Sutoratosu

"Very good, you learn quickly..." another twisted, charred spectre sailed over the ancestor's head as she spoke, the raw power of the girl's last spell still rocking the back deck. Promise, there was so much to be had there. She grasped both the concept of harnessing emotional turmoil as a means of power, and given that not a single bit of the vessel showed any sign of damage despite the nature of this exercise, she also had enough control to selectively restrict that power to what she wished to destroy. It was even better than Mara could've hoped... "But, oh my- it looks like there's even more now. Whatever shall you do?" "It doesn't matter how many you throw at me-" with that said, the girl's hand raised, and with it she let her hate pulse outward into the world in the form of fire and light, the Anima frenzied off the raw energy as they lept to obey her command. Like well, magic, a swirling conflagration swept across the area, igniting and torching the half a dozen black shadows still surrounding her, yet leaving virtually everything else unharmed as the blast forced them off their feet and into the air. Another series of splashes came from behind the Sidow Master, as Cadence panted; even though it was still much better than using physical stamina, at the rate she was pushing things, even the emotion route was taking it's toll. Still, the Anima practically begged for more, almost as if... they'd become drunk off the power. It worried Cadence, but at the same time... the ghost had a good point- when she stopped bottling everything up and just let it all flow freely, like a stream of might she could draw from whenever she wished... was a tome even necessary anymore? She may have felt more exertion than before, true, but... it was nothing she couldn't deal with. Her physical weapons lay at Mara's feet all the while. The ancestor had confiscated them, more or less, said that Cadence would have to rely purely on her own strength with the spirits if the lesson was to have any points. In truth though, she doubted physical blows would've landed anyway- more than a few reflexive punch and kicks had gone straight through the wraiths when some of em had gotten too close. How much better would a length of sharpened steel really have feared? The question didn't really matter though, now that they were all gone. She looked over to Mara, the fire in hands dying down as she reigned the black river of emotion in her heart and mind back to their original places. The Anima seemed to almost... boo her for it, as far as she could tell. "Tch, what is that it? Not a very hard test if you ask me-" "Oh please, this is just a warm up. Let's up the ante~" Yet more of the entities emerged around her, oozing black as they slowly took form, like monsters born of ink and sludge. And to a bit of Cadence's horror... she recognized each and every last one of them. The merc boi from the boat, the Bandit and Soldier who'd tag teamed her in the forest, the Troubadour and Cavalier she'd done in during the battle against the Baron... but one of them drew her attention most all. A shape she dreaded, as even now it edged closer to her, grinning with that slimy, shit eating mug, eyes like twin points of crimson. The profile of the blade it carried was... painfully familiar. Quite literally. "Excellent. Now tell me my dear, is this still as easy as you once thought?" "..." She stood there, frozen before the ink laden effigy of the very woman she'd been running from for so long. Even with all the spite she felt welling to the surface, her body would not respond, regardless how close the specter drew. Until finally, it had it's blade raised over Cade's head, and with one fell swoop- Mara snapped her fingers. The Bandit and the Soldier rushed forward like shadows in the night, knocking the maternal wraith back before it's arc could cut Cadence down. Only now however, the two of them were maneuvering around her, weapons readying to strike their own blows. She recognized the moment the woman must've plucked this memory from well. And with the immobilizing fear of the other Wraith now on hold, she had no intention of repeating the past. It had been the push she needed to react, and just like when she had bisected the Cavelier, her entire body ignited with the aura of flame as she finally began to focus. An all to familiar length of solid fire in her palm as she swung once and cut the Bandit in two just like the horseman, sending the phantom back to whatever place Mara had called it from with a puff of black. Without even looking behind her, she turned the blade back handed and sidestepped, driving the searing flame through the Soldier behind her. Like his brother, he too died in a plume of black ash and cinders, swept up and vanishing in the wind. "Yes, now that is what I wanted to see! That state you went into against that baron's thugs earlier, it precisely illustrates the type of power you must hone..." Another snap of her fingers. The Troubadour and the Cavalier charged for her, steads trailing an unnatural wisp of night as their hooves thundered against the deck. Just as the drew close enough to bear down on her, their weapons both raised, twin blades temporarily crossing before crashing down towards the girl. And acting on pure instinct, Cade dropped low and again sliced with the blade of condensed flame, cutting both the mounts down under their masters and causing the steeds to crash onto the deck, vanishing in plumes of black as their owners slowly rose. They didn't have very long to recover before the burning rapier Cadence held warped itself into two knives, just like the one she stashed in her coat. Before they could even charge on foot, both of them found the constructs firmly planted in their hearts. Cadence did not stop however. Before Mara could snap her fingers again, she'd already rushed over to the doppelganger of the mercenary, the speed that the Anima's flames had bestowed to her allowing her to outmaneuver the specter even in that heavy coat. Without a word, she yanked his head back and drew swiftly against his neck, searing fire spilling blood blacker than ink as she let him fall out of her arms. She was too fast at point to really tell, but... for the briefest of moments, she could've almost sworn... Mara had been smirking as she watched. Then... there was only mother. Cadence did not bother trying to meet the shadow in single combat, no. Instead she took the aura of flame that surrounded and empowered her up till then and condensed it into a small orb in the palm of her hands, snarling as she hurled the trapped storm of fire and light at the being. Before the shade could so much as blink, it was engulfed in a blast of unbridled magic, Cadence pouring every last drop of the hate she felt for the woman into the attack. "Die...you fucking... abomination..." She panted the words out, dropping to her knees as she tried in vain to catch her breath. In truth, that had been the longest she'd ever maintained the state, certainly longer than it had been up against the cavelier, and the blast was far more feirce than anything she'd conjured before. Soon enough, the fires cleared. And the girl felt her breath return And like that, the fiend was no more, it was over. Even more to Mara's surprise however, the Deck was still entirely unscathed despite the girl's warpath just moments ago. Precision and power... already honed to a razor point, both of them. By the gods, She found herself once more applauding, even feeling a little giddy- this was going to be... a very beautiful arrangement between master and student, she could already tell. "Impressive, my dear. Most impressive. You've done it, slain them all, even the one you feared most... though doing so in practice is much easier than the real thing. Regardless, you've more than exceeded my expectations here... you didn't even damage the boat a single bit, despite all that fire- did Ramza" "No." She said grimly, rising to her feet, "My father never had the chance to teach me anything of the sort. Everything I know, everything you just saw, was self-taught. Trial and error, experimentation, over and over again until I found ways that worked...like telling the anima to ignore everything except what I'm aiming for... " "Well, I was actually going to ask if he'd ever reached out or spoken to you during one of those late night training sessions. But obviously from your answer, I can gauge he didn't. A real pity, I think he would've been proud... if not utterly amazed how far you've already come on your own- tis the determination of youth, I suppose. Oh, regardless though, I think I've seen what I needed to. Hmmmm... yes, I think we can launch right into the next lesson, you already demonstrate the necessary qualities to control such great potential. Unfortunately, such tutelage as I plan to give is... best given under the cover of darkness. You'll be out here on your own later, as always, I hope?" "I mean, it's what I've been doing every night since the shipwreck... I don't see any reason why that would change." "Good, good. I'll see you then. Make sure to get some rest though, what I'll be showing you is best observed while in top form..." and with that, the ghost was gone, her physical form fading into an apparition and then into nothing as Cadence watched. Almost as if on their own accord, her weapons flung themselves to her feet. Cadence reached down and picked them up, starring off into the distance where the odd Mentor had once been. Of all the things in this world, she'd never imagined she'd one day be receiving magic tutelage from a ghost...

Having grown fed up with what had thus far proven to be a cryptic trip through literal hell and back, Tesla saw little point in holding back anymore. With just a single impulse, all systems were raised to max, and within an instant, a miniature storm was forming around the woman's mech, countless terrawatts of lightning and searing beams of electrons firing off towards the massive eye. She didn't even bother giving a warcry, in all honesty. She was just done with this charade... Tesla uses Flash Armageddon on Krako Jr.

"You see, before there was ever a house albus..." "There was a far older clan, an eclectic order known as The Sidow..." With every word, the phantom seemed to materialize ever more in the shimmering air before Cadence. The Anima were practically shrieking, setting up the shining barrier they'd so seldom used up till then, just as the woman finally took form. "Mages, warriors, outcasts, a few nobles, people from all different walks of life, who studied the Dark Arts in secret after the fall of the summoners so many years ago. Some members found their own way into the order's arms, but after a while, it came to be that most were born into it, took up the endeavors of their parents as they kept both the fronts they had maintained in everyday life and their research-" "Wait, dark arts? Then that explains why the Anima is so damn terrified of you... what did-" "Yes yes, I'm getting to that. And pay those little nature spirits no mind, like so many others in this world, they cannot understand that there is no inherent good or evil in anything... now where was I? Ah, yes... anyhoo, those who were apart of the Order were seekers of change, you see. Changing the world, themselves, their lives, who simply found that all other avenues to achieving such change were cut off for one reason or another. Men and women who wanted justice for some tragedy, or a cure for their child's malady that the priests they had put so much faith into could do nothing to stop, or perhaps even a way to reverse a life of harsh misfortune and suffering they'd known up till then. Whatever their reasons, one thing always remained the same- the dark arts gave power to those who formerly had none in the world. Despite what many would have labeled us if they had known of our existence, most of us were far from the vile, base caricatures that had sprung up around the idea of dark magic after the Demon and his servants were dead and gone. And those who weren't, well... more oft than not, they set their own demises into motion, with the rest of us only having to give... a little push every now and again." "O...kay then. So wait, what happened to the rest of you? The way you keep talking, it's almost like this order of yours doesn't exist-" "Hmph. Smart girl, very smart. You're indeed right, it doesn't exist anymore, at least not as it originally was. Who knows, some perverted form of it may have lingered throughout all these centuries, but... that's neither here nor there. The important I'm getting to is why the Sidow fell. We had endured for decades without any issue, but eventually, things began to unravel as loyalties were challenged. There was a young man, a fine member of the order, the son of it's head, in fact. For years, he had worked on the Magnum Opus alongside his mother- a way... to make the binds of death a mere fantasy. A way to give a chance back to those who had life stolen from them, to reverse the injustice of time, and in some cases, stop it entirely. Imagine a world where innocent people could no longer have their lives stolen by bandits and pirates and rogues. A world where conflict and war was pointless, because death was only ever a temporary setback, if one at all, and people strived to understand and compromise with each other out of simple necessity since bloodshed would get them nowhere. A world where children stolen by disease and tragedy could have that fate nullified and reversed... That, my dear Cadence, was precisely the type of world I sought to create, the world I dedicated my entire life to making real... as had my son, Julius. But alas, it was not meant to be, I'm afraid, for you yourself have already seen so much of death, taken life with your own hands, and all at such a young age. A shame, really. Had Julius Sidow not have betrayed our order and allowed himself to be seduced by the honeyed words and infuriatingly self-righteous hogwash of those warriors of the church, then you and many others would've never had to spill blood as a means to an end. Your hands could've been clean. Your friends hands as well- especially, the boy, Karik was it? But as I said... it was not to be. Once my own, only living son had led them to our sanctuary, that was the end of the Sidow Order. We fought to defend ourselves, of course, but those mindless lapdogs of the church had both the advantage of stronger numbers and all the knowledge I'd instilled in Julius over the years. And when the deed was done and our home burned, do you know what happened? The warriors of the church forgave Julius of what they had claimed to be 'his vices and sins within a foul Order' and gave him a gods damned title of nobility and land to boot. Even his name, he cast aside, and took up one that was spoon fed to his lips- Albus. Yes... House Albus. A family built on treachery and murder, right from its very beginning. But this travesty did not end there Cadence, I know you have seen it first hand in your own mother. Once Julius had submitted to the Church's Masters, he became like a savage dog, siccing and tearing wherever they ordered, whomever they ordered, regardless of their guilt or innocence of the offenses they accused them of. A militarized, unquestioning enforcer, whose hands were ever drenched in blood afterwards. A heathen who turned his back on everything he and I had stood for, all we had dreamed of. And so too did his descendants follow in those footsteps." "Then... everything... I've been thinking about home up till now..." "It's all true, Cadence. The Albus household is made up of blindly loyal deathdealers, a blight upon the world and an utter mockery of the goals Julius and I had once pursued. But that's why I'm here now, child. For, you realized all of this on your own, saw the rest of those in your bloodline for what they'd truly become... just as your father before you had...poor, poor Ramza, I had hoped he would be a bit more... discreet about things, but-" "Wait, you? You were the voice speaking to my father, the one who gave him so many warnings about-" "Aye, Cadence. No one else but me. Your father though, he was so torn by it all... in order to set things to rights, he would've had to turn against your mother and grandfather, and alas, it seems the title "The Stargazer" was all too fitting to him. Never before did I see a man so utterly hesitant to take proper action- but... perhaps that only spoke to how much he cared. I think that in the end however, when your mother overheard your discussion, he finally came to understand things. I just regret that it took his own wife driving a blade through him before he finally did. But... some good did come out of all that mess. He used the last of his strength to protect you... and I did what I could to get you away as well. For once he had fallen... you were the only one who might have had the heart to change things. The last one I could come to now... do you... understand where I'm going?" "..." It troubled her to admit it, but, she had ever since the woman had touched upon the treachery of the founder. Still, it took no shortage of willpower to finally make the words leave her lips, as she sighed at the grim conclusion. "I'm afraid I do..." "House Albus has to be destroyed, along with everyone in it, is that it? Kill them all and put an end to whatever threat they posed and you warned my father of..." "Well... yes, and no. It... brings me no pleasure to have to advocate the fate of death. Killing all of them... I think that would be rather uncalled for at best, and a gratuitously cruel punishment at worst. You could likely talk reason into your sisters, if you tried hard enough, turn them away from the path that Julius set all his other descendants on... well, most of them you probably could. Your mother and Regis though... I don't think there's any real way to avoid a bloody conflict there. Both of them are far too indoctrinated in the service of the Church Masters to realistically be broken out of it. Ironically though, Ramza may have already set into motion what could well lead to Lucretia's downfall. Regis however... he remains an issue, regardless of the outcome of that. A very big issue... one that as you are now, you lack the power to even hope to survive. It would be like an Ant trying to overcome a Lion...but if you truly wish to put things to rights Cadence, truly stand by what you've already realized about the family name, then... you must develop that strength to defeat a living legend." "Then... my sisters, they don't have to... yeah, yeah, I think... I could agree to that... Mother and...Regis though," She thought about it, just for a moment. what had she meant that her mother's downfall could already be in the works? Even more, was it even possible for her to ever hope to defeat Grandfather in single combat? Hells, she and her sisters had known the man literally all their lives, and not once during that time had any of them really seen him give a demonstration of his full might... but the portions he had shown had been utterly frightening regardless. "I...." Even now, her father's words echoed through her mind. Taking a breath, she braced herself. It was... as he said she supposed. "This power you speak of..." "Can it be taught?" "Not by an Albus, no. Luckily though, I am no Albus. Come, we've much to discuss...and you've much to learn."

The flock continued flying overhead, apparently unnoticed despite their nature. Not that it bothered Cadence much, if no one noticed, that meant no one would come asking questions, and if no one came with questions, she'd not have to break out of the trance. It truly was amazing, being able to see things from a bird's eye view, even now she could've spotted the captain kicking the everloving shit out of the rogue, and Karik and the wyvern rider from earlier chatting. Definitely, it would prove a useful skill to have in the future, if she could refine it even more... Just as she was about to end the exercise however, there came the clapping of idle hands, not but a few feet away. Cade's eyes snapped open immediately, yet found nothing and no one to explain it. Only the even laugh of a woman's voice as she got to her feet. "Who's there? show yourself!" she demanded. Only then did she feel the presence that had taken over the area- choking, crushing... much like the one she had felt earlier as Rayne worked on the coat. The one that had silenced the Anima for her... The laughter only continued though. Holding her hand out, a strong gale blew in from the sea, picking up the Rapier from the floor and firmly planting it in the girl's hand, and in an instant, she held it at the ready, still scanning the area. The anima chattered nervously all the while- all the more sign to Cadence that something was wrong. "I'm not going to ask again!" "Now now, child, no need to be so... hasty," the laughter died, as the voice finally spoke from behind her. A chill ran down Cade's back, as she turned around yet found nothing there "Ah, youth. Ever so talented, ever so headstrong, why you almost remind me of myself, at that age. I've been watching you for a very long while, you see, ever since you first began speaking to spirits, I knew there was something special about you..." "Who are you?" The rapier was still at the ready, despite the fact she had no physical target or even knew where the words were coming from. "A friend, my dear," the voice resonated with an almost honeyed quality, as Cadence found her arm lowering the blade of it's own accord, "relax now, there's no need for all the hostility- I just felt it time I finally said hello is all. It's only right, considering how long I've looked on from afar. From the moment you were born to the moment you watched your own father fall, I've seen it all. I understand how you must feel. All the anger, the grief, fear, I can see it in you. But unlike so many others, you also understand power- you don't let them overtake you, instead you've been using them as your strength... your focusing medium. Impressive, I must say, not even most mages would be able to so deftly control spirits without anything whatsoever to help, and yet..." "Yet what? And you never answered my question- I want a name...and I want to know what you are. How've you been watching me as long as you claim, unless..." "Indeed young Cadence. It's easy to be a fly on the wall, when you've got all eternity to sit back and watch. And of course, what poor manners. I suppose I do owe you an introduction- My name is Mara. Mara Sidow. Believe it or not, we may share more in common than you think. They never told you the family history did they? Who founded the house, when they did, how everything began? Gah, typical, not one of them appreciates their roots apparently, such a shame..." The anima were going absolutely wild in trepidation at the woman's prescence, yet with her honeyed tones and what she'd said thus far, Cadence could not help but find her curiosity beginning to take over... just what did she mean 'family history'? "N-no... I never heard much about who started things, growing up... why?" "Oh my dear child, you've so much to learn then. I think you'll understand soon though... now, where to begin. Hmmmm..."

"In all things, there is a small well..." With nothing better to do and no interest in poisoning herself partaking of the wine, Cadence had retired to her usual place on the ship's back deck, sword, knives and all laid out beside her as she sat cross-legged. She practiced the breath technique her father had taught her so many years ago, eyes closed in meditation as the Anima whispered sweet nothings all the while, filling the air with strange tongues and babbling only a mage- or someone like herself who'd been hearing it for as long as she could remember -could really decipher. Already, a small gout of embers spiraled in the air before her face, quickly forming into a humming bird not at all unlike the one's she'd shown Myrdwyn earlier. Just like it's brothers, it's heat was a slow, gentle pulsation as it hovered in the air, forbidden from burning anything but what she explicitly commanded it to. It landed on her hand with all the same sound a noise a normal bird would make. With her mind focused and the sensory imagery clearing, she cast the tiny construct up into the air where it took flight out over the sea. And on her command, what had been but a single humming bird bloomed forth into a fiery plume of light and warmth just as it passed over the waters beyond the front deck, visible to all those standing there as it swooped by, a swarm of swallows conjured out of the flames, each roughly twice the size as the humming birds had been. They dipped down towards the water's surface, just as they passed by where Helena stood on deck and casting a thin stream of mist and steam as their solid wings kissed upon the ocean waves, quickly pulling back up again to circle around once more. Slowly but surely, Cadence felt her way through the flight. In earlier sessions, she'd had to do it all at night- which while it made the constructs far easier to track with her own eyes... made it far harder to see out of theirs as if they were her own, given their inherent back-lighting, much like the blinding one might experience while staring directly at a flame after dusk- everything around was illuminated, but everything beyond left black as sin. With the sun to provide light however, Intuition was no longer the only viable option to control them with, and so it was that tentatively, the Girl chose a single construct at the head of it's small flock to serve as her eyes, gazing out onto the ocean with orbs of fire. All the while, she ensured that they took power from where it was greatest within her- the energy of emotion rather than physical stamina... all the anger she had felt, all the fear, the grief from only a few weeks ago, she'd held onto them, not just for the sake of not forgetting what had occurred, but as fuel. Fuel for herself, fuel for the anima... and as she continued to explore the depths of the maelstrom of conflicting feelings, it only served to sustain the spirits that much further, as they continued their flight- so tightly disciplined and coordinated one might've thought they'd been trained for warfare if they had been real animals...

"Uh huh..." Cadence sighed. Already she was tired of hearing about 'love'. People being more 'Delicate' didn't seem to at all be the answer to morons and manchilds like that baron wandrought up on the hill, from what she'd seen. Cadence herself didn't know what exactly the answer was, but just hoping that everyone would learn to 'play nice', and not slit each other's throat over something as trivial as a loaF of bread, was a fool's dream at best. And that was being generous. I was totally wrong, she's nothing like Meeyla... just plain naive is what she is- the Royal Guard isn't exactly the sensible place for someone who's main concern is trying to be 'delicate' or finding Romance or any of that crap...nothing delicate about cutting men in half with anima magic, and nothing romantic about constantly having to deal with wandroughts who either too insane or too stupid to realize they've lost... "Why'd you join the guard, if you don't mind me asking?" the question was rather sudden, considering her stretch of silence up till then, "Was it your own decision, or were you just assigned to help out by the church?"

Cadence had simply stood aside and snickered at most of the conversation, as the priestess had berated the rider. Things only got a bit funnier when she'd begun mercilessly bopping with her staff- not that Myrdwyn seemed to be bothered by it at all, with that heavy armor. Things quickly began to lose their jovial air once the matters of docility and the alleged place of a woman was touched on though. Soon enough the girl found any amusement she'd reaped from the spectacle washed away... "Delicate? Attract a Prince? Geez, what era is these? Please don't tell me you're one of the ones who buys into all that Romanticized Chivalry crap. I came from an entire bloodline of women who spent their lives leading men and killing heretics and anyone else who felt like actively antagonizing the church. If the Goddess actually wanted some arbitrary division where men ran the show and women were simply delicate little flowers to be put on pedestals, she sure as hell didn't stop any of my ancestors from defying that will, if anything she seemed to actually support it, given how long we've been around..." She stopped for a moment, considering what she had just said. It took her by surprise, how much fire she had felt as the words had left her mouth. The pride that had been in her heart. There were things about her house and what had, over the centuries, become the blind force of arms they provided an establishment made up of the desires of mortal men first and the will of the goddess second, if at all, she could not agree with. Yet despite how she'd sworn to disown them, here she was, still owning the name with her very heart. "Shit..." she sighed under her breath. "I guess even if I do hate her so damn much... just casting everything that happens to be related aside... isn't that easy after all." "Doesn't matter though, my point still stands: that type of submissive thinking only ever existed to serve the ends of chauvinistic men, men who so grossly feared the idea that a woman could ever possibly rival, or even best, him in anything, that they tried their damndest to keep the opposite sex docile and dumb, easy to suppress. That type of crap didn't have a rightful place in the world when it was first conjured up, and I certainly don't think it has one now either."

Aurora With the portal having been completed, Aurora soon left the Orc to his own affairs once again after the castle took off. She returned to the Servant Hall, young Snake accompanying her as before. Seeing as they seemed to be the first, and only, two in the space, the Spider receded to her nest up in the rafters of the Entry hall. Her eyes slowly begin to fade to silver yet again as she lays her head down upon a tight bundle of silk, Snake coiling up beside her as she begins to drift off...

Ghost Ghost had remained in her room, slumber undisturbed even as the massive rumble of the engine's ignition sequence rumbled the castle. Her body lay sprawled unceremoniously atop a surprisingly clean and white mattress, supported by a bed frame that didn't look too worse for wear either. Tama Vajra simply hovered around the space idly, a tiny orb of static electricity and storm clouds that shed a violet glow on anything it approached. His motions were more out of the sake of pacing than trying to keep an active watch though, preoccupied with various matters of both past and present.

"Constructs of.... cloth? Fully-woven Cloth, not strings or...?" She idly pulled a few strings from her wrist as she asked the question. One of them gleamed particularly bright under the light, a fine edge highlighted by the blaze of the forge, could've easily torn a jugular or other major artery apart with a mere sweep of her hands. "Hmmmm... cutting men apart with Strands of Silk, I can understand- I think I've even done it before, infact... but... an entire cloth? What, did she attempt to smother him, or perhaps rolled it up to form some type of makeshift a noose?" She stopped and paused for a moment "Though I suppose with a great enough amount, one could crush another to death... but creating enough to do that... well it seems silly, much easier to just cut them up with strings and be done with it...but without magic? What world do you hail from, Orc?"

Smithy "So... do you think it will work as described?" The spider asked idly, with the old green giant examining things like his life depended on it "or rather, I guess the better question is, do you think you can put it together with what's on hand? I'm not really one for... tinkering with things and all. Only so far I could probably get on my own."

"Hang on.... aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand...come on..." The readings on her google were beginning to flash brighter and brighter. Her hands worked faster and faster, but she knew that there wasn't much longer. Damn if it didn't irk her to leave something so damaged when she had the full capabilities to fix it, though. Still, she sighed as the heat began to noticeably increase in the area, even moreso than Wrath's virtual hellscape already produced. Hell, if she hadn't been cut up and poked and prodded so much already and exposed to... god knows how much shit, she probably would've been feeling A lot fucking more than just a bit of discomfort at that moment. Not that she had much worry of dying or suffering actual injury, with her Mech still active, but... "Shit. Alright, fine, do what ya gotta do. You just remember to come see me later though, a'ight?" And with that, the Floating Mech vanished with a flash of violet light and instantly, was right beside Hiroki, floating out of range at a decent clip, the young woman and her tools now gone from the face of the battle field as if they'd never been there to begin with.

Entry Hall With her new serpentine companion in tow, Aurora had returned to the Entry Hall before long. The little bugger had moved from her arm to settling just around her collar bone, like a scarf almost... a petrified, fiery scarf that smelled reminiscent to the soil of a forest floor, that is. She didn't really stop him though- not like he could choke her. It was a lot harder to strangle or Garrote something when it's neck was protected by a hard Carapace, after all. "Hmmm.... I suppose you need a name now, don't you?" the Spider has said idly as they entered the hall, hidden in the rafters above, "Hmph. I don't recall any good names for a serpent, off the top of my head... especially not one like you. Hmm, just calling Snake if a bit too basic for my tastes; a name should mean something afterall, but the one thing you can identify with, even when everything else is gone..." yes, yes, quite. She knew well enough of having only a name- the less refined side of her did, at least. Much to her surprise though, the construct immediately perks his head up at the word "Snake", flicking his fiery little tongue about eagerly. "Oh, what? You actually want Snake as your name? You sure, don't want to find something else or give it some more thought?" The serpent shook his head adamantly, hissing with confidence. Something about it... just felt right. Like a glove that fit perfectly... "Alright then...Snake it is, I guess..." Pride. The Serpent practically exuded it as he spread his hood outward in satisfaction. Just as he did however, something gleaming a deep and brilliant yellow in one of the darker corners of the room, a flash of amber visible with each glitter of crystal. Aurora followed his eyes, already knowing what had peaked his interest "ah, that thing... yes, the beast noticed it several times before, but well, she didn't quite have the aptitude to mess with it very much. Ignored it mostly, since it seemed to do nothing. Though... perhaps..." The goddess descended from the ceiling without a single sound as eight legs met the hardened stone below, spread perfectly to distribute her impact. She skittered closer to the machine, eyes seeing just what it was for the first time. That archway, the crystals, this strange box attached to it. She'd seen the archway shape before at least, a couple human sorcerers once thought it was a good idea to build a giant one out in the woods, long long ago. The thing was nothing but moss covered ruins when they'd found it and camped there for the night, but... Ajax had mentioned something about it, while they were there. Some... functionality as a doorway between planes, probably to let through Primal Spirits the builders sought to imprison... he'd had a bit of skepticism as to whether it had worked though, given obviously it had been abandoned at some point. Still, as she examined the strange device now, she could not help but be reminded of the Squid's words. Snake meanwhile, noticed something peculiar, and took it upon himself to reach out his tail and slap something on the strange box attached to it, making the whole thing shudder for a moment before a tiny square flared to life with light before Aurora. Ironically, whether by coincidence or intentional design, it was written in a tongue very similar to Common- she could read it with little difficulty aside from a few foreign sounding words and phrases, at least. "It all makes sense...." she muttered to herself "Portals... to get to and from places this keep has already travelled without wasting the time on an actual return trip... fascinating, Ajax would probably give the world to give this thing a good once over." Snake hissed in agreement, before slapping his slender tail on yet another key. A different filled the screen now, some sort of... diagram? hmmm... Durable Materials... that obviously meant things that would withstand the elements well, they probably had ample stone and scrap metal somewhere onboard. Power Source, she was a bit iffy on the exact specifity, but perhaps it meant something like an artefact that could give off it's own energy, or perhaps a spell or enchantment? Mechanical Parts though... nothing came to her mind though, honestly. Perhaps if she weren't a mere shell of her former lay knowledge, or if Ajax might've been able to shed light, but... well she'd already come to accept the fact that for whatever reason, alot of her memory was gone, and the Squid was not by her side in this strange odyssey. Snake pressed another key though, and wallah, a second diagram appeared, a rough sketch of small metal disks with rectangular teeth sticking out of their sides, levels and pulleys... almost immediately, something clicked in Aurora's mind, as if a layer of dust and fog had been lifted "Oooooooh, those... well they look very similar to the devices used to operate the gates and some of the doors in Dour, hmmmm... yes, I suppose a fortress like this would have some lying around too... Alright, I'm more than Curious now, come... let's see if this thing really works. And if we can find the Orc while we're at it, he can probably decipher the plans better than I..." Aurora and Snake head to the Smithy and takes enough Durable Materials, potential Power Sources, and Mechanical Parts out of the Communal Inventory to sufficiently Create one Relay Portal according to the Blueprints. They then go and Find Mar to tell him of their discovery in the Entrance Hall.

"What the hell is an Abadon?!" Tesla didn't bother waiting for an answer before gliding off towards the other Mech on the battlefield. As she drew closer though, the mechanic did what to many would've been the unthinkable- a hiss of steam and vapor poured out of her own rig as the chest slowly opened and the pilot inside lept out behind the Hellfire Knight, fiddling with the strange, spherical device around her neck as a few tools materialized in her hands. "I'm gonna need ya to stay still for a minute, alright, I'll try and make this quick-" and with that she went to work, the goggles on her head sliding down over her eyes and beginning to burn with violet light as she examined the readouts. Her own mech stood just a few meters away, silent and humming as it hung in the air- perhaps Hiroki would have recognized a similiar situation wherein someone had ejected from their mech in the middle of combat? Albeit... not to help her as the mechanic clearly was trying to... Tesla uses Elbow Grease on Hiroki!

"Heh..." Cadence couldn't help but laugh a little at the question...that had been a rather... interesting bit of shouting she'd heard earlier "I don't know what to tell ya. Emilee... she's not really my type, I don't think- so my eyes haven't really bothered drifting down there much. Who knows though, I've seen a lot of stuff out of healers and clergy; holy magic can do some weird things sometimes. Maybe she really does sparkle in a certain light..."

"Heh... yeah, actually" Rayne breifly flashed through her mind as she answered, but more so the various flyers she'd seen all too often back home. In all honesty, odd as the Airheads armor had looked to Cadence at first, it was nothing compared to whatever the hell passed for it with those lot "The holy guard's got a bunch of them, all wearing breastplates with these... ridiculous frilled-skirts and stuff, some of em even where blouses underneath, with these high rimed boots and all, I think. hehehe, my sis used to make fun of em all the time, after she'd been asked whether she'd be using an Elysian Whip- said she wouldn't be caught dead in that stuff no matter how great flying apparently was...eh Then she... also kinda threatened to take that Crossbow of hers and shoot them all out of the sky if they... dared to ever ask her again. The conversation got a bit dark after that, but it had been really funny up till that point...anyway, I know what exactly you mean."

"So you are a bit of veteran then. How long have you been with the guard, and uh..." she gazed back up the slope of the shoreline and towards the manor across the lake, the faint shape of a draconic being still visible "how'd you meet that wyvern anyway? He seems alot calmer than what I've heard they're like."

Tesla Tesla stayed quiet, as the others started piping up impatiently. In all honesty, this place felt... off to her, somehow. Almost like there was something there- it was a difficult sensation for her to process, but oddly enough it felt a little similar to whenever she sensed electricity nearby, but yet not quite the same- whatever it was it seemed to just elude her deduction. She mostly shrugged it off though, as she complied with Tobias' breathing exercise- he had told her and David he had a plan afterall, and if he was really as smart as all the grown ups said he was, well... she guessed this was just part of it. It wouldn't do any good to try explaining anything complex when everyone was on edge and fidgeting, after all.

"uh huh..." The humming bird landed on the finger and began eying the Rider up and down. The construct was about as solid as it looked- like that of the real thing. It's heat however would've registered as nothing but a slight warmth to it's beholder. It was a bit odd, imagining the Wyvern rider as a mage. A drunk, rough and tumble mage more likely to challenge the enemy to a fist fight than a duel of spirits... "I guess we're on opposite sides of the coin then. I never really liked fighting up close, using that thing to stick people" she nods her head over to the Steel Rapier, propped against the nearby rock "too personal for me; never really got how some people romanticize it so much, or think it's somehow honorable- I just don't see what's to admire about hacking someone's limbs off or stabbing or slicing them up with a peice of sharpened metal like a-" stopping to consider the company she was currently in, she kindly refrained from mentioning the word 'savage'. "...anyway. I'd rather just settle it from a distance. Leaves you less vulnerable, leaves less blood on your clothes, and you don't have to constantly stare the poor bastard you're killing in the eyes that way either. Hell, if I had a choice, I just would throw that rapier over there and all the other ones I've got with me into the lake... but the damn peices of trash are the only way I have to defend myself with now-" one of the birds, specifically the one not on Myrdwyn's finger, but hovering near the rock, let out an ornery chirp of disdain, as a strange whispering filled the air. Not but a moment later, the heat and light emanating from the construct grew tenfold before it finally collapsed in on itself and flew away from the two women, detonating near the water with an audible boom. Mist and ash sprayed from the shoreline, a good part of the sand now turned into a glossy layer of glass. Cadence sighed, though from the look in her eyes, it seemed she was rather used to the these types of antics. "Alright, fine, not the only way I have, cheeky bastards..." To this, the whispering again filled the air, this time far more humored, as yet another humming bird formed in the same place where the previous one had died, flitting over and landing on the girl's head, where it promptly nested. "but...it's still the easiest one. Yeah, I might have talent and all, but... the fucking sword's been drilled into me. When someone comes running, my gut reaction isn't to call on the Anima most times, it's to raise my rapier and get ready to evade and counter; it's basically pure reflex at this point. Using the spirits though, that takes an actual bit of concentration, and since I can't really use tomes, they take their energy from me instead, which... isn't so bad anymore, if I'm careful with it. Thing is though: stuff in battle happens fast, real fast, most of time I don't usually have a good enough window to get my focus together. And if I screw up, they'll leave me feeling like shit afterwards. And... as you just saw, they can be rather...infuriating at times. there are things these cheeky little bastards have done that make me wanna skin them sometimes... eh, but that's enough about me." "How'd you join up with the guard, if you don't mind me asking? They sent you out alone to come find us, afterall, so you've gotta have a lot of experience, or... just pissed off the wrong Commanding Officer, right?"

"Oh, so... you saw that too then..." Cadence sighed, getting up. Excellent, fucking excellent, and just when she was thinking she might be able to live the Anima's treachery down, "uh, anyway... I...don't really how to answer. Most of my time back home was spent training, every single day. Haven't really had the option to just do something for the hell of it since I was a little kid...though there is Anima I guess-" at the mention of the spirits, she held up a hand, palm open as a small flame burst into existence, self sustaining as it hovered in the air. It proceeded to spiral upwards for a foot or two before condensing itself down into solid form, molding and morphing in accordance with the girl's will. Before long, there in her hand hovered a humming bird, tiny wings beating in a blur and cocking it's head in interest as it zipped around the two of them. "-I've had the spirits talking to me since I was a little kid, my father always told me I had a lot of talent. Never got to really train me though, they wouldn't let him, so... making me pick up a fucking sword instead, bunch of goddess damned fucks- er..." she shook her head at the remark, as if to push the thought away "eh, nevermind... anyway, I guess that's what I do for fun. Just feel it out, experiment and see what I can figure out." she snapped her hands as she finished the remark, and the humming bird split apart down the middle before the air blazed with yet more fire, going from one to two birds just like that. They continued to frit about Myrdwyn with nigh animal-like curiosity, their heat surprisingly gentle and comforting, compared to the raw power and ferocity of typical fire.

"I've... never really drank before. Like, ever." she gazed back down at the bottle, before passing it back to the wyvern rider, "People in my family and alcohol don't tend to mix well- and I mean that quite literally. Once, when one of my sisters came of age, she decided to ignore all the warnings our parents gave her and took a few swigs of wine. She was sick to her stomach not long after that, and stayed that way for a good day or two. So... Sorry if it offends you. I just don't think it's a good idea for me."

"I-I..." The girl paused. Perhaps... the rider had a point, in the end. As much as she detested the stupidity of all these conflicts, technically she... had kinda signed up for it, albeit while not exactly in the most rational of states. Just another reason to question if her judgement was at all sound, in hindsight. She eyed the smuggled rum a bit hesitantly, not exactly looking eager to partake of the stuff, and sat down a nearby rock overlooking the lake and the body of the troubadour in the distance- even from here, the gaping hole in the woman's chest was still painfully noticeable. "Fine," she sighed "maybe you're right, though I wasn't exactly... in any condition to think straight when I got this whole idea into my head, joining the guard and all. Could barely even move without it hurting like hell or think about anything other than getting as far away as I could. That old crone knew, she tried to stop me, but I didn't listen to reason... all I wanted was a way out. So I guess you have a valid point there: I did make this choice... and now, I'm just gonna have to live with it's consequences. That's the price of freedom, afterall...having to live with whatever you do with it. I gotta admit though, even with all of this crap that's happened, I guess this is still alot better than most of the alternatives. Hells, I could've just ended up a corpse myself, if things had gone just a bit differently back home... and even after I got away, not like I had any money to live off or really knew how the hell to do anything other than fight with a sword. who knows, if it wasn't for the guard, I guess I might've ended up on the wrong side of the law like these Mercenaries here... and still wound up dead or worse in the end, like the rest of them. So maybe I should just count my blessings here and shut up about it..."

"Taking care of loose ends." was all the fencer answered with. "Or just finding more and more wherever I look, I guess. There are some things I want answers for, like why the hell every god damn thug we cross paths with is either too damn insane or too damn stupid to realize when they've already lost. It can't just be the money, can it? For fuck's sake, what use is coin if you're can't even spend it cause you're dead? I mean, look at all of this-" she gestured around at the bodies littering the landscape with her Rapier in hand, blood still glistening on it's blade from the fight. "Why did this encounter happen in the first place? All because some fuckwad of a baron couldn't accept a bit of rejection, that's why. And All these idiots pretty much died for nothing in the end because of that, just threw their lives away. Just like everyone else we've fought...they pick battles for the pettiest reasons, when they have the chance to surrender and run away before we've killed them all, they ignore it and keep fighting, and by the time they do take it, most of them are corpses and it's too late for it to really matter. I don't know about you, but... I'm starting to notice a disturbing pattern here. Besides, the more time we waste with petty fights like this, the less we have to get to Kabumu... and Goddess knows what those damn Rogues and their guild are preparing over there..."

"Uuuummmm..." Aurora doesn't even bother asking, at this point. She could not help but look on in pity though, as the two of them had created that... that thing and brought it to life- or at least, whatever farce of a life it's current existence qualified as. No spider should ever have to be relegated to...sliding around like that, artificial or otherwise. And the thing stunk like hell too.... like someone had taken the stench that faintly lingered throughout the castle, condensed it into one place, and then amplified it ten fold. Or a thousand fold, as acute as her senses were- which for the first time, Aurora actually wished they weren't. As they left, she looked into the jar. The snake just eyed her, from deep in the bottom. Not really sure what to do, Aurora reached her hand in to try and grab it- and like that, the Serpent had actually sprang up and coiled itself around her arm, clinging on for dear life to the only avenue of escape available. Aurora tried to remove it, to no avail, the thing simply coiled harder, and if she applied her true strength, she had a hunch the thing would easily break apart from the stress. "What, are you that desperate to get out?" The snake briefly lifted it's head, looked at the glass jar with disdain, and nodded at her. It coiled even tighter around her arm in urgency, as if afraid the receptical would leap up and swallow it whole again... or that she'd toss it back in herself. "Fiiiiine... since you won't let go either way, I might as well take you..." and with that, the goddess herself left the room, new snake bracelet in tow...

Good, good, it had all gone according to plan, the first time no less. It felt nice, that something actually did that for once. The shit-eating Baron was dead, his men scattered to the winds and his fancy ass lance... actually come to think of it, Cade couldn't actually... spot his lance, anywhere near his body. Perhaps it had broken when Rayne had struck him down? Who knew, who cared, she was just glad the mess with over. "Good riddance, Asshole... I hope it was worth it to you, what you tried to do here," and with that send off, she turned and walked away from the body. She saw little point in regrouping at the Manor however- she'd spent her whole life walking marbled halls and looking up at stained glass and holy icons, silk and canvas banners waving in the breeze. Setting foot in their household would've probably just reminded her of what she didn't care to recall. Just like that Troubadour... her body having floated along the lake's currents and nestled along the shore now. Cadence nudged her over to her back with her foot, and was not surprised by the last, frozen expression on the woman's face. Surprise, terror, uncertainty... pain. Even now, so close to the victim of the deed, the mark on her chest faintly burned with the wrath of holy recompense. So... the old family legend hadn't been just a fable at all. The mark of the Lamb, the mark of a Holy Warrior come to purge the world of it's sins and protect the faith at all costs... to think she'd forgotten all about the more... physical manifestation of the Chains of the Divine. Ironic though, that it had only up now, when she'd had to face a supposed Sister of the cloth who had clearly thrown her hat in with a cause that, many back home would probably have agreed, was not at all right or just... Just went to show how little anyone cares when there's enough money involved, even the Clergy. She briefly considered reaching down to close the woman's terror-stricken eyes, but after a moment or two- she had to ask herself: was it really worth the effort? Would this bitch have done the same for her, or any of her fellow guardsmen, if the tables had been flipped in this engagement? She doubted it. And so she left the body be, and walked away.