[IC] Lightgivers - Volume 1: A Feeling

[Sutoratosu]

"n-nani?" again, she found herself stuck in disbelief at the boy's words, averting her eyes. Worried...worried? What, did he fucking take sympathy on her? She neither wanted nor needed that bullshit; if the she and Braith could not carve out their own destinies with the dancing radiance of flames, then they'd just die trying like the scrappy mutts they were. That was the only way out of the mess that was their current life; they weren't simply going to be handed the solution to all their issues because some sap felt sorry for them. Hell, in fact, the only thing she fucking wanted right now was to tear Roy a new asshole and ensure he'd know his damn place from now on, sympathy wouldn't get that done-

"Would you stop thinking about the damn windcaller for a minute? We can deal with him in due time....gods, I already you not everyone is our enemy anymore...it's actually possible for some people to mean what they say."

"Fine..." she sighed, finally returning her gaze to the oaf, still glaring a bit. he could've noticed just the slightest tints of red on her cheeks though, more out of her previous exasperation than anything else.

"Yeah, I'm angry..." she said, voice softening despite those words... though her tone was still obviously very much miffed. "If Braith hadn't stopped me when he did, I'd be screwed, you lug... ya could've damn near killed me with that little stunt just now," the statement wasn't entirely accurate, chances were even if she hadn't stopped in time the Flame would've taken direct control himself to minimize the damage. But still, it got her most pressing sentiment on the situation across. She turned and glanced at the Northern boy briefly "And then there's that cunt Windcaller with the sword... he's the most infuriating bastard out of anyone I've seen here. But look, why the hell does it matter one way or another what I feel? I told you already, I'm always fucking angry... breaking a wall down over it all of a sudden, is like freaking out just because the sun is shining. Seriously, they're going to have your damn head this...and maybe mine too, with my damn luck."

[M_Cowher]

Damon

Damon had begun to ignore the incessant fighting between Damon and Rame and had zoned out, lost in his own thoughts. 'I still have to wonder why I was given Lumen over so many others, and why though? And what kind of sick bastard would' "Holy shit!" Damon exclaimed as he heard thundering crash as the wall less than 10 feet away from his was part of the wall exploded, sending debris flying. Damon recoiled and instinctively drew his longsword from his back and sparked a small but extremely hot blue flame in the palm of his left hand.

His tension quickly faded as he recognized the guy who bursted through the wall as another of the new recruits. He didn't sheath his sword until Felis responded to Rame's outburst, sounding a mixture of genuinely sorry and confused at the same time. 'Seven hells, these people can't go five minutes without breaking something or someone.' Deciding that it would be in his best interests to move on Damon walked around and approached the two Coerators from the side of the room that didn't have a new entrance.

'Oh hell.' Damon thought as he clenched the wrappings around his fist to keep his composure as he addressed the living legends. "If you don't mind me asking, I have a question about how Lumen works that I have been wondering about for some time." He said, addressing both of the Coerators, who were still understandably occupied by the events following the new renovations to the auditorium. Damon probably knew more about Lumen and it's properties than most people, but his knowledge didn't stretch much farther than what was considered common knowledge.

Edited November 22, 2016 by M_Cowher

[Swampellow]

Os had stayed seated throughout the presentation of the Coerators and the exchanges that had followed with his fellow students, partially due to him being somewhat stunned by their presence and also because he didn't have any pressing questions or concerns for now. He had watched the exchanges between the students speaking to each other with varying tones, as well as the demonstrations by the Coerators, but immediately jumped up from his seat in alarm when a sudden hole appeared in the wall: interrupting his train of thought. If he had had any questions starting to form, he had now forgotten them. Instead he looked around now, to see how everyone else was reacting to this quick shift in atmosphere.

[Ragnar]

Roy

Roy sits there, minding his own business when suddenly the walls came crashing down from the other side of the auditorium. "What now?" Roy remains seated and diverts his attention, looking the back of his shoulders with a curious look on his face from the sudden blast, seemingly unfazed by it. There was this clumsy boy who appears to broke down the walls with his own brute strength. It's either the walls here are made of cheap paper or that kid has demonstrated what his lumen can do and went through it like it was nothing.

"Idiot" Roy muttered as he saw the boy's display. The boy raised a brow as he takes glances at Rame looking at him while helping the oaf out. Why am I not surprise that you befriend with this fool, You two deserve each other. Roy thought to himself with a smug look on his face and turns his attention to the stage once more, paying no attention to the incident.

Roy sits there like a smug guy that he is and raised a brow as Damon personally asks the Coerators a question on stage.

[Chevaleresse]

Haruki tilted his head at the display. He'd been interested in Aqui's control over his own Lumen - of course he would have a lot of control, he'd literally been doing it longer than everyone else) - but now this guy thought he was uh, what was that one mascot guy called? It didn't matter, but it was really silly nonetheless. The androgynous boy nonchalantly raised a hand, largely ignoring the nonsense going on in front of him. "Um, Aqui, what are all the other Coreators up to right now, anyway? I was kinda hoping to meet a bunch of you guys because you're all cool but at the same time some of the stuff you do is kinda boring so I wanted to see for myself."

[rustytengo]

"They could of at least kept the cute instructor around, but i guess getting information straight from the big deals themselves is a decent trade off." Can thought to himself as the others where started to talk to the Coreators.

He listened and watched as even Rame start to ask questions, and held in a laugh as Roy asked like an idiot even Can would down talk a Corator...well unless he needed to for a reason. He almost hoped that Rame would burn Roy to a crisp.

"Well no surprise that Corators would have flashy powers. I know at least mine doesn't come from either of these two." He mused in his mind as the Orca showed of his power. He almost was going to ask something...well in tell the wall fell in as the boy with the greatsword came charging in.

"Well that's one way to make an entrance. Though i don't think the wall deserved it." He said as he dusted the bits of wall of his clothes not really caring if anyone heard him. He turned towards the two Coreators. "Y'all don't have anything for the mess I'd reckon now do ya." He said with a small laugh.

[Stalkerkain]

Felis scratched his head, as he received a lecture from Rame. He had immediately jumped to the worst conclusion, and assumed that Rame was going to lose control. He didn't regret his actions, however, as the situation could have escalated much quicker, especially with everyone gathered in such close proximity. "It does matter... what you feel. If you lose your... temper... the others could be... in danger," he said. Felis dusted himself off, clearing the excess debris off his garments. His eyes then shifted to the two on stage; the two entities that held an aura about them that deceived what they seemed to be truly capable of. As if distance were irrelevant, he stared straight at them, not letting his eyes off them. While still addressing Rame, he raised his hand, pointing to the Coerators.

"Who... are those... two?"

[Sutoratosu]

"Please, as if Braith will fucking let me do anything to them...he kept your ass from getting roasted just now, afterall..." she muttered, as the fool took his attention off her and put it towards the two demigods instead. "By the gods, he really is clueless as a rock..."

"Coreators, you damn lug..." she sighed at his question, crossing her arms. "Can't you feel them, if you somehow picked up me? The one with the dark hair is Marius, the other one is Aqui, savior of the north. You missed the introduction, not that the speech that woman gave was much of one...but apparently they've decided to help oversee the training. right now they're taking questions... and apparently we're free until noon or something- I didn't really care enough to listen that far."

"Well, beggars can't be choosers"

"OH shut up, I didn't fucking beg for this, you did..."

[anethia]

Aqui

He smiled at Haruki, nodding knowingly. "I'm not exactly sure. Us Coerators are free agents unless something truly seriously occurs. As it stands, I know as much as you do in regards to what they are doing. I merely pray it is good." Turning around to Damon, Aqui's smile faded, though he was still clearly at ease. Marius stood behind him, eyeing Damon suspiciously. Aqui shrugged it off. "And what do you want to know?" He asked in return, smiling, eyes drifting to the clock.

((Apologies for the short post! A bit overrun right now, there's a lot going on. :[))

[M_Cowher]

Damon

When Damon had first discovered his power he had wondered why he was chosen. Growing up he had always assumed that Coerators chose people at a young age, and their powers were only awakened later in their life. But why him? He was a nobody before his lumen. His lumen seemed to take everything away from him, but granted him so much. 'Is that the price of power?' He had often thought to himself. 'None of these others seemed to have lost everything. Some probably never had anything taken from them in their life before.' Aqui and Marius turned to face him.

"And what do you want to know?"

He normally wasn't this straight forward with any type of questions, but he knew that he probably wouldn't get any other chance. "How are lumen users chosen?" He awkwardly started. "Is it predetermined somehow? Or is there something else to it? From what I have been able to research, emotional trauma, stress, and probably a lot more that I don't know brings out the Lumen in people. Is the user chosen in that moment, or are they chosen a long time ago, if they are chosen at all." Damon said, keeping a rather cool voice after he got the ball rolling. 'I don't know if that came out exactly how I wanted it to, but I would rather not go into too much detail."

Edited November 27, 2016 by M_Cowher

[anethia]

Aqui

Aqui hesitated for a moment. He wasn't exactly sure of how to answer. "Every Coerator is different." He said simply. "It's up to them. They choose whomever they like. There's no... set process. It's just a case of who the Coerator decides is worth spending a little Lumen on." He said simply. In truth, that was all there was to it - he disliked how random the system was, It almost felt unfair. "Some people live their whole life never knowing they were given Lumen. It just... happens. It's like a stray spark from a fire. It catches onto other things and sets them ablaze. Coerators can give as much, or as little as they want to. To whomever they feel will put it to good use, or deserves it. People can be given Lumen as late as fifty and beyond." That was all Aqui himself could say, and Marius certainly had nothing to add.

Edited November 27, 2016 by Anethia

[Ragnar]

Roy

I fucking knew it, these lumen they give us is nothing but a fucking charity, a piece of bone thrown for the human race for their amusement. But why choose me? did Aqui gave me this lumen since she is the only coerators here associated with the wind? Pffftt.. it doesn't matter, all I know is whoever give me this gift choose wisely and they know i'm bound for greatness. Roy cockily smirk after hearing Aqui's answer to Damon, So much arrogance and ego inside the windcaller's body.

[M_Cowher]

Damon

'So there is a lot that even Coerators don't know, or choose not to share... It is pretty clear though that neither of these two were responsible for my powers.' Damon still had a lot of questions, but it was clear that neither of them could probably help him. "Thank you..." Damon started before pausing for a moment, 'Would it be impolite to refer to him by his name? Sir Aqui doesn't seem right though.' "Aqui." He finished, before backing away almost bowing before he turned, but decided that it was probably for the best that he didn't. 'The Coerators don't seem like they are ones to really care about formalities, and being superior to begin with. The almost seem humble.' He thought after he turned and walked out of the center of attention.

Aqui and Marius, although rather enigmatic seemed to have impressed Damon. They were quite different from how he has expected them to be. 'You seem to have recovered well.' He thought as he glanced at Roy as he passed him to return to his natural position against a wall. 'Hopefully this one won't collapse right next to me.' He thought, glancing over at the greatsword wielder still standing around near the breach he created in the wall. The greatsword always seemed an impractical weapon to Damon.

'Why lug around something that big, when a smaller weapon could be more effective in combat. Granted that I don't think smaller swords could smash through a wall, even though that was probably more due the his lumen than his weapon. Regardless it's still a slow weapon that anyone that knew what they were doing could probably dodge...' Damon though, sizing up the other swordsman. 'There is probably something more to his choice of weapon though... Lumen comes in many shapes and sizes.'

Edited November 29, 2016 by M_Cowher

[anethia]

Sylva

 

It was clear from the way she rushed out from wherever she had once been. Clear from the uneasy panic set in stone in her face. Clear from the looks on Aqui's face, from the sudden break in the stoic demeanor of Marius. It was clear that something was oh so terribly wrong.

 

"Everyone!" Sylva roared, her voice powerful enough to cast fear into the hearts of any who heard it. "Come! Follow Tempus." She demanded, pointing out. Locus was nowhere to be seen, though in truth, he was getting Lasia to safety, ordered by the vigilant Sylva. She ushered the recruits into the space behind the curtain, where Tempus was waiting to lead them through a simple underground tunnel, away from the camp. But of course, as luck would have it, they were too slow. Sylva had only noticed the incredible surge of Lumen when it was far too late; the two Coerators had been blinded. Whereas Sylva had been given time to sort out the Lumen of the recruits -- and had a much better idea of what was normal in this area! -- the Coerators had merely attributed the shift to all the new faces, and their own arrivals. Cocky bastards.

 

So, as the cruel grip of fate would have it, they were all too late to stop it when the world lit up in flames around them. A fiery red object smashed into the ground near them, with the force of a meteor. The grass and the trees aflame, the air thickening, Aqui and Marius nowhere to be seen. Sylva's face no longer hid the full extent of her fear. "HURRY!" She screamed at the recruits, praying somehow that Marius and Aqui could handle the beast -- and that none of the stupid, absolutely insane children decided to play the hero.

 

Li

 

The devil was plated in glistening golden scales, shining like the sun. Underneath her scales was skin black as the charred ground she walked on. Eyes shining a dangerous red, as dangerous as the flames that danced even now in her cruel mouth. A single pointed horn jutted out proudly from just above her nostrils, which were shooting out smoke. She was big enough to take up half the clearing. The force of her landing had created a crater, the fountain shattered, water disappearing the moment her hellfire touched it. A sweep of a giant claw smashed through what was once the dorms, a mighty tail lined with spikes sweeping through to hit anything that got in it's way. On all fours she stalked, walking directly up to those doors keeping her from winning the war.

 

And there were her old brothers! Aqui and Marius, standing proudly before her. It brought a sadistic laugh out of her, unlocked a side of her she never got to show. Destroying recruits and those pesky agents, and then these disgusting embarrassments? Perhaps life was finally being kind to her. In turn, she changed. Her body erupted in a mix of red, black and fire -- a blazing, towering inferno that shot into the sky and parted the clouds, sparks flying, fires starting. The dragon vanished. In her place was a single girl.

 

She looked frail enough; her skin was tattered, the golden, dragon scale armour looking too big for her (yet, in truth, being the perfect size). Hair black as the darkest skin, with those same, glowing red eyes that promised to bring the world to it's knees.

 

 

And she looked like someone who kept her word.

 

"This is it?" Li asked, voice tainted with ridicule. "I was hoping for a challenge!" She let out a dangerous, cruel cackle. And then she leaped. In the midst of her flight, a lance forged from the flames of hell itself conjured itself in her hands. She swept at Marius' legs, and when the man jumped, simply sent a jet of flames where he would land and grinned as it singed his skin. Keeping her momentum, she twirled and jabbed at Aqui, who narrowly dodged out the way. But in retaliation, she deftly added more flames to the spear, it's length increasing, and she stabbed forward again. He fell back, rolling unceremoniously onto the burning ground. Oh, it made her feel alive.

 

Marius came at her, as harmless as a flower in a gun. "And what will the Great Defender do without some water to splash me with?" She taunted, a savage grin lighting up her face. The flames morphed, turning into a single, small knife. She threw it. It soared through the air, with the Coerator dodging it effortlessly. But there was another one already in mid air, flying at him. And then another. Again! Too many to keep track of, and when she bored of going easy on the weakling, clicked her fingers and watched as the air itself ignited in flames, fashioned into deadly spikes. With a sweep of her hand, they fired at him, and she watched in satisfaction as--

 

She tumbled, landing hard. Aqui was on his feet again, and had clearly just blasted her with some wind. "Thank you for that. I was getting a bit hot." She jested, chuckling at her own jokes. Nobody else would. Marius was on his feet again, damn him. They descended on her like feral wolves. Oh, wow, this really was too easy. Her eyes flashed orange, and a single stream of flames appeared, following her finger like a ribbon. Then again, one for each hand. She viciously whipped at Aqui, smashing him through one of the few trees not ablaze. Marius, however, was not so lucky. The tendril of flames wrapped around his body, tightening like a vice around him before he was smashed into the dirt. "Just what was your plan?" She asked, both to herself, and to them. When she, predictably, got no answer, she turned on the final Coerator standing. Well, there was her. But was she really a Coerator? No! She had ascended. She had ascended into God-hood! And these traitors would fall to her, like everything else that ever came her way.

 

Swiping her hand upwards, she giggled. Crimson spears formed in the air around her, at least ten. She sent them flying at the falcon, and when he dodged them, she was already at his face. Gripping his neck tightly in her hand. Smirking, she threw him onto the ground, hard enough to send the rocks and dirt flying. The clouds were no longer able to be seen. The sky itself was crimson and black. Yet Li had never looked so comfortable, so at home. With not a single scratch on her elegant and yet toned body, she sent a brutal kick into Aqui's side, watching him writhe in pain. The only word that could describe this was slaughter. "How comfortable have you been, being able to destroy anything that came near you with a wave of your hand?" She teased. "How is it you can be so strong to any mortal, yet to the likes of me, nothing more than bugs? You've grown complacent. I will punish your failure as Coerators. This world needs you no longer!" Roaring, she lit her fist itself ablaze, the flames bothering her as much as a slight breeze, or the trickle of rain.

 

Rain. On her cheek. Rain. Not enough to douse her hellfire, yes, but rain. Li was far from stupid. Cracking her neck, then her knuckles, she turned to see the man standing once more. Blue aura around him. Standing as proud as she. Then in the next instant, not there. In front of Li, sending her flying. Wiping blood from her face, she laughed. A cold, cruel laugh. "Oh, finally." She mused aloud. "You're finally making this fun for me."

 

[Felicity]

Her breath was ragged, her face burned in the ashen air, her head rang with the furious impact. Her eyes though, Cindys eyes were drawn to the magnificent woman fighting the demigods she had just met. The rational part of her knew fear and the urge to flee but the rest of her was enraptured by the intensity of the woman, so fierce and vibrant. Cindys face was a portrait of idle confusion, mouth parted slightly and eyes slightly unfocused, only vaguely gazing at the coerator ahead of them. Her feet moved in tandem with the sheer desire, wanting to move closer regardless of the risk. she held out a hand absently to Li's back and all four of her phantom hands followed, mirroring the gesture but at a far faster speed, latching on to the woman's arms as though trying to get her attention. They were oblivious to the heat around her and shook her, bizarrely gentle in the furious combat.

[Noir]

Baixue

 

Aqui was before her.

 

The great Aqui, whom had safeguarded and nurtured her dreams ever since her childhood, the one being who halted the blizzard that plagued their homeland, was before her. And he was fighting, and he was in grave danger. Why did more strife have to happen? Why here? Why now?

 

It wasn't the falcon that she knew, but perhaps the gods were courteous beings, whom reduced themselves to the limitations of human form for ease of interaction. She did not doubt Haruki's words back then, and the visage of the very being she so admired even in that state was nothing short of beautiful. From frozen shock, adrenaline rushed up to all her limbs as they shivered in disbelief and euphoria. Salty liquid stung her eyes fighting against their resistance to leak out, accentuating the luminescence of her purple eyes. Before she knew it, she barged across every obstacle dividing the distance between the being and her. sidling herself near his right foot as she did so, wails escaped her choked throat and her teardrops stained the floor beneath her. Her devotion to Aqui was almost fanatical.

 

Without hesitation, she flew toward Aqui and positioned herself in a defensive gesture. It mattered not that she was acting irrationally, or almost insane;  nor did it mean anything to her that she was being rude, inconsiderate or unmannerly. Feeling the warmth as her skin caressed against the being she had always wanted to meet for so long, she didn't know she could have so many joyous tears to shed for a lifetime. Even as the battle ensued, Baixue had charged in recklessly, ignorant and unafraid of the danger that would ensue. It mattered not that there was a being greater; only Aqui meant that much to her and no one else more.

 

"STOP! Don't hurt him anymore!"

 

She then quickly turned to the injured Aqui and attempted in many fickle ways to address and tend to his injuries. "I've always wanted to meet you!" The Aquillo-native murmured between sobs, every limb quivering as she spoke, "You've given me my power that day, right? On the day of the aurora? You saved me and gave me my gift, right? You remember me, don't you? Mother and Grandmother would be thrilled to know that I've found you at last! What would they say, oh, what would they think...." Her trail of overwhelming and overjoyed monologue refused to cease, each word coming faster than the other....

Edited December 11, 2016 by Noir

[Swampellow]

Osiric

Os jumped when he first heard Sylva yell at them all, but his skin crawled with fear when she yelled at them to hurry. He was only a few steps from his seat before the meteor that was Li crashed into the courtyard, setting everything aflame. As it happened he could feel all the plants dying: their energies being drained by the fire that was burning them to a crisp. That sudden feeling frightened Os like hell. He had never felt this many plants die at once; he had drained one or two plants of their energy before, but this, this sent a shock through Os. He felt bile build up in the back of his throat right before he vomited. As he pulled himself back up he managed to get himself over to where Sylva was ushering them, into an escape tunnel from the looks of it. As he got over to the tunnel he turned around to see who was closest to him. As he looked back, ashes in his eyes, he caught a few glimpses of gold and then: Cindy. She was walking towards the fight between the Coerators.

 

His stomach dropped, sure he didn’t know anyone here very well yet, but he definitely didn’t want to see any of them get killed. “CINDY!” he screamed at her, hoping that she would be able to hear him and snap out of whatever it was she was doing.

Edited December 11, 2016 by Swampellow

[M_Cowher]

Damon

 

All hell seemed to break loose after Sylva's warning. The courtyard behind Damon seemed to erupt into a fiery hell hole as the ground shook. Damon cursed as the wall he was leaning on fell out behind him and nearly took him with it. Fire seemed to spread all around him, which really didn't concern him. As far as he knew fire could never hurt him. But doubts quickly began to form as he realized who that fire had belonged to. Sylva had made it rather clear that they should run, but Damon had never backed down from a fight. But this was a demigod... He wasn't particularly confident about his chances. His sword had instinctively flew into his hand as soon as he had regained his feet, and he started to back away from the fight a bit. 'Marius and Aqui seem rather out of their league...' he noted, watching the fight. 'Can we really just leave them though?' Damon thought hesitating to actually retreat. He looked to Sylva, then back to the fight, and the to Cindy... who seemed to be suicidal. 'What are you doing?!' Damon thought to himself, his distant honor preventing him from taking another step. Cindy's phantom hands reached out trying to grasp out at Li.

 

Damon couldn't stand there anymore. "What the hell are you doing?!" He roared as he rushed forward and pulled Cindy's shoulder back with his left hand. "Do you know who that is?" Action seemed to boost the swordsman's confidence and he no longer felt fear.

 

[Ragnar]

Roy

 

"Well, this first week of school has turn into a disaster, now this shit is on fire." Roy coughs uncontrollably, covering his mouth from the fumes from this sudden hellfire. 

 

"I don't know if I should be terrified or overwhelmed by the sudden appearance of this violent dragonic girl burning everything to the ground, but oh well, if someone wants to play the hero in this dire situation, be my guess, but I ain't sticking around to be one and just be another john doe in the history books slain by this Li the dragon." Roy snorted, watching the timid girl makes a stand along side with the cocreators, a slow clap for their bravery I supposed. He clenches his fist and simply runs towards the other students and Sylva.

 

As he paces further from the dragon girl's assault on the school grounds, His sword begins to tremble wildly as Roy takes a hold of his hilt, something tells him that he has full access to wind lumen at this moment and wants to protect his host in this impending danger. Roy swiftly withdraws his katana while running through the wildfire and divides the flames with a swift slash, releasing a strong air blast, clearing a path for him and went towards the underground tunnel alongside with the students.

 

Edited December 11, 2016 by Ragnar

[Sutoratosu]

Rame

"Black smoke, white smoke, gray smoke... it's all making sense now."

"You're fucking kidding me, right!?"

"Well, to be fair, It's not like this was what those things immediately made me assume..."

 

The two stood watching as the world went to hell all around them... well, rather, the one, given the other had no body of his own. The air, choked with toxic ash and smoke as it was, was nothing on her lungs, eyes cutting right through the dense fog of death like twin rubies shinning under the cloak of night. Every fiber of her being screamed to turn tail and escape while she still could, and she'd been damn well in the process of that... before the actual battle began. The water Coreator, she felt no obligation towards... the falcon on the other hand... 

       and then... oh yes, and then, there were idiotic little twats like the meek girl; she'd either A: Lost her fucking mind, B: was despite all rame had witnessed earlier, truly even more stupid than anyone in the camp to think it was a good idea to approach what was clearly an extreme threat, or C: all  of the above. In that moment however, the answer didn't truly matter to Rame. One way or another, that fool had been one of only two people who's presences she could actually tolerate here, and damn it if she was going to be cut short yet again

 

"Oh no that is just riiiiich..." The flame immediately rebuked in her mind, already turning her back around to keep running for the burning tree line "You think I'll let you jeopardize our survival? Who cares who you can and can't stand here, they're all going to be FUCKING DEAD SOON, GI-... eh?!"

     The child's willpower stood like an iron wall before the chained aspect of the beast, his sway having no power over her legs anymore. The memories of their faces flashed before her mind in a mere instant, Brandt's snarling green eyes and wolfish fury standing behind waves upon waves of iron sand and the stupid grin on Ingram's face as those worthless shits had their noses shattered like twigs and tossed into the snow to leave a trail of crimson as the got their sorry asses back up and fled. It was all she needed to take back control and turn back on her heels.

    "We don't burn those who don't deserve it-"

    "Don't even start that, incase you haven't noticed, I'm not active right now, that flaming bitch over yonder is!"

    "She and that lug are the only bearable ones we've found in this place! Are you telling me everything you said earlier was bullshit? What's even the point then, why bother discerning between deserving and undeserving if we let the ones we give a pass to just die regardless? What point is there in family or friends if you abandon each other the first chance you get!? Remember that you're the one who wants to see things burn! I'm just fucking tired of having nowhere to belong... It's always been that way, Braith... we're only in this together because both goals are mutually beneficial to the other! That's what you told me back then, that's what you always promised, you lying sack of shit!"

     "...So... it hasn't all been pointless, all the shit over all these years. You learned more than just what was on the surface... got the point thanks to those two... I was starting to lose hope with all the lingering hostility. But Good. Goooood...heheheheh...your brothers are even better than I give them credit for. But I'm still not letting you do this-"

     "Stop being such a cunt about it!"

     "I'm not lettin you do it alone, ya little fool! You think after what happened last time, you're anywhere near ready to take on a damn dragon? Ha!.... oh, that's a good one. But no. If you say the timid girl doesn't deserve it, and you truly are convinced of that judgement that no fires- whether or own or those of our foeman -should end her sorry life... then I guess we oughta do something to stop that, now shouldn't we? You have the flute still, don't you?"

      "I don't..." she patted heself down, feeling the instrument nowhere on her person any longer... "damn thing probably fell somewhere... but look just what the hell are you planning to do-"

      "If you lack the flute, then sing the song I taught you, oh so long ago... you know the one I speak of... and Don't stop, regardless what happens. I'll do the rest."

 

Was he being infuriatingly vexing? Yes, yes he was. Had he ever led her astray though, even now when she most thought he had?.... to be honest... no. Without questioning it much further, the girl prepared herself, lungs filling with the toxic air with as little toll as if it were the cleanest breeze.... And like clockwork, she felt it as she began. a single sclera bleeding blacker than ink as he set his foothold, the presence of every last ember, every last flame and furious conflagration of heat and light blooming all around them blinking into her mind like the countless pinpoints along the expanse of the night's sky. And so too as she felt them, so too did she feel their power beginning to draw inward towards her, as if attracted by some invisible force. Braith merely laughed, as the vision of the dragon woman still fighting the demigods flashed in her mind. And she understood.

      Though the fires were of the dragon's making, she seemed to bother exerting no control over them right now save for those immediately useful to her in battle. These... were no better than wild flames. Flames lacking purpose, a hand to guide them. A hand that Braith gladly provided as in one fell swoop, he reached out, further than Rame ever could've, ever would've without killing herself from the strain, and like that, drew in their vibrant force, one by one, taking no more than enough to make each flicker and wane briefly, but collectively still far more than enough to sustain his true self. 

      With all that he had conquered across the field bolstering the child's meager supply, the wolf wasted no time. Before her, the transmutation circle began to expand, fiery runes and lines of pure scarlet etching their way across the earth as she continued to sing, just as he had ordered. The Requiem of their first meeting...where it all began....

 

The song of the Great Wolf's Pact....the shepherding fire, Braith:

Spoiler

 

The screeches of the damned filled the air, the runic construct ever more complete as the first part of the hymn progressed, until at long last, there emerged the beast's massive maw from the circle, gnashing flames of solidified flame rolled so many times in upon itself that it had gained mass and force, shaking the very earth around Rame herself as he pulled the rest of his chosen form free; a savage lupine figure, easily the size of small war elephant of the days of old as with one savage roar that tore the air with the crackling hiss of fire incarnate itself, he charged towards the ensuing duel, leaving not but ruined and scorched earth in his wake, every step of his gait kicking up ever more ground, the rainfall seeming to have real effect on him as the girl kept up her end of the agreement. Water was the fear of lesser fire. So too were powerful gusts, and sand, for so long as the girl lived and gave him the power of her song, he'd burn wherever she damn well needed him to, regardless of the conditions. She was literally... all he ever needed.

       

The beast's original course was the girl gawking at the flame like an idiot, planning to split himself off into two and let one carry the little lackwit away while the other opened a window of opportunity for the demigods to strike. The swordsman pulling her back complicated things, true, but never so much as to even make the Hund pause, as he shifted his charge right for the golden armored being, sensing her power like the presence of a thousand suns. He knew already, there was likely little he could truly do to her, and she to him... but the two others would doubtless appreciate any chance at distracting her there was, and even besides, what mattered now was keeping her attention on all three of them and off those fleeing. 

 

The little twat who'd been gawking like a lobotomy patient included.

 

He opened his massive jaws, propelling himself forward with all several thousand pounds of that condensed form of flames into a lounging pounce, every fang lining his mouth like a long sword as he doth proclaimed in the old tongue, louder than a drop of resounding thunder, shock and awe

 

"INTERLOPER!"

 

[InnocentSerenity]

Karen & Alison

 

“Master Marcus, careful!” Alison ran to Karen’s side, focusing his eyes on the Coerator. Eyes closed, sigils began to emerge from Alison’s arm as a wooden rounded shield decorated with silver-colored bindings appeared. “You go along with the rest of the students. I’ll help out the students here.”
“Aw, why do you have to be so boring?”
“Is that a no to going with the rest?”
“Pretty much.”
“Well, can’t blame me for trying.”

 

Karen jumped backwards, reaching into her left sleeve. A pointless gesture considering all xe did was cast a sigil around xyr hand, summoning a sizeable book and swinging out xyr arm fast enough to make one believe the book somehow emerged from the sleeve. “I’ll stay behind everyone. Got more than enough meatshields if I need.”

 

“So, you’re Li, huh?” Karen yelled towards the Coerator. “Not exactly the human form I was expecting from a big scary dragon.” Karen had an arrogant smile as xe put xyr focus into finding an entry xe needed.

[krim]

Hassar

 

"What the hell?!" he thought, as the fire girl from before summoned some....thing. Was it a demon? He thought it might be, but the plainspeople refused to speak of them for fear of attracting their attention. It certainly looked demonic to him, and that didn't bode well, despite being a wolf. Not well at all. It was on his side for now though, and hell if he wasn't going to take advantage of it.

 

As the two giant beasts faced off, he dashed towards the woods closest to him and resigned himself to healing. His poisons would do no good under such extreme temperatures, and there wasn't enough water around for phytotelmata to be an option. His first goal was to get to Aqui...or bring him there. Running across the clearing himself wasn't an option. His tools were mostly useless, and he wasn't going to throw his life away to those monsters. Light armor didn't protect much against things that huge. Or flames, really. But it did help disguise him in the woods....

 

That left him to get the girls attention. The one who just so happened to be having a mental breakdown over the body of the corerator. Grabbing a short branch that hadn't been burned yet, he threw it as hard as he could at the girl, and guided it to the best of his abilities. He winced as the flames took the last life from it, but he thought it hit her. He hoped it did. All she had to do was look....and hopefully not die. 

 

[Stalkerkain]

The atmosphere erupted into a haze of smoke and flames; the sheer heat of everything making it a struggle to even breathe. For what it was worth, Felis stayed low, trying to avoid inhaling too much smoke. He sat down, overseeing the entrance of their escape route. "Ah... this is... the worst..." he said, his voice hoarse from the heat drying up his throat. He knew he had signed himself up for this, but... the actual realization of the danger they were in was terrifying. The entity out there was on par, if not greater than Marius and Aqui. From that alone, it was undoubtedly someone on the same level as a Coerator, if not one itself. The building had caught fire, threatening to completely collapse in on itself. A wooden beam directly above Felis had already crumbled, threatening to crush him and their only escape route.

 

Raising his greatsword above his head, he channeled his Lumen, giving him enough power to sweep the falling debris away with ease. For those who were brave enough to stall time for the others to escape, or foolish enough to believe that they could take on whatever was out there, Felis stood by, making sure that there was still an escape route waiting for them.

 

 

 

It was at moments like these, that Felis felt completely helpless. He knew a losing battle when he saw one. In all honesty, his instincts were telling him to flee as fast as he could; the other swordsman who escaped ahead had the right idea. He didn't know how the others were so brave, in that they could face off against a monster with a presence like that. His legs would've refused to move towards Li. He would not join the fight however, but so long as there were those who still planned on doing, he didn't plan on running away either. The flames of battle raged all around him, as he sat. Waiting.

 

"Come back... safely..."

Edited December 11, 2016 by Stalkerkain

[anethia]

Li

 

She looked at the girl. The foolish, young girl with hands floating at her command. It bothered her. She was... clingy. Naive. Foolish. Raising her fist back, she prepared to cave the girl's skull in with one, single, mighty blow. But everything moved too fast. Already, a boy was beside the girl; trying to coax her back. A girl, screaming, at Aqui's side to her left. A massive, flaming hellhound - another fire Lumen user? - charging straight for her. In her one moment's weakness, she faltered. Marius wasted no time. He charged immediately into her, sweeping her backwards. She collapsed on the ground, directly in front of the flaming dog. It smashed into her, sending her hurtling back again as if it was a game of ping-pong. Yet when she stood again, there was but a slight scratch on her otherwise perfect face. Even in the midst of flames, she looked as harmless as ever.

 

Yet clearly, something was wrong. She didn't seem scared. Smoke descended further onto the battlefield, but Li saw through it. Flames licked at her hand impatiently, and she herself grew tired of this game. Crimson heat surged from her fingertips, creating a simple enough blade. Gripping fire itself, she vanished. She used the smoke to her advantage; dancing in the shadows. Flames parted at her bare feet, and her hair framed her face. And then she struck. From the cover of smoke like shadow, she had Marius on the floor. Even when the man turned the rain into daggers themselves poking and prodding at her skin, she merely grit her teeth, and then slammed her foot down onto his head. Grabbing him, she threw his unconscious body at Cindy, turning her attention to the next threat.

 

That massive, flaming wolf. She could already see who had summoned it, who controlled it, who used it. She raised her hand. The flames disappeared. Not the hound; that stayed. But every blazing, towering inferno she had made vanished. Yet when one looked at Li, they would see flames emanating from her body. The ground singed beneath her. Her eyes soared around her. A man zoomed past her, fast as lightning, with electricity bristling at his touch. He got too close; and in one fluid motion she had grabbed him with her searing touch, impaled him on a fiery spear and left him to rot. A man with a cane, just a bit too close while trying to stay a bit too far. With a wave of her hand, a searing dagger materialized the farthest she could get to him -- and moved with such frightening speed the man had been knifed and fell to the ground, the smell of charred flesh filling the forest. 

 

Another one to gut yelled at her. Xyr face was as sour as a poisoned fruit, with a voice of nails on chalkboard. Arrogantly, she punched at the air -- such a boring move -- and sent a jet of flames in the insolent fool's direction. Then again, and again; sending three streams of blazing hatred xyr way. That wolf was racing towards her again. Growling, she stood her ground. Conjuring a spear, she didn't exactly think she'd be able to do much to the wolf. Best to throw off the girl. With perfect aim and unnerving speed, Li sent a twirling spear for Rame's heart. At the same time, she leaped in an elegant back-flip, landing carefully in a roll. There was less distance between them now -- in ten steps, she'd be caught up. Surging flames, violent as a hurricane were bottled up inside her. With a stomp of her foot, she released it, fully intending for the girl to be scorched. It started out as a red light in her chest, that grew until it enveloped her. And then the flames came. A spark, turning into an ember. It fed off her anger, her hatred, her hurt. Her desire to kill. And then, in every direction at once, in a terrific show of fireworks and light, she roared a tremendous roar as every flame she'd previously taken swarmed out of her.

 

It was sent upwards, into the sky above. To the sides, enveloping the entire field in a cataclysm of fire, as if someone had set off a bomb. Quite a powerful bomb, at that. And when the flames finally died down, Li was still standing as if she'd simply waved her hand at an old friend. As if it was nothing. Surrounded by stray tongues of flame, twirling around her like an elegant veil. Truly, destruction had never been so elegant; and yet so disgustingly savage at the same time. She glanced around the barren wasteland, the only building being the -- slowly falling -- auditorium. Rame stood; immune to flames. Li walked forwards. She was confident. The girl would do nothing. She'd just eradicated everything. Everything. If any of those pests still remained, save for the ones in the auditorium -- cooped up like sheep before the slaughter -- she was impressed. And she'd reward their courage with a swift death. But not this one.

 

"Didn't they tell you I'm the spirit of flame itself?" She spat. "You. You're nothing but a disgrace. And I'll take pleasure in removing you." The second she finished her word, she made good on her deal. Throwing a punch directly at her side. A vicious kick, with the force of a horse, was sent flying towards Rame's neck.

 

[Chevaleresse]

Haruki looked around at the situation. It looked like hell had literally dropped from the sky, or something. And now that lady was being all boring and stuff, talking about being "fire itself" and stuff. And people were dead? He didn't feel that bad, they'd been super boring anyway, but it was pretty bad in general that someone was killing Lumen users willy-nilly. He casually strolled toward Felis, fiddling with his lenses a bit. The light was a little screwy right now because of all the smoke and stuff, so he'd have to add some focusing to it. Maybe too much, but it's worth a shot. After a bit and a flicker of Lumen usage, he aimed the pair of lenses, one at the sun and one below it at an angle, reflecting it straight toward Li's eyes.