocated by the darkness......he couldn't think.

He reappeared some distance away from Alexander......his robes bloody, yet the woud had healed. Kain was breathing heavily, both from the wound and his expendature. His bloodstone pendant was glowing brightly, sustaining his bloodlust.

Kain spat out blood and began to chant again, although in a different language than before. This certainly was not the demonic language, a mortal spell this was.

Nez'gah and Arithon watched as Omnus slaughtered the lesser demons. Arithon frowned.

"Is he always like this?"

"Yes.... I'm not sure what is more powerful, his ego or his strength."

"I see."

A flick of the wrist by Arithon found Omnus laying flat on his face, newly formed stone engulfing his ankles. The lord of hell stepped forward, looking down upon Omnus.

"Dragon rider, you interfere in business that is not of your concern. Our issues are with the Shentavos, not the dragon riders. Make a wise decision and leave."

OOC: Note Arithon is still in his human form.

(OOC: lol...)

Omnus frowned and with a barely perceptible movement of his head brought himself out of the stones threatening to engulf him.

"Once again you demons. I am a Dragonlord and today you will wish you had not so foolhardly dared to challenge me!"

Without another word, Omnus rose into the air, as his eyes narrowed in concentration. Without warning the Hellblade began to glow and with a golden blinding flash, completely engulfed the entire landscape for a good distance...

Nez'gah leaped back as he shielded his eyes from Omnus' spell. Arithon merely stood there, completely uneffected. The master of all demons began to call upon even more demon warriors to flood the forest, killing anything in their path. Arithon laughed, the demonic sound bouncing around the forest, scaring the hell out of any forest creatures stupid enough to still be in the forest.

"Dragon rider, you may be familiar with my servant Nez'gah, but let me assure you, you now meddle with forces far older than the very existence of your race. As a result of such, you will die."

The brilliant flash of Omnus' hellblade was quenched by a darkness more ominous and threatening that ever before. All heat and light disappeared in an instant, leaving only sound. The continued snarls of countless demons.
______________

The closest massive demon took advantage of the new darkness to surprise the attacking vampire. With one might swipe of it's acidic blade, Maximus was sent spiralling into a huge oak, plunging into the thick tree. The sound of breaking bones filled the, combined with the stench of the demonic acid burning through the vampire's flesh. With a roar of triumph, the demon rushed towards Maximus to finish him off.
______________

Izual watched as Kain took upon his mist form in an attempt to minimize the damage Alexander's rapier had caused. The flames occupying Alexander, Izual took his chance.

Quickly approaching Kain, Izual stood upright as he changed into his pure form. Half demon, half angel. A wing of each erupted from his back, bursting through his skin and into the darkness. Half of Izual embraced the darkness whilst the other glowed a brilliant white, ready to combat it. His blade was composed of a demonic blade yet it glowed with the pure energy of angelic light.

"Kain, I am here to help. I'll do what I can."

Maximus's head rolled about as he growled in pain. He struggled to move his arms and legs but his dazed mind couldn't figure out why they weren't cooperating. He opened his eyes, and was surprised to see the demons advancing upon him quickly, their swords ready to run him through!

Within a second, Maximus finally cleared his mind, then went cold as he realized what had happened to him.

"oh no..."

Maximus's entire body was neatly imprinted into the tree, his arms and legs bound as well. The two Elven Daggers hung in his hands, useless without his freedom of movement.

Maximus was a completely immobilized prisoner of a freakin' tree...

Hey guys...I could use a little help here...

OOC: **snickers with laughter**

Izual watched as Kain took upon his mist form in an attempt to minimize the damage Alexander's rapier had caused. The flames occupying Alexander, Izual took his chance.

Quickly approaching Kain, Izual stood upright as he changed into his pure form. Half demon, half angel. A wing of each erupted from his back, bursting through his skin and into the darkness. Half of Izual embraced the darkness whilst the other glowed a brilliant white, ready to combat it. His blade was composed of a demonic blade yet it glowed with the pure energy of angelic light.

"Kain, I am here to help. I'll do what I can."

The words he knew he could trust. Yet something in the back of his mind told him that Izual could not be trusted, a small nagging voice in the back of his mind which told him not to trust Izual, because he could have turned tratior just the same as Alexander.

Now this was a very odd moment for Kain. He was argueing within himself, something he very rarely did. But with a swift decisive desicion, Kain though "Well, I am going to have to trust him. What other option do I have?"

Kain's spell was continued...

Izual took Kain's lack of verbal response as an allied acknowledgement. The pair knew eachother well enough to know what mess they were both in and what it would take to get out.

Mustering what strength he had, Izual placed his arm forth and unleashed a thin stream of light into Alexander. He knew it couldn't stop him, but perhaps it would disable him long enough. Sword at the ready, Izual guarded Kain whilst he performed his spell.

Omnus Stormrider narrowed his eyes as he brought his gaze to bear upon the humanoid demon, one known to him only as Arithon. Rearing his head, Omnus began to laugh...

"This is the power of a demonlord? I would have imagined something more impressive... From what I can see, my master's power is at least a million times greater and mine probably a little less... Begone whilst I still let you exist..."

Turning around, Omnus moved towards the tree that had immobilized the elven vampire. Suddenly, the Hellblade landed into its scabbard. Not even blinking, Omnus moved towards the tree.

"You will be free in time. For now, stay there. Tis much safer..."

Maximus couldn't believe his ears. He called out sarcastically to Omnus.

"Oh sure, not a problem! Hey, why don't you get me a 'Bloody Maximus' to drink while I'm waiting for these freaks to kill me??"

Maximus watched the large demons advancing on him slowly now, as they realized that Maximus was helpless...

Maximus started chanting quietly to himself a mocking song.

"Oh...I'm gonna go on up to ze blue an' white clouds, dressed like an angel, with no wings t' fly!"

Maximus didn't care what the others thought of that right then and there as all he could keep his eyes on was the demons approaching...

[As if snapping out of a dream, Cousin Eddie lurches into his keyboard]

The Balrog ripped into reality behind Xyorph, who looked up at the beast he had conjured. Maybe he had gone too far. Looking around though, maybe not. With a fierce glint in his eye he spoke to the being of flame.

"many unholy things walk on this night. I give you my blessing to unleash yourself upon them. You can see in my mind; you are my creature. DO not harm those I see as friend. All others are food for your fire."

The creature released a breath of white hot air in a bellow of triumph. It turned towards where Maximus was slowly being surrounded, and tore off. It shred through the front layers of minor demons with its fiery pincers, and began to tear into the other seething forwards towards it. Flames sprouted out of ut as it feasted upon the demon flesh.

Xyorph ran up to Maximus as his Balrog enjoyed its feast. With a bit of effort, he managed to scrape the vampire out of the tree. He grinned.

"Not an angel today me friend. Your not pretty enough for that. Maybe heavens janitor. May i suggest we leave smartish. The Balrog is powerful, but once the big boys realise he's here their likely to be a bit pissed. He can probably destract them long enough for us to make a tactical withdrawal."

"Well dammit, I wanted my 'Bloody Maximus'...ah well, I'll take a rain check on it from that dragon pimper."

Maximus chuckled as he saw the truth of Xyorph's words of the situation. The Balrog indeed was drawing attention away from them.

"Tell me that's not what I think it is..." he asked as he stared at the Balrog.

"Yep, Balrog." Xyorph replied with a larger grin.

"All right, let's get out of here."

Maximus led Xyorph away from the clearing of destruction, still sore from the tree. His bones were healing, but even then, it hurt. That had hurt, taking that blow from that demon. Suddenly, Maximus stopped as he realized something.

"Xyorph, go on ahead, get as far as you can from here. I've gotta go back for Daniel, and my sword. I'm going to be using a teleport, so I need you to be far enough away, so when I fix my mind upon you, we'll all be out of immediate danger."

With that Maximus closed his eyes as he remembered Daniel's face and muttered the words of Sindarin:

"Lema ed' templa..."

With a swipe of his daggers against each other, causing a brilliant flash of sparks, he was gone. A few moments later, he slipped into existence next to Daniel, immediately swinging his daggers about as they once again buried deeply into the demons surround Daniel.

Maximus backed into Daniel's backside, to which he immediately called out to him as he fought off the demons.

"Hey buddy, we're outnumbered and outpowered here, we've gotta split! Now, when I say "Beautiful", I want you to---DUCK!!"

Both vampires ducked just as a huge sword swooped dangerously over their heads, held in the hands of one of the larger demons as it battled the Balrog.

"--I want you to grab hold of me, and I'll get up out of here! You understand me?!"

Maximus swung his daggers opposite of each other as the both cut off the heads of several more demons. He heard Glamdring behind him, in Daniel's grasp hacking away, alongside the Upir.

Maximus looked past the group of demons they were fighting off, and nearly freaked as he saw hordes more advancing...

Three of the massive demons immediately gave their attention to the advancing Balrog. Raising their acid engulfed blades. the beasts charged towards the Balrog, lashing out with their blades in an attempt to severe the limbs from the massive creature.

The other demon spun around to see Maximus dragging another creature away. As the vampires were distracted by an incoming swarm of minor demons, the beast took the chance to swipe down and grab Maximus and Daniel in each hand. Both vampires within it's grasp, the demon grinned, displaying the filthy, razor fangs within it's huge jaw. The vampires began to scream as the demon tightened his grip.
________________

Nez'gah stood there mute, preoccupied with commanding his demonic golem to climb a large cliff in an attempt to get closer to the lightning dragon.

Arithon sighed, Omnus had no idea what he was getting himself into. Arithon is the lord of hell itself. A direct servant of the Nameless One. His human eyes shot into a red glow, illuminating the immediate area.

Within seconds the air filled with the wailing of millions upon millions of tortured souls, all focusing their cries upon Omnus. Even many of the other demons cringed at the sound of so much suffering as the trees shook with the intense vibration of so much sound. Any humans would be left crippled, Nez'gah blocked his demonic ears whilst Lord Arithon merely watched. The wailing began to grow in intensity, the frequency rising to a point where a human brain would explode. All directed upon Omnus.

When the stream of angelic power hit Alexander he suddenly faded away. His energies dispersed. It was just for an instant.

<<Run!>>

(waiting for a reply...)

Daniel realized that his swords were useless against the massive demons, at least the way they were.

"Maximus, I promise that you will get Glamdring back."

"Why. Where is it going?"

"..."

Daniel twirled the swords once in his hands, and then threw them down with his majik enhanced accuracy...

...Straight into the eyes of the demon that held them

OOC: Where is this thread going, guys :?

OOC: Sorry, Rave... thought I had posted...

IC:

The vampire stretched as he was freed. "My thanks, madame... I thought I was never going to get out of there..."

<=======>

In the shadows, a figure was rapidly forming...

"Anytime," Ravelyn said softly. She had concerved her energy, and now possessed an overdrive. "Alright Alexander...." she said softly. "Lets see what you can do... "

She walked away from the cell.

Xyorph didnt need telling twice. Becoming demon feed was not an aim of his. He launched into the sky as a phoenix. It might well attract attention, but hopefully he would be out the way before anyone could act. The skies were not a safe place though. The immense forces at work, and the lightnings dragons magic, were causing storms to tear the sky.

Dodging in an out of lightning, Xyorph sped across the sky. He was glad to be leaving the screams of the battle field behind.

The forest had become a large burning mess in the distance when Xyorph came to ground (If someone would like to 'provide' me with a location it would be appreciated). He looked around. It was quiet. Very quiet. Maybe the people had fled. Good.

Ahead of him was a church. He flew in through a window and formed into human. The air began to heat as the presence of the Christian god developed.

"Knock it off" Xyorph called to the sky. "Krajyks your brother, and Im his disciple. Give me a break." The heat dissapeared.

(I'm sorry if anyone doesnt approve of that. Its a personal issue)

Xyorph sat in a pew, and sent his mind out towards his Balrog. It was battling several demons. They were all swinging at it with blades, and had taken off an arm. As Xyorph watched the arm fell away from the body, unleashing a blast of heat which incinerated two of the demons. The limb healed over and became a stump. The stump sharpened and became a fire blade, giving the balrog a weapon instead of an arm. Xyorph smiled. He had left his mark on the battle.

The huge demon scream in agony as the swords dug deep into it's eyes. Even though the pain was extreme and caused the demon to lose sight, it still held on. Gripping even tighter, the demon was intent on punishing the one that caused it's blindness.
__________

Izual panted as he recovered from the use of energy.

"Kain, perhaps it is best if we leave before Black returns."

Izual was barely able to stand, the extreme exhaustion in him was obvious as he awaited Kain's response.

"Anytime," Ravelyn said softly. She had concerved her energy, and now possessed an overdrive. "Alright Alexander...." she said softly. "Lets see what you can do... "

She walked away from the cell.

And was stopped by a bolt of lightning right in front of her. "Going somewhere, Azrael?" Taliya said, stepping from the shadows. "I don't think so."

Ravelyn was, in essence, extremely pissed off right now. "I am no mood to mess with wench!" She yelled powerfully at Taliya. She held out her hand, and almost immediately a white orb was sent barreling into Taliya's stomach with enough force to knock the strongest of demon off their feet.

"I have no time to deal with you," Azrael said in the same tone. The fire seemed to rise in her eyes. "Where is Alexander?" She commanded a response, lifting Taliya by the throat.

Dont' test me right now... she says, diminishing any thought of escape. This seraphim was extremely pissed off. She didn't need Taliya there to use as a punching bag...she wanted Alexander.

Three of the massive demons immediately gave their attention to the advancing Balrog. Raising their acid engulfed blades. the beasts charged towards the Balrog, lashing out with their blades in an attempt to severe the limbs from the massive creature.

The other demon spun around to see Maximus dragging another creature away. As the vampires were distracted by an incoming swarm of minor demons, the beast took the chance to swipe down and grab Maximus and Daniel in each hand. Both vampires within it's grasp, the demon grinned, displaying the filthy, razor fangs within it's huge jaw. The vampires began to scream as the demon tightened his grip.
________________

Nez'gah stood there mute, preoccupied with commanding his demonic golem to climb a large cliff in an attempt to get closer to the lightning dragon.

Arithon sighed, Omnus had no idea what he was getting himself into. Arithon is the lord of hell itself. A direct servant of the Nameless One. His human eyes shot into a red glow, illuminating the immediate area.

Within seconds the air filled with the wailing of millions upon millions of tortured souls, all focusing their cries upon Omnus. Even many of the other demons cringed at the sound of so much suffering as the trees shook with the intense vibration of so much sound. Any humans would be left crippled, Nez'gah blocked his demonic ears whilst Lord Arithon merely watched. The wailing began to grow in intensity, the frequency rising to a point where a human brain would explode. All directed upon Omnus.

Omnus did not know what Arithon was doing, but whatever it was, Omnus knew he had to stop it. Clutching the Hellblade in his right hand, Omnus lunged towards Arithon, his blade seeking for Arithon's body. But, Omnus was brought short... A wave of the cries of tormented souls slammed into Omnus. Omnus's eyes went wide as the voices overpowered his senses. Tears flowing freely down his cheeks, Omnus dropped to the ground. With a shriek of pain, Omnus sent the Hellblade flying into the sky, but just as it left Omnus's hand, the Hellblade exploded in fury, releashing the thing trapped within...

Ravelyn was, in essence, extremely pissed off right now. "I am no mood to mess with wench!" She yelled powerfully at Taliya. She held out her hand, and almost immediately a white orb was sent barreling into Taliya's stomach with enough force to knock the strongest of demon off their feet.

"I have no time to deal with you," Azrael said in the same tone. The fire seemed to rise in her eyes. "Where is Alexander?" She commanded a response, lifting Taliya by the throat.

Dont' test me right now... she says, diminishing any thought of escape. This seraphim was extremely pissed off. She didn't need Taliya there to use as a punching bag...she wanted Alexander.

Taliya spat in Rave's eye, fading from view. A bolt of black fire was shot from the shadows at Rave. "Foolish bitch... you won't be seeing him..."

The very black walls of this hall seemed to draw close around Rave. Crackles of lightning shot from them. "You will die here!"

Izual panted as he recovered from the use of energy.

"Kain, perhaps it is best if we leave before Black returns."

Izual was barely able to stand, the extreme exhaustion in him was obvious as he awaited Kain's response.

Kain nodded.

"I do not know how to get out of here, nor a route to which to teleport or such."

Slowly, ever so slowly the light disappeared, replaced by darkness. Where the Hellblade once was, was a creature of both light and darkness...

Slowly, the being descended and landed on the ground next to Omnus Stormrider. Placing a hand upon Omnus's shoulder, the being slowly pulled Omnus back onto the feet. It seemed as if the being was negating the tormentous screaming.

Placing a reassuring hand around Omnus, the being spoke in a voice that seemed both harsh and beautiful, "Hello, old friend... You have finally released me from my torment, my prison..."

Raising his head, Omnus gazed into the eyes of the being, both cold and warm at the same time. In a questioning tone, he said, "Xuanyu?"

"Yes, old friend..."

"But, how!?!"

"I will answer this later... Sit back and rest, old friend. You have been hurt. Rest will do you good..."

As if lifeless, Omnus dropped to the ground, devoid of energy, as the strange being, known as Xuanyu, one-time prisoner of the Hellblade gazed at Arithon.

"Are you ready, Arithon?"

Taliya spat in Rave's eye, fading from view. A bolt of black fire was shot from the shadows at Rave. "Foolish bitch... you won't be seeing him..."

The very black walls of this hall seemed to draw close around Rave. Crackles of lightning shot from them. "You will die here!"

Rave growled at Taliya with intensity unlike any other. She clenched her teeth as the energy flowed through her, herself remaining unscathed. She roared as the last traces of energy dissipated. "I'm already DEAD!"

A growl so henious came from that seraphim at that point, her wings spread out in a threatening display. Her eyes were pure white. Never in her life had Rave been so angry. So that was it. She was dead. But how was she still here?! ...perhaps it had something to do with.... no, it couldnt' be.

Taliya spat in Rave's eye, fading from view. A bolt of black fire was shot from the shadows at Rave. "Foolish bitch... you won't be seeing him..."

The very black walls of this hall seemed to draw close around Rave. Crackles of lightning shot from them. "You will die here!"

Rave growled at Taliya with intensity unlike any other. She clenched her teeth as the energy flowed through her, herself remaining unscathed. She roared as the last traces of energy dissipated. "I'm already DEAD!"

A growl so henious came from that seraphim at that point, her wings spread out in a threatening display. Her eyes were pure white. Never in her life had Rave been so angry. So that was it. She was dead. But how was she still here?! ...perhaps it had something to do with.... no, it couldnt' be.

Taliya spat in Rave's eye, fading from view. A bolt of black fire was shot from the shadows at Rave. "Foolish bitch... you won't be seeing him..."

The very black walls of this hall seemed to draw close around Rave. Crackles of lightning shot from them. "You will die here!"

Rave growled at Taliya with intensity unlike any other. She clenched her teeth as the energy flowed through her, herself remaining unscathed. She roared as the last traces of energy dissipated. "I'm already DEAD!"

A growl so henious came from that seraphim at that point, her wings spread out in a threatening display. Her eyes were pure white. Never in her life had Rave been so angry. So that was it. She was dead. But how was she still here?! ...perhaps it had something to do with.... no, it couldnt' be.

Izual cursed at Kain's statement. He didn't know a way out either, and he was hardly strong enough to open a portal or teleport. Extending his angelic consciousness, Izual felt Rave's anger, Taliya's anger but couldn't find black. His search continued until he found something of interest. Several demons were moving out of this dimension and into the human realm. That meant there must be a portal!

Izual sighed with relief as he located the energy source.

"My friend, there is a portal somewhere in here that can take us home. We will have to follow the energy pattern and hopefully locate it. I believe it is our only chance."
_____________

Nez'gah merely sat back against a large oak, watching the commotion. The demon lord stirred in surprise as the creature within the Hellblade finally emerged. During all the times he had observed or encountered Omnus, there had never been a sign that the creature within would emerge.

Arithon merely glared at the creature, anger obviously building up within him. The wailing souls ceased as power began to crackle around Arithon. He still remained in his human form, yet his obvious power over demon kind was obvious as a dark aura eminated from him.

"I'm always ready Xuanyu......"

Maximus was feeling his bones crunching under the demon's increasing pressure from its hands. His moans of agony could be heard by Daniel, but they were still being held down in volume for a reason.

Maximus's eyes suddenly opened, an eerie blue glow emanating from them. Daniel looked over at him momentarily and was shocked to see this, and perhaps a little afraid...

Maximus suddenly began to chant in a loud tone, a tone that emanated clearly into the forest around them:

"RUNYALANTA GONEA!!"

The clouds overheard rumbled slightly, then suddenly began to glow with multiple sources of light that came from beyond the skies. Red and yellow glows of light that shone brightly through the cloud cover. All eyes in the clearing looked up to see the incredible spectacle unfold before them.

Meteors of varying sizes suddenly broke through the clouds, flaming from their transits through the atmosphere. Meteors slammed into the hordes of demons, killing many instantly. Several impacted into the larger demons, and a number were directed into the demon holding Maximus and Daniel captive. Daniel had pulled both weapons out of the demon in time as he realized that Maximus was conducting a powerful attack spell.

Several minutes later, the meteor swarm ceased, leaving only massive craters in the earth, filled with the dead bodies of the demons. Miraculously, the meteors had missed all of Maximus's allies. Maximus stood in the center, over the dead body of the large demon.

His eyes remained glowing in the same eerie blue color, his body seeming to be electrified by the magic that swelled within himself. However, that last spell had required much concentration and strength, he wouldn't be able to pull off another one of that magnitude for a good while. His breathing was deep, and his fangs clearly outlined against his lips...

And he was pissed...

Nez'gah was surprised once again to witness large meteors shooting from the sky, bombarding his demon hordes. Finally he found the source. An elven vampire sat within the grasp of a Biel'tach demon, being crushed by the might beast. The vampire glowed with a dazzling blue brilliance. He was definitely the source of the spell.

Within minutes all the Biel'tach demons were dead, the vampire and his strange companion were free, and many smaller demonic creatures were also dead as a result of such a powerful spell.

Moving slowly towards the vampire, Nez'gah's steps created massive shakes within the ground, resulting in Maximus' attention becoming focused upon Nez'gah. The massive demon lord stoo directly in front of the vampire, looking down into his minute eyes.

"My friend, there is a portal somewhere in here that can take us home. We will have to follow the energy pattern and hopefully locate it. I believe it is our only chance."


"Then do it. Do it now." Kain said calmly.

Izual nodded as he stood upright, using his blade as walking stick. His demonic side allowed him to see clearly through the darkness, allowing him to slowly navigate through the hellish passageway.

Izual didn't even look at the walls, he didn't want to see what they were made of. Trusting that Kain was following closely behind, Izual began to take severl quick steps whilst sensing his way toward the portal. He felt the waves grow stronger as he moved forward, the portal was ahead somewhere.

"It's ahead of us somewhere, I'm not quite sure, but I've got an idea."

The angel continued, even through each step caused him a significant amount of pain. He was determined to get himself and his friend out of the horrifying realm of the demons.

Maximus's eyes continued to glow the same bluish color they were. It was an indication of his powerful magic that he could still summon at will. Daniel Able handed Maximus Glamdring back, then moved quickly away as he saw what was about to happen. He snarled at Nez'Gah who approached him slowly.

"Nez'Gah, your days are numbered..."

Without wasting any time, Maximus brandished Glamdring and called out simultaenously:

"Neuma en' templa!!"

Suddenly thick powerful vines sprouted from the earth, and wrapped themselves tightly around Nez'Gah body, defying him his movements. The vines were not regulars ones, but rather the vines of Valinor, eternally strong, and quite difficult to destroy. Their essences of light and goodness burned into Nez'Gah's flesh, and Maximus smiled in response as flesh peeled and twisted under the heat of the light.

When all the vines had surrounded the demon-lord, Maximus immediately went into action, sending Glamdring to decpatiate Nez-Gah.

Nez'gah snarled in fury as the vines seared his skin. A creature as low as a vampire dared to attack him, Nez'gah, the demon lord! In an outburst of demonic energy, the vines melted away into nothing. Maximus may be strong, but he was out of his league.

Leaping back and slightly to the side, Nez'gah allowed the elven blade to fly past his head and imbed itself within a large tree. Moving forward, dark energy crackling around his hands, Nez'gah approached Maximus once again. The demon lord stood several metres over the vampire, adding to his menacing aura.

"You meddle with forces beyond your comprehension hybrid. For that, you will suffer."

The look in the demon lord's eyes was enough to make a brave warrior cower. Energy surged around the demon as he prepared his attack, an attack completely unknown to Maximus.

Xyorph witnessed the attack on Mximus, and acted. Although being miles away himself, he entered into the body of his Balrog, and wrenched it around to face the Demon attacking Maximus.

The creature roared as Xyorph took control of its senses. It had been enjoying the easy slaughter of the lesser demons. But now it charged straight at Nez'gah, with the arm now blade lowered. As it came within strike distance it realeased a blinding wave of flame and heat, and attempted to drive its blade into the spine of the demon lord.

OOC: Alright, I know this might mess a few things up, but not many. You guys can carry on without me. This rp is pointless as far as my involvement is concerned. I have not seen any developement, and maybe that's my fault, however, I just can't take this anymore. It's lost it's fun for me. Any one else notice my last post was a godmod? So did I. I am tired of taking hits and receiving no responces from specific people. Not responses in posts, but rather responses from characters. This is the first thread I've ever pulled out of, but I think it is for the best. I'm not having fun, and it will hold you guys back. So thus, I take my leave.

Best of luck with this.

Kazar-Tiyon stepped quietly out of the darkness, the red glow of his eyes seeming to appear out of nowhere.
"I'll deal with him, Nez'gah. That trick of his won't work on me twice. If I must add him to the rather short list of those who have defeated me in battle, I at least want to add him to the list of my victories, as well..."
Turning to Maximus, he continued.
"It was a clever spell, and I must admit I am impressed. You can be sure that isn't something I often say...
It has been, I think, over two thousand years since the last time I came that close to changing my mind about the decision that made me what I am. Shall I tell you what happened that time?"

He stood with his arms folded, and Shadowfang sheathed at his side, and actually looked relaxed... though it was always hard to tell what he was thinking, with his face concealed by perpetual darkness.

Izual cursed at Kain's statement. He didn't know a way out either, and he was hardly strong enough to open a portal or teleport. Extending his angelic consciousness, Izual felt Rave's anger, Taliya's anger but couldn't find black. His search continued until he found something of interest. Several demons were moving out of this dimension and into the human realm. That meant there must be a portal!

Izual sighed with relief as he located the energy source.

"My friend, there is a portal somewhere in here that can take us home. We will have to follow the energy pattern and hopefully locate it. I believe it is our only chance."
_____________

Nez'gah merely sat back against a large oak, watching the commotion. The demon lord stirred in surprise as the creature within the Hellblade finally emerged. During all the times he had observed or encountered Omnus, there had never been a sign that the creature within would emerge.

Arithon merely glared at the creature, anger obviously building up within him. The wailing souls ceased as power began to crackle around Arithon. He still remained in his human form, yet his obvious power over demon kind was obvious as a dark aura eminated from him.

"I'm always ready Xuanyu......"

(OOC: Xuanyu is also in human form)

Xuanyu's mouth shifted into the faintest of smiles as it heard Arithon's comment. Flexing its muscles and feeling free from five millenia of imprisonment, Xuanyu was restless for battle and for peace, thirsting for blood, while also seeking to heal. Truly a being of both light and dark...

"Then let us see who is the master... Pure darkness or a mixture of light and dark."

Without a single move, Xuanyu began to excude a both a demonic, evil and a tranquil, peaceful aura.

"Before we battle, Arithon. I have one question that I have to you. Why must there be just darkness and light? Why can't there be both?"

Maximus heard the voice coming from the darkness of the forest about him and closed his eyes momentarily.

Not again...

Seeing that Nez'Gah would be distracted by the Balrog attacking him from behind, Maximus smiled wickedly at him, waved goodbye to him and turned to Kazar-Tiyon.

The first thing Kazar noticed about Maximus was the blue glow in his eyes that had still been radiating. The second thing was that Maximus had been pissed already. Setting himself defensively, Maximus kept his eyes upon Kazar, sort of surprised that Kazar wanted to "chat". Cautiously, he responded.

"Very well then, speak Kazar-Tiyon."

Despite the darkness that surrounded Kazar-Tiyon, Maximus could make out every detail with clarity thanks to his being a vampire. Glamdring was held in his right hand, but held in a slight rested state.

If he wants to talk, then we shall talk...though I'm sure as hell not letting my guard down...

Maximus also kept secondary tabs upon Nez'Gah to his side. He was fully aware of his entire surroundings.

Nez'gah acknowledged KT's words just before an intense flame hit him. Spinning around, the demon lord watched in surprise as the Balrog lunged toward him blade extended. Although the flames did nothing to a being that lived within a world far hotter than any mere flame, although the blade was a threat.

Moving to the side, Nez'gah avoided the full force of the blade but still suffered a glancing blow to the chest. A minor wound resulted in contact with the blade, nothing Nez'gah was worried about. Angered that the beast would dare to interfere with his battles. Nez'gah unleashed his dark fury.

Thunder echoed around the beast as scarlet beams of energy crackled around it, engulfing it in a prison of power. The energy began closing in as well as unleashing beams of electrifying power into the Balrog. But that was only the beginning. Shadows swirled outside the energy, taking the form of demonic spirits, yet remaining ethereal. They too, engulfed the Balrog, ready to unleash their own horrors.
__________

Arithon nodded as he gazed over the human form of Xuanyu. The light and darkness eminated from him quite readily, providing an interesting contrast. Arithon still remained confident. Xuanyu may be a creature of both light and dark, yet Arithon was far stronger within his dark power.

The fight would be one of interest, as Arithon anticipated the dangers of battling one of the light that also possessed dark abilities, even if weaker. Then the question. Arithon pondered on such for a few moments.

"Darkness is my nature. I have no place in light but to quench it. That is my place. Dark and light are opposites, they do not mix well. That is why you, my opponent, are a paradox. Unnatural and unstable, you belong to both, yet are accepted by neither. A true being of darkness and light. These are universal laws, laws that are broken on some occasions."

Power continued to grow around the demon lord as he mustered his darkness, preparing for perhaps one of the most challenging battles in his ancient existence.
___________

OOC: Rave, I'm sorry to see you go. Perhaps we can negotiate this in IM.

Xuanyu almost laughed when Arithon spoke.

These are universal laws, laws that are broken on some occasions.

Xuanyu closed his eyes and opened them. Both slowly and quickly, Xuanyu began to speak.

"In this universe, there is no such thing as pure darkness or pure light... All creatures possess some of both... Yes, I am a paradox, a hypocrite, but living a life that possess equal quantities of both is a great blessing."

Xuanyu's features suddenly turned hard.

"Opposite and yet similar... Warring and yet peaceful... Darkness and yet light... We are both... I shall make thy comprehend the true meaning of the division of light and dark..."

In control of the Balrog, Xyorph could feel the primitive part of the Balrog's mind start to panic. Before he could stop it, it lashed out wildly at the power bars, causing pain down the left arm.

Xyorph pushed the Balrog's mind away and retook control of the being. Suddenly, the cage began moving inwards. oh sh*t. Charged beams of energy starting pulsating into the Balrog. It roared with pain, and Xyorph began to lose conciousness as the pain crept into his mind through the Balrog's nervous system. However, being effectively a spirit creature of the flame, the Balrog did not die under the pulsing of electrical energy. It suffered and it raged, but the electricity alone was not enough to kill it.

Then the demonic spirits began. They tore into the conciousness of the being, and so also the conciousness of Xyroph. Being a demonic form itself, the Balrog was not bothered by this. By Xyorph's mind bgan to suffer under the constant bombardment of the spirits. The wails tore into his mind and the cold began to creep over him.

He tore his mind from the Balrog, and returned to his body. The Balrog felt his master leave, and dissapeared itself, returning to whence it had came from.

Xyorph's mind returned to his body. Xyorph fell to the floor. His body shut down as, deep within his subconcious, his mind raced away to repair the damage that had been done.

Nez'gah grinned as the Balrog disappeared. He knew there was something strange about that one, yet it was not enough to combat the sheer power of a demon lord. Pleased with his handling of the problem, Nez'gah took a few minutes to oversee the battle.
_________

Arithon was growing tired of the conversation. Xuanyu was a paradox that Arithon, admittedly didn't know a lot about, but there was one thing he was certain of.

"That is where you are wrong. For I am most definitely pure darkness. Such creatures do exist on both sides of the spectrum. To be a pure mixture of both is rare, but it is indeed true that almost every creature has a combination to some extent. Now get to your point."
_________

After at least an hour of moving around, almost blindly, Izual finally came across the portal. Sitting within the centre of a massive demonic hallway sat a bright red, glowing sphere portal.

The angel was about to move toward his freedom when he noticed the hordes of demons nearby. Some moving into the portal, others idly standing around. Now he was forced to look around for other options. The hall was extremely large, a massive throne sat at one end, and the other lead towards a gigantic lake of molten rock. The walls were lined with the tortured bodies of many different species whilst the floor was composed of what seemed to be polished bone.

Izual indicated to Kain their predicament.

"We're close, but we have a problem. There are several demons guarding the portal, and there are likely to be many on the other side. I'm not in much of a state for battle, and I doubt you could take them all yourself."

"Impatient now, are you? Hmm?"

Xuanyu smoothed its tunic over, glancing down at his wrinkled tunic.

"Arithon, although I may be a paradox, a contradiction of the order and chaos of the world, so is everyone and everything alive... Although you claim to be pure evil in your heart, in your soulless being, I sense a side of order, tranquility, and light within your being... A side that you have sought interminably to suppress, but which you have failed utterly..."

Suddenly, Xuanyu's face turned harsh and his voice grating and venomous...

"Surrender thyself to the paradox that thou art... Or thou will face the consequences..."

Arithon scoffed as he heard Xuanyu's ultimatum. Shocked that someone would dare to order him like so, Arithon kept his rage under control as he wanted to keep a clear head within this situation.

Glaring at Xuanyu, Arithon spoke in a soft, cold tone.

"You know not what you ask. I shall never forgo my place in the darkness. Perhaps it is you that should choose an alleigence?"

In a light tone, Xuanyu said, "Ha... Unlikely... I have existed since time began... I was a champion of the light at one time... Another time I was a servant of darkness... But neither has caught my interest. I found that living as a paradox suited me the best..."

Harshing his tone, Xuanyu continued, "It is time for you, Arithon to become a paradox... You'll find it oddly enjoyable... Ha..."

OOC: Sorry about the delay; I've had a lot of homework recently. :(
IC:
After a pause to organize his thoughts, Kazar began the story.
"This happened in the time of my travels, shortly before I began constructing my stronghold. I happened to come upon a group of several villagers dragging an old man from his home in the nearby woods. Curious, I watched and listened from hiding. I found that the town was just starting to recover from a dreadful plague of some sort. The old man, an herbalist, had worked day and night to help the sick, and it is unlikely that the town would have survived without him. However, many people had still died, and the survivors felt the need to blame someone for the disaster. This herbalist- his name was Dev Rolint, if I recall correctly- was convient. 'How did he avoid catching the plague himself?' the townsfolk wondered. 'How did he know how to fight it?' They declared him a witch, and decided to execute him.
I decided that, since they didn't seem to apprreciate his help, I would put them in the position they would have been without it. However, when I stepped out of the trees with Shadowfang in my hand, the villagers all fled. When I started to chase them, Dev stood in my path.
'I will not let you kill them." he said.
'Stand aside!' I answered. 'If I must kill you to get at them, I will do so. I made that choice long ago.'
'If my death can buy them a better chance of escape, then I will consider it well spent. All life is sacred, theirs no less than mine.'
I stepped forward and swung Shadowfang. He did not try to block or dodge; he didn't even flinch. He clearly knew he had no chance of beating me, but he obviously didn't care. I stopped, my blade an inch from his neck.
'You save their lives, and in return they try to kill you. Even after that, you will still die to help them? Again you save their lives. If I encounter more like you, I may have to alter my opinion of humanity.'
With that comment, I left. This should have been the end of the story, but it wasn't..."
Again he paused, seeming lost in his memories.
OOC: I should be able to post more frequently next week, I hope.

In a light tone, Xuanyu said, "Ha... Unlikely... I have existed since time began... I was a champion of the light at one time... Another time I was a servant of darkness... But neither has caught my interest. I found that living as a paradox suited me the best..."

Harshing his tone, Xuanyu continued, "It is time for you, Arithon to become a paradox... You'll find it oddly enjoyable... Ha..."

Arithon had enough. He was about to sit around and listen to Xuanyu tell him that he was something that he most clearly wasn't. Raising his muscled human arm, Arithon pointed it at the figure of Xuanyu and unleashed a bolt of pure dark energy.

The power raced through the air, leaving the smell of ozone behind as it continued on it's path. Picking up speed, the bolt skimmed passed Xuanyu's face and struck a massive oak behind him. In on brilliant flash, the tree was no more. Not even a pile of ashes, just gone.

"Enough! I know what I am and I shall not conform to your ways. Do not challenge me Xuanyu, for I am darkness beyond your wildest dreams."

Xuanyu easily absorbed the dark energy into his being, relishing in the energy. Laughing mirthlessly, Xuanyu gazed at Arithon with his penetrating eyes, one cold and blue, the other fiery and red...

"You forget Arithon that I possess both light and dark qualities... Your dark magic is useless against me... I do not seek for you to conform, I only seek your understanding..."

With a blaze of golden light and a cacphony of eeriely dark music, Xuanyu struck, his hands extending to strike Arithon, testing...

(OOC: Arithon, he's a little rusty having been imprisoned in that sword for a longtime, so we should be even... Don't use any magic or energy attacks, cause Xuanyu would just absorb it and fuel his own attacks... Physical attacks work the best against Xuanyu, although elemental attacks are somewhat effective...)

Arithon sighed. He realised that Xuanyu could absorb dark power, yet he had a limit. Fortunately, Arithon decided not to test that limit and felt it best to resort to mortal combat.

Moving quickly to the side to dodge the striking hands, Arithon brought up his leg and a powerful swipe heading towards Xuanyu's unguarded side.

Power continued to swirl around the demon lord, feeding his muscles the energy they needed to perform supernatural feats of strength and speed.

Xuanyu swiftly blocked Arithon's attack, but was driven back by Arithon's power. Laughing to himself, Xuanyu said aloud, "I see you have some tricks up your sleeves, hm..."

With a roar, Xuanyu blanketed the entire area in a blast of sinister, dark magic and healing light magic. His hands dancing through the air as if he possessed a thousand hands, Xuanyu moved beyond anythin anyone could see.

"You will understand, soon... You will join me, soon..."

Using his darkness to block the light magic released by Xuanyu, Arithon lost sight of him. Anger began to boil up within the demon lord as he heard his opponents last statement. In a voice that shook the very trees within what remained of the forest, Arithon spoke.

"Xuanyu! Get back here and die at my hand. We're not finished!"

In a deep, harsh tone, Xuanyu growled angrily, "I will yield, if you can penetrate my Million-Handed Buddha/Hell Stance... If you cannot, then you must yield to me and become the paradox that thou cannot accept."

Without waiting for an response, Xuanyu's hands disappeared from view, replaced by what seemed to be an impenetrable wall of a million hands, half-evil, half-good...

Maximus listened carefully.

So he has some heart...

Maximus didn't move from where he was, still wary of Kazar-Tiyon.

"It seems you and I are very much alike. We are both righteous in our own respects, and yet we consider each other enemies. Perhaps I have a better solution for both of us. Considering how it is obvious that you and I cannot best each other, I propose that we instead, call a treaty, and form a peaceful accord, become allies. It is after all, a better solution than fighting to the death, only to have both of us die simultaneously..."

Maximus set his sword down, blade into the ground and stepped away from it, to prove his point.

"Well? What do you say?"

Xyorph opened his eyes. Or would have done if he had any. He tried to move but he had no body. He was merely an awareness.

The world around him was white. But a green flame was rising out of the white mist, and hovering in the centre of his conciousness.

where am I?he asked. The voice was not out loud. It echoed through his mind.

Inside your mind. Your brain was scarred by the spirits that attacked you. I have trapped you within your conciousness whilst your body repairs. If you were to use your brain now, it would probably kill you.
The green flame flickered whilst this was said, leaving Xyorph to infer that this was from wence the voice came.

who are you?

Do you not recognise the voice of your God. You are my last disciple Xyorph, and I plan on looking after you. I just wanted to see if your primary mind was damaged. You seem to be fine however, so you may return to sleep.

but... Xyorph began. Then the wold went black, and sleep enveloped him.

Maximus set his sword down, blade into the ground and stepped away from it, to prove his point.

"Well? What do you say?"
"That is tempting... very tempting. I can barely remember the last time I had an ally I truly agreed with. However, I'm not sure it would work. To put it bluntly, we are on opposite sides in this battle. Certainly I would agree to a truce; I would be honored to do so. But I am a destroyer, while you seem to be a guardian. Toward what goal would we work, in an alliance?"
He drew Shadowfang and tossed it like a knife, burying half its length in the ground a few feet in front of him.

Maximus allowed a smile to cross his lips. He was glad that Kazar-Tiyon was seeing the logic in his words.

"A good question, one I would expect you to ask. Together, we both would work to preserve the world as we know it, and if necessary, fight against the unknown dangers that threaten us both. Without this world, how would we exist?

You say I'm a guardian, I disagree. I am a vampire, a destroyer of lives as well. Do you know why my name is Maximus Destroi? I'll tell you. I was given the name by my parents as a mortal, a name that differed from their own, for my birth fufilled the beginning of a prophecy. The prophecy fortold of one who would enter the world with the mark of an old race."

Maximus slid aside the shirt he wore, revealing the mark upon his skin:

http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0WAAfA*YciUv7Qk1AFy3**yv9uh1X!ieI3CZzUScvNONdLqgozP65nPvoV4Y5WaJxlTkHCH49wdMLeEC0S2arFEYmtNiyyrx63vi sfC1e1LxVQLu6XpmvNLWQi19aZ*AwQgAAAP****8/mysymbolonwhitebg.PNG

Maximus continued his story:

"The being would grow to become a warrior, a fighter that would never find his peace with the mellow, the calm. And that is how I lived my life at first, peacefully. When my wife died under the attack of vampires, that was the day I felt a strange feeling awaken within me. A feeling that can only be described as a hunger for blood to be spilled, for my war to begin. When I became a vampire, it was the completion of the prophecyEver since, I have been fighting my own war, my war against the things that are spineless, good, and those that are evil beyond comprehension. I am a soul of disharmony, that is neither black nor white, but gray.

Thus, I am essentially of the darkness, as yourself, except I merely retain my humanity. Opposite sides of this conflict we are, but what is to say that in the next, we are not allies, fighting alongside each other?"

Maximus watched Kazar-Tiyon, watching him take in the information, and occasionally reverting his gaze upon Maximus's mark. In fact, it was the same mark that Maximus had used long ago to symbolize the coven he had formed, and taken control of in Tarlachia, a coven known as the VRO.

In a deep, harsh tone, Xuanyu growled angrily, "I will yield, if you can penetrate my Million-Handed Buddha/Hell Stance... If you cannot, then you must yield to me and become the paradox that thou cannot accept."

Without waiting for an response, Xuanyu's hands disappeared from view, replaced by what seemed to be an impenetrable wall of a million hands, half-evil, half-good...

Arithon snorted in anger as he approached the barrier of hands. Testing it slightly with a poke from his claws, the demon lord decided on the best course of action. Taking up his stance, the demon lord pulled his massive right arm back, then pushed it forward with all the strength his could muster at his current state...........

To Arithon's surprise, Arithon's attack stormed through the wall of palms. Just as he was feeling that he had won, the wall of Million Buddha/Hell palms was like water, never stopping, yet easily penetrated. To Arithon's continued surprise, Xuanyu's million palms suddenly moved out of a wall position and began to surround the being, becoming no longer like water, but like an elastic wall...

"Hm... perhaps we do have certain goals in common. Excellent! Let's see... an agreement not to fight each other, even when we find ourselves on opposite sides, and to act together whenever there is an enemy... suited... for both of us to fight. Agreed?"
Kazar-Tiyon removed his right glove, revealing a hand that seemed composed of solidified darkness, and held it out.

To Arithon's surprise, Arithon's attack stormed through the wall of palms. Just as he was feeling that he had won, the wall of Million Buddha/Hell palms was like water, never stopping, yet easily penetrated. To Arithon's continued surprise, Xuanyu's million palms suddenly moved out of a wall position and began to surround the being, becoming no longer like water, but like an elastic wall...

Arithon screamed in fury as he attempted to break through the elastic prison. The land beneath him shook with his mighty rage, yet he could not burst through hand barrier.

"You think this will hold me!? My power reaches far beyond physical strength!"

Darkness began to swell out of the ground once again, moving around the barrier. As it looked like the darkness would merely be absorbed by the dark elements of the barrier, it burst into intense, demonic flame. The barrier began to glow as the powerful heat was passed into it.

Maximus grinned, revealing his fangs as he moved his own cold hand to shake Kazar-Tiyon's.

"Good...now, how about we just move ourselves to a neutral position, keep an eye on things here, until they finish up?"

"Sounds good. You know, you are one of a very few people that have beaten me and survived. Even Jha'al-ze was mortally wounded in our battle..."

OOC:<cough Home in on Xyorph Tarlachia cough>

IC: Xyorph rolled over on the cold church floor and awoke. His head was pounding. Not surprising really. He forced himself onto his feet, and staggered aorund to the church vestry. he blew the door off its hinges (a process that brought stars to his eyes). Entering, he found what he was looking for; a tap.

He bent down and began to drink. The cool water soothed the pain and reawakened his senses.

Xyorph wandered back into the main part of the church, and sat down on a pue. He felt tired, but no longer weak. His God had done the healing well.

As Maximus picked up his sword and sheathed it, he suddenly froze as he heard the voice in his head. A voice never heard before, a voice that boomed deeply into his soul:

Maximus Destroi...do not waste the time to ask who I am. Find Xyorph, your assistance is required...

Xyorph...

Maximus turned to Kazar-Tiyon.

"I'll be back. Something has called my attention."

With that, Maximus muttered to himself:

"Lema ed' templa!"

Maximus disappeared from where he had been standing. A few moments later, he appeared a few feet from Xyorph's unconscious body. He moved quickly to him, lifting him carefully, checking to make sure he was alive. His pulse was there, but it was weak. Maximus held his hand over Xyorph's body, merely inches from his skin.

"Hang on Xyorph...Tanka tel' taurnin!"

A faint green glow began to emit from Maximus's hand, and grew brighter in intensity by the second. He tapped Xyorph's forhead, then his chest, spreading the green glow over him. With a burst of bright light, it seeped into Xyorph's pores, working its way through his body, healing the wounds that Xyorph apparently had suffered from his experience with the Balrog. Maximus closed his eyes, seeking with his senses the wounds and repairing them as necessary...

To Arithon's surprise, Arithon's attack stormed through the wall of palms. Just as he was feeling that he had won, the wall of Million Buddha/Hell palms was like water, never stopping, yet easily penetrated. To Arithon's continued surprise, Xuanyu's million palms suddenly moved out of a wall position and began to surround the being, becoming no longer like water, but like an elastic wall...

Arithon screamed in fury as he attempted to break through the elastic prison. The land beneath him shook with his mighty rage, yet he could not burst through hand barrier.

"You think this will hold me!? My power reaches far beyond physical strength!"

Darkness began to swell out of the ground once again, moving around the barrier. As it looked like the darkness would merely be absorbed by the dark elements of the barrier, it burst into intense, demonic flame. The barrier began to glow as the powerful heat was passed into it.

Xuanyu grimaced in frustration as his barrier back to break down from the incredible heat of the friction of the darkness. His hands slowly burning from the heat, Xuanyu abruptly changed the configuration of the barrier, drawing strength from the moon to counteract the power of Arithon's darkness. Wincing in pain, Xuanyu slowly retracted his barrier a tiny bit to allow for a powerful reflective barrier to be formed, a barrier that would reflect any attack launched by Arithon back at him. Xuanyu almost allowed Arithon to escape as his pain, nearly overrode his caution, opening a break in the barrier of palms. Xuanyu managed to close the opening at the last second, sighing in relief as it did so...

Arithon cursed in his demonic tongue as the reflective barrier rendered his flames useless. Thinking quickly, Arithon raised his palm and released a small blue orb and watched as hit floated in front of him, waiting to be commanded.

The demon lord closed his eyes and merely waited. Within seconds the orb released wave after wave of freezing spell. Of course the spelled barrier reflected such, and so the spell hit its creator. Taking the blows without reaction, Arithon allowe the ice to creep up his body, completely engulfing him. Ice continued to grow upon ice as the spells were reflected until the whole pirson was completely full of ice. With nowhere else to go, the ice began to form upon the barrier, freezing the hands as the reflecting spell was rendered useless.

Xuanyu swore when he felt his hands begin to freeze over. In anger, Xuanyu's million palms began to revolve, slowly heating up the entire area, as if a million miniature suns had been created... Slowly, the ice upon Xuanyu's palms began to melt as Xuanyu's continued to support his reflective barrier...

Let's see you beat that Arithon...

The screams of fury course through the forest once again as Arithon's attempt at escape was thwarted. The reflective barrier prevented magical attacks, so he would have to use something physical, it was his only chance.

Grinning slyly, Arithon began to glow a crimson red as his shape lost all detail. All that remained was a crimson outline of his figure. Without warning, the shape began to split, producing another shape, and another until five other Arithons finally stood within the prison.

The demon lord nodded and all replicas began beating away at the hands with tremendous strength, weakening the barrier that trapped them.

A green fire stretched out and enveloped Maximus. The vampire in him panicked at the sudden existance of the fire. but a voice echoed in his head.

Do not panic. The flames will not harm you. I just needed another form here, it gives me an anchor to work through.

Maximus felt warmer, and was forced to his knees as tremendous power surged through him. As suddenly as it came it was gone, and Maximus was alone in his mind.

Xyorph sat up, spluttering. He opened his eyes, and jumped to see Maximus standing over him.

"Guess I haven't died or gone to heaven then. Either that or you're a crap angel." He grinned, and sat up properly against the back rest. "So...we won yet?"

The screams of fury course through the forest once again as Arithon's attempt at escape was thwarted. The reflective barrier prevented magical attacks, so he would have to use something physical, it was his only chance.

Grinning slyly, Arithon began to glow a crimson red as his shape lost all detail. All that remained was a crimson outline of his figure. Without warning, the shape began to split, producing another shape, and another until five other Arithons finally stood within the prison.

The demon lord nodded and all replicas began beating away at the hands with tremendous strength, weakening the barrier that trapped them.

Xuanyu grinned at the futile efforts of the demon lord to escape from his trap. Grinning, Xuanyu slowly began to dissolve his reflective barrier, while slowly increasing the power of his palms, increasing their power above and beyond all power, fusing demonic and heavenly magic together, blocking any attempts by Arithon to escape.

He seems so determined to escape... But unfortunately, he has met someone who is more determined to trap him...

Continuing to grin broadly, Xuanyu dissolved the barrier entirely, allowing Arithon to escape, but into a wall of palms powered by demonic and heavenly magic.

"Let's see you break that Arithon." Xuanyu said, carrying a note of triumph...

Maximus finally smiled as he leaned against the wall with Xyorph. The sun was beginning to rise again. Daylight would come again, yet Maximus had nothing to worry. His Elven magic would shield him appropriately.

"The fight is drawing to a close. Some are missing from the battle. Kazar-Tiyon has returned, and we talked for a bit, got to know each other, and agreed that we cannot defeat each other by ourselves, so, we have come to a truce, an alliance, albeit a strange one you may think. We have decided to remain neutral for the remainder of this conflict...

Now, you. Tell me about this...voice I heard in my head? Whatever it was, held great power, interestingly. If he had partaken in the battle earlier, he might have been useful in turning the tide of the eternal war. Alas, this battle appears as if it will turn into a stalemate."

Maximus leaned his head against the wall, muttering in Elvish a protection shield that surrounded him, just as the beginnings of the sun's rays hit upon them.

"What do you say we summon Kazar-Tiyon here? I will tell him to not harm you. From here, we can watch the remainder of the fight with a unique Elven spell I know of."

The replica's disappeared as Arithon realised they were not effective. He was running out of options, yet he was determined not to give up. Standing in the centre again, the demon lord bowed his head as he began to summone pure energy into his body. Not demonic power, just energy itself, without the affiliation.

Satisfied he had enough power, Arithon roared as he released the force into the barrier. Colliding with the hands, the barrier did not break, but expanded. The force continued to push against the hands, causing them to spred out even further. It would eventually have to break.

Xyorph sighed.

"The voice. In many ways it would probably be safer for you not to know. I did not think he, or it I suppose, would actually work through you. But these things can't be helped.

I do not know how much you understand the different ways magic works. Your elven magic works by unlocking secrets from the blood that flows within you. Mages work by getting spirits to do their work for them. Witches and Hags draw power from nature around them. And so forth.

A sorcerer such as myself works by drawing power from within us. My staff works as a catalyst to allow me to do this. However, more is required to trigger it. You may have noticed I don't speak words to work my magic. That is because my magic is a form of prayer. I pray to a God, who grants me the power to perform the magic. That God is Krajyk, who is the voice you heard inside your head. The creatures I summon come from his realm, and so, for example, this is why my demon is not as powerful as the 'natural' demons present."

Xyorph looked at Maximus at this point.

"I am hesitant to tell you much more. the more you know a out a God the more likely he is to capture your soul. I am his only disciple left due to an...accident...many years ago, and he may take the opportunity to have another. If you want to know more perhaps it would be safer for you to ask specific questions.

He would be hesitant to take part directly because of what he is. Whilst he would no doubt be a match for any demon lord, the elemental forces that would become involved would be near uncontrollable. And once one God gets involved, the chances of another are vastly increased. And that is never a good thing."

Xyorph looked out at the sun, and heard Maximus utter a protection spell.

"If you are interested I know a different way of protecting you. And yes, invite this Kazar-Tiyon, and we will observe the battle. I am too tired to re-enter at the present."

The replica's disappeared as Arithon realised they were not effective. He was running out of options, yet he was determined not to give up. Standing in the centre again, the demon lord bowed his head as he began to summone pure energy into his body. Not demonic power, just energy itself, without the affiliation.

Satisfied he had enough power, Arithon roared as he released the force into the barrier. Colliding with the hands, the barrier did not break, but expanded. The force continued to push against the hands, causing them to spred out even further. It would eventually have to break.

With a frown of exasperation, Xuanyu allowed the magic to dissipate, finally freeing Arithon into the mortal realm. But Xuanyu was not finished... With a roar, Xuanyu sent a wave of energy towards Arithon, colliding with Arithon's exuded energy.

"Come Arithon, you can do better than that" Xuanyu taunted.

Maximus shook his head, negatively.

"No, my friend, this will protect me well enough. Save your strength."

Maximus closed his eyes again, seeking out Kazar-Tiyon. He found him, almost exactly where he had left him earlier.

Kazar-Tiyon... Maximus's voice rumbled in his mind, Follow the light orb...

Before Kazar-Tiyon, a blue orb, which emitted a slight whining noise, an intended effect of this probe, appeared. In its metallic voice it spoke: "Hello Kazar-Tiyon. Follow me..hee hee hee hee!"

The orb moved away, leading Kazar-Tiyon through the forest, toward the edge of the forest. At the edge, the orb halted, and turned to Kazar-Tiyon.

"My master has asked if you are susceptible to the sunlight. Are you?"

The orb hovered at eye level to Kazar-Tiyon, waiting for a response.

"That is one price I have not had to pay; sunlight is harmless to me."

The orb chuckled metallically as it turned about again and began to hover over the earth, moving out of the forest and into the sun-lit grasslands. In the distance, the outlines of a mountain range could be seen. The orb began to sing an unintelligible song, somewhat irritating to hear, but nonetheless, leading the way to Maximus...

The replica's disappeared as Arithon realised they were not effective. He was running out of options, yet he was determined not to give up. Standing in the centre again, the demon lord bowed his head as he began to summone pure energy into his body. Not demonic power, just energy itself, without the affiliation.

Satisfied he had enough power, Arithon roared as he released the force into the barrier. Colliding with the hands, the barrier did not break, but expanded. The force continued to push against the hands, causing them to spred out even further. It would eventually have to break.

With a frown of exasperation, Xuanyu allowed the magic to dissipate, finally freeing Arithon into the mortal realm. But Xuanyu was not finished... With a roar, Xuanyu sent a wave of energy towards Arithon, colliding with Arithon's exuded energy.

"Come Arithon, you can do better than that" Xuanyu taunted.

Arithon merely flexed his muscles, expelling even more power and driving the attack away.

"Come now, you can't possibly think to defeat me. My pure power far outweighs every being here."

OOC: Check tgs

OOC: Tarlachia will no longer be participating in this thread since he has gone on Summer Vacation.

Also, BUMP for 5CN.

"You overestimate your abilities, Arithon..." Xuanyu said, his tone filled with both barely concealed mirth and malice. "You will fall from your place..."

As Xuanyu spoke, he slowly began to glow with both a darkness and golden light, slowly enveloping the entire landscape, creating a bubble that shrouded the entire land.

Xuanyu disappeared admist the light, as Arithon slowly began to be entrapped in something greater than anything he had seen before... Slowly, Arithon was trapped and the dark and light magic of Xuanyu's existence began to alter Arithon's being...

Arithon roared in defiance, he couldn't let this happen. He could feel Xuanyu attempting to change him into something weak and pathetic, a human.

Unleashing another massive wave of pure force, he pushed back the attack, hindering the change and protecting himself. The demon lord heaved as he continued to summon more and more energy, using it to protect himself.

"You can't do this for you underestimate me, fool."

Xuanyu frowned as the two energies slammed into each other, shaking the ground, rending the earth. Quietly Xuanyu said to himself, "Perhaps we have both underestimated each others powers..."

No matter, Xuanyu thought, I will change him into what he should be and perform the experiment that I have long sought to perform...

Xuanyu suddenly unleashed the true fury and love of his nature, slowly surrounding Arithon in a wave of brilliant and dark energy.

"Arithon... You have finally become an experiment..."

Arithon began to quickly back away, wanting to get as far away from Xuanyu as possible.

"I don't think so. I will not let it happen."

His power continued to push against the attacking energies, but Arithon could feel it collapsing. His desperation fuelled his will to continue, unleashing as much energy as he could in this form. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to completely stop Xuanyu, but it prevented him from completing his 'experiment'.

OOC: *looks around* Huh, no enemies... Grr, I want to kill someone.
IC:
Suddenly, new voices were heard in the forest. They were quiet, but obvious enough to most of its current, rather unusual residents....
"We're in for it, this time. The cops got to close- they're gonna find us."
"We lost 'em at the turnoff. They'll never trace us here."
"Besides, even if they do, there's no way they'll find us in these ****ing trees."
The band (10 in all) that included these speakers was a rough looking gang, obviously criminals of some sort. They were not an easy bunch to surprise... but nothing they had ever seen prepared them for the sight they saw when they stepped into a clearing a few moments later.
Kazar-Tiyon stood waiting, his eyes glowing red in the impenetrable blackness of his hood, with Shadowfang sheathed at his side. The thugs had never seen his like before, but they were smart enough to recognize him as dangerous.
"You... You keep back! One move, and I'll shoot!"
Silently, Kazar drew his sword.
"Keep back, I say!!"
He stepped forward, advancing grimly toward the speaker. A shot rang out; Shadowfang whirled, and the bullet glanced off its blade into the bushes. More shots ricocheted off his black armor, denting it. K-T lunged abruptly forward, driving Shadowfang's blade into the furthest back enemy. He drew it forth and slashed at the nearest in one motion, followed by a blow with his armored left fist that crushed the man's throat. Continuing the turn, Kazar sliced off another thug's head with a sudden draw-cut. Bullets made deeper dents in his armor at close range, and even a few holes, but he ignored the damage. A quick jab skewered the fourth; K-T flung him off the blade so hard that he broke the back of a companion he crashed into.
Realizing that their guns could not possibly stop this destroyer before he slew then all, the remaining five thugs produced an assortment of knives and clubs. Kazar-Tiyon stepped forward quickly to engage the last target that remained before him, twisting Shadowfang around the man's club and knocking it from his hands, then twirling the sword into a deadly overhand chop that split his opponent's skull. Without pausing, Kazar turned and charged. He ran one man through while tearing out another's throat with the pointed metal fingers of his left glove, then turned and threw Shadowfang at the third. The dark blade sizzled like a splashed frying pan as it pinned its prey to the ground, and not a drop of blood made it all the way down its edge.
The last man looked at the sword hilt protruding from his friend's still chest, looked at Kazar-Tiyon standing with blood dripping from his armored hand, and ran. K-T calmly bound him with cords of shadow, then strode up and slashed his throat with a belt knife. He drank the man's blood as it spilled, using magic to draw it forth, and used the life force it carried to repair his own injuries. Finally he smoothed out the damage to his armor, let the drained corpse fall, called Shadowfang to his hand, and moved on.
OOC: Ah... Much better. Sorry about the little detour there.

BUMP for 5CN

Suddenly Xuanyu stopped unleashing his magic. Dropping his hands, Xuanyu said in a voice filled with contempt and condescension, "Arithon, you are no match for me... You have been defeated... Now run along..."

Without another word, Xuanyu turned and proceeded to walk towards the body of what had been his owner, Omnus Stormrider. In a quiet voice, Xuanyu spoke soothingly to the dragonlord. "If only you could have witnessed my triumph... But alas, you are dead... And we do not mourn the dead..."

With a contemptuous look, Xuanyu raised his hands and with a surge of magic obliterated the body of the dragonlord, freeing its spiritual essence to begin its journey...

Arithon was furious and yet he was also relieved. Xuanyu had attempted to turn him into a filthy human for the remainder of his existence. The demon lord had to admit that he had underestimated his enemy and had paid the consequences.

I will have my vengence.

Now trapped in his human form for what he could guess as 100 years, Arithon's power would be limited and his dominance over the underworld perhaps restricted. Although a hindrance, he would make the best of such. His figure dispersing in a puff of dark clouds, Arithon would wreak havoc upon the human world.
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Nez'gah smiled as he watched the demon destroy the body of hie nemesis. It was over, and he had won. Growling with pleasure, the demon lord recieved notice that from his master that he would be left in charge of the underworld until Arithon's return.

Another smile. Things were looking far better already. Even though a Shentavo hadn't died, the results were still pleasing from his viewpoint.
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Izual had had enough. Kain was injured or something and was not responding. Although injured, he was close enough to the portal to call upon heavenly strength. Bursting into his angelic form, holy light flowing off his perfect form, the demons screamed in panic as Izual charged, blade in hand.

Hide after hide, Izual cut through them all. His rage and bloodlust unparalelled by the demons as he cut them down. They offered little resistance and were soon laying in puddles of their own blood, Izual standing in the middle.

Falling to his knees, Izual dispersed his blade as he crawled towards the portal. The clank of heavy demonis approaching echoed through the hall as he approached the glowing energy gate.

"Kain, let us depart this wretchid place."

Finally responding, Kain moved over to his angelic companion and helped him into the portal, leading back into the mortal realm.

(OOC: I guess this is over... Anyone want this to be archived?)

Izual and Kain emerged from the portal and cursed as they met the remaining demons, dozens standing around them. All others had deserted the area, leaving an earie silence to combine with the aftermarth of such a battle.

The angel collapsed to the ground, completely void of any energy whatsoever. As he thought his end was nigh, his vision became blured by the angelic light of several higher level angels appearing to do battle with the lower demons. It wasn't long before the battle cries ceased and the bloodied angels approached the exhausted pair.

"Come friends, you have endured much and need rest."

Izual merely nodded as the portal sealed behind them and all disappeared into darkness as he lost consciousness. The angels were gone, along with Kain and Izual. The forest remained silent as the blood soaked into the earth.
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OOC: Yes it is over. I'm sorry to say things took a turn for the worse with key players dropping out. The original plot was lost but I'm glad we could salvage it and turn it into some value. I'll make an archive request.

(OOC: Okay... Let me just put up this final post...)

Xuanyu stood atop the roof of the world, his eyes drinking up the details of the broken ground below him. Frowning, Xuanyu raised his right hand, drenched with the blood of innocents and his left hand, drenched with holy water. A fine paradox I am... Xuanyu thought, I'm finally free from my long imprisonment and I have nothing to do... Now I know the true price of freedom... I wish I had not eliminated Omnus... But alas, the deed is done and he has departed from this dreary existence... Furious at himself, Xuanyu pointed his hand at the ground below him and with a roar, expelled a blast of enormous proportions. Grinning mirthlessly to himself, Xuanyu thought, Have to practice now, don't I?