Graterras Chapter 1: The Darkness Descends. [IC]

[Jory]

"Sigurd, NO! Terra locoxe!" Drug'thok screamed. The earth underneath Sigurd rumbled loudly. Suddenly, a large dirt pillar rose underneath Sigurd, flinging him backward toward the group. The half-Orc's eyes flashed yellow for a moment before returning to normal. "What sort of demon are you?" he asked their enemy loudly as shards of earth began circling the sorcerer once more.

Edited April 17, 2014 by Jory

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"I am the harbringer of the world, all will be purged." said the Gentleman, as he rode straight towards Marcus, the one furthest forward in the group. It is then when Magni jumped in the way. "STOP DEMON!!" he shouted holding his hammer in front of him. "I will not let you hurt my Family of my friends!". Gentleman did stop, but it wasn't a good thing. "Hmmm, how quaint. A Paladin. Always hated paladins. Their always thought their Ideals meant something, but it all just a stupid code to keep them inline." Gentleman remarked. " Now out of my way boy, or you will be first."

"NO!!" Magni shouted "I will not let you pass."

"Fine, then die with your silly Ideals then. They are as useless to you as you are to your friends, you die now!" and with that the Flaming Horse continued forward, somehow coming to top speed almost instantly, The tip of the spear plunging into Magni's abdomen. The Gentleman Brought the Spear and Magni closer to his face. "One thing before I let you go worm, I want to know who these people are, that you are so valorously protecting." a small blade popped out of the tip of his right Index finger. He stuck it into Magni's forehead. Magni screamed bloody murder as the Being searched his thoughts. Once he had the information, he removed the blade. A Dark Pulse came off the lance. "Goodbye, Paladin." said the Gentleman. Hideous laughter, he couldn't contain himself, the looks on their faces were too much. Why would they care about such a useless creature thought the Gentleman, as Magni's body shriveled into dust on the end of his Lance. "Anymore of you want to challenge me? Otherwise Line up please, it would make this SO much easier."

Edited April 17, 2014 by Hukuna

[Notus]

Marcus's eyes widened when he saw Magni literally turn to dust in front of him. Although he hadn't know the dwarf for more than one hour or so, he felt sick by the way this monster in front of them killed him. "No!" he yelled "You'll pay for this right now, you bastard, I swear for Pyron!"

Blind of rage, he charged forward, whirling flame in front of his foe to try and block his view.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

The Gentleman Snapped his fingers, and all of a sudden the Horse he was riding on disappeared, he stood, 7 feet tall, looming over Marcus like a Giant, the Angelic side of his Armour gleaming in the fire that whirled towards him. It collided into his chest, but ultimately did little more than heat his armour a little "Nice try, you must be either Marcus or Xavier. Doesn't matter to me, my turn!" He drew his Massive Sword that was an Angel's wing. He brought in line with the Templar's arm, cutting it clean off. He kicked him to the ground, and spat in his face. "Any last words to your god, or is death good enough for you now?" he spat venomously at Marcus, while he foot crushed into his chest.

[Notus]

Marcus screamed as the Gentleman struck his arm, moving that enormous blade with unhuman speed, tearing right through the thin plate of his armour. He never felt so much pain before, and the intensity of it blinded him for a second.

The next he knew he was on the ground, under the enemy's foot, staring blankly at his shield arm a few meters away.

"Any last words to your god, or is death good enough for you now?"

Marcus felt the Gentleman spit on his face.

"The bastard is making fun of me." he thought over his pain.

He didn't speak anything, but slashed upward with his sword. It was a laughable blow - his strenght was clearly leaving him - but if he was going down, he'd rater go fighting.

Edited April 17, 2014 by Notus

[Jory]

Drug'thok gaped as the Harbinger brutally murdered Magni. The sorcerer stepped forward to interfere with Marcus's fight, but not before Marcus had his arm sheared off the side of his body and was crushed to the ground. The half-Orc clenched his fist, blood running from his palm as his fingernails bit into the toughened flesh. He began to chant loudly: "Terra maximo locoxe en venti e nagrima hana-e abre terra maximo ytexa mela-a nakuma el-redar expulse!" As he chanted, the earth began to shake around him. A weakened building collapsed behind him as the rumbling intensified. The ground in front of him split open and seven large stone spires levitated out before the chasm sealed itself. "Terra expulse!" Drug'thok shouted, his breathing clearly labored as he thrust his hands forward and caused the spires to fly toward the Harbinger.

Edited April 17, 2014 by Jory

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"Fine, say hello to Pyron for me." and with that his blade plunged into Marcus's heart. However, his body didn't shrivel away. A golden Light moved out of his chest and towards the air. It was as if The Gentleman didn't see it though, only the heros could. One could only wonder what it was. The Gentleman Pulled out the Angel Wing from Marcus's chest.

Then Spires flew towards him, made from the very earth. He smirked, and put up his Shield, images of horror ecthed all of the surface of the damned thing. One by one the spires crumbled into dust as they hit the shield. The Gentleman, wasn't even phased.

"Who's next?" The Gentleman got his answer, a Hatchet came flying through the air and hit him in his Helmet covered face. It only bounced off the armour but it was an answer none the less. "You monster! How dare you take them out of this world! This Plane it not for Demons like you!" shouted Odin as he ran forward, towards the Gentleman, Twin Hatchets in hand. He peeled back the Knight's shield and struck him a blow that caused his armour to ring. But it was to no avail. While strong, the blow did nothing. He picked up Odin by his Simple Braid in the hand with his shield. "Time to join your son Odin Thunderbrew, isn't it cute? A second Family reunion." as he cut the Dwarf Father in twain. both halves of him failing pathetically to the ground. Another Golden light erupted from Odin's body, as it flew off his body still lay there, and didn't shrivel. The Gentleman walked towards, the Half-Orcish Sorcerer next, his armour softly ringing as the rain struck it.

Edited April 17, 2014 by Hukuna

[Flux]

The battle was over before it began. Nero hadn't even reached the end of the trees before the lizard men began to flee. However, he could feel an ominous presence approaching. The sky darkened and he could hear the patter of rainfall beginning. He had always loved storms. They showed the power of nature at its finest. As he the rain fell around him, his stomache twisted: It was blood. He stared at his open palms as the raining blood formed pools for a moment. He began to lugh, slow and quiet at first, but picking up volume and speed until it was almost maniacal. His laughter died down before he shouted:

"This is proof of the darkness in our world! There is no hope -- only bloodshed! And there is enough of it to fill a raincloud..."

Despite the volume of his shout, he knew he was the only one who could hear it, thanks to his muffling spell. He watched as the source of the ominous feeling approached. An giant of a man rode atop a flaming steed, the feeling of death approaching with him. Nero smiled.

"So armageddon is here. Perhaps my time has come."

He ran forward until he was close enough to the man to hear his voice. It seemed unecessary though, as his words seemed to fill the air around them.

"Darkness, give me strength, to purge the Wicked from this land. Give me your lance for my charge into the enemy so that I may pierce their souls, and deny them entry to the heavens."

The man produced a dark lance before heaving it at a group of fisherman, impaling them on its shaft. Blackness spread up their bodies from the wound, burning them to ashes.

"Darkness..." Nero thought. "Darkness aids none, not even death. Yet, it also can aid all. It takes no sides in a conflict. It is foolishness to claim that darkness supports you."

Another voice filled the air. It belonged to the templar of Aelia.

“Nice party tricks! Setting your horse on fire and make it rain blood. You’re nothing but a showoff, are you?”

The man on the horse generated another spear of darkness, throwing it towards Sigurd. However, Nero could hear a voice shout words of magic before a piece of earth rose beneath Sigurd, propelling him backwards. The words seemed to belong to the half-orc.

"So he's the one who performed the magic in the tavern..." Nero laughed. "What does it matter anymore? Death itself has come."

The rider's voice rang out again.

"I am the harbringer of the world, all will be purged."

He was interrupted by a shout from the dwarf paladin, son of the bartender. However, the rider impaled the dwarf with another lance, moving at blinding speed. The voice filled the air once more.

"One thing before I let you go worm, I want to know who these people are, that you are so valorously protecting."

He stuck a finger to the dwarf's head, causing him to scream in agony. When the man had finished, a dark pulse came from his lance, incinerating the dwarf on the spot.

"He was able to gain information like that?! I've never heard of such magic..."

The rider snapped his finger, causing the horse to disappear. Nero could now grasp the true scale of the man. He appeared over 7 feet tall, looming over another templar. He drew his sword, shaped like an angel's wing, before cleaving off the templar's arm and kicking him to the ground. The rider then spat in his face. The rider's voice rang out mockingly:

"Any last words to your god, or is death good enough for you now?"

The templar took a weak upward slash at the rider, more in defiance than anything. His strength had clearly left him. Nero decided it was time to act. It was strange, considering the hopelessness of the situation. There was nothing he could do to change it. Logic would dictate that he should simply leave undetected, and that is what he would normally do. But he didn't. He was overcome with a strange and unfamiliar feeling, urging him to help. He muttered quickly under his breath, despite the muffling spell. It was simply a habit. He snapped his fingers, releasing the magic. There was a blinding flash of light in front of the rider. Nero hoped to blind him for a while so the others could perhaps get away. He also hoped it would stall for a while so he could complete his next plan.

Positioned under cover behind a tree, he began muttering another spell, longer and more complex than the other. He weaved some of his basic talents into it, generating an illusion that he hoped would be believable. He had pictured a giant of a man, equal in size to the rider, dressed in shining gold armor. He would position the man far enough away from the rider so as not to be recognized as an illusion, but also close enough to draw attention. He would have to place it behind the rider so he wouldn't notice it materialize. Muttering as fast as he could, he finished the spell, ending it with a voice for all to hear. Looking from behind the tree, he saw his creation materialize. A deep voice rang out over the battlefield.

"Aye, creture of darkness, turn and face me! You cannot hope to best me in true combat, sword to sword!"

The illusion raised his giant golden sword, armor shining. Nero was drained from the effort of the spell.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

The Gentleman turned. He scoffed. "You are nothing but an image." The Gentleman snapped his finger, the noise of the snap seeming to hang in the air. The Illusion of the Knight disappeared almost as quickly as it appeared. "Now where was I? Oh yes, Come here Orc! Your Doom is nigh!"

[Jory]

Drug'thok grimaced as the spires crumbled harmlessly against this.... monster's shield. He turned his head so the rest of the group could hear him. "Get out while you can! I shall attempt to hold him here! Spread the word, and quickly. This world is in great peril!" With that, Drug'thok strode toward the malevolent giant, desperately firing shards of rock at him. Suddenly, a golden knight appeared at the end of the street and disappeared just as quickly. The sorcerer continued his advance. This monster cannot be stopped, not by my magic and not by petty illusions. He continued forward, his every instinct screaming at him to run.

Edited April 17, 2014 by Jory

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"Run huh? I am afraid nobody is running." He snapped his fingers again. This time a Dark Barrier Erected around the whole town and quite a bit of the area nearby. "I don't suggest stepping through that, it will separate your soul form your body, quite a nasty piece of work much worse then Death, especially once I get a hold of that Soul of yours." He walked forward. "Now meet your fate Orc" he said as he swung his Blade unhumanly quickly down at where he was standing.

[Chim]

The being on his horse rode toward Sigurd. It wouldn’t take long for them to clash. Stay low. Aim for his legs. Or that was supposed to be the plan. Suddenly the earth began to rumble and Sigurd stopped. He looked at his feet, expecting another party trick from whatever that thing was. He realized too late it was the Half-Orcs work and he was flung backwards. He landed painfully on his shoulders and his feet were thrown over his head by the impact. Sigurd tried to get up but somehow his cloak was twisted around something he couldn’t see, preventing him from moving.

After a minute he forcefully pushed himself up, ripping his cloak. Apparently it had been stuck under some of the rubble that was once a Tavern. Sigurd removed the rest of his cloak and was about to scold the Half-Orc, when he saw how Magni got killed. The Dwarf was reduced to nothing more but dust.

Sigurd felt disgust toward the Beast, as he decided to name it. He concentrated on every little bit of strength he had left, but it wasn’t enough. He felt the wind blow in his hair and prayed to the Goddess Aelia to give him the power to defeat this Beast. He heard how Marcus screamed and almost lost his concentration. Don’t get distracted. You can’t help them all, but they are strong. Concentrate. You will slay this beast. Ooh Aelia, Goddess of Wind and Mind, give me the strength to protect this little town.

More screams, this time from Odin, reached him. It was hard for Sigurd to not jump in there and help them. But he knew he didn’t have enough strength, yet. The wind started blowing, surrounding him. Aelia’s Blessing. Now is the time to strike. I’ve mustered everything I have left.

When Sigurd opened his eyes he saw that both Marcus and Odin were dead. The Half-Orc, whose name he didn’t know, was trying to hold the Beast off. A Dark Barrier surrounded the whole town, preventing them from escaping. The Beast said something about taking their Souls, but Sigurd didn’t care. He wasn’t planning to escape anyway. He would face that foul beast and slay it, or die trying to. That was the way of the warrior which his stepfather and fellow Templars had taught him.

Sigurd passed his remaining allies and stood before the Beast. “I won’t run away from you, Beast! I will follow the path of the warrior until the end. If I didn’t, I would be a disgrace to my fellow kinsmen and insult those who died in battle.” Sigurd got ready to strike. “Even if I die the Goddess Aelia will take care of my Soul. And I heard she’s a real beauty, so I don’t mind!”

With that said he charged again at the Beast, while it swung its blade toward the Half-Orc.

[Jory]

"Make it quick," the sorcerer said just before the monstrous figure swung his blade. Drug'thok closed his eyes and smiled as the blade fell toward him. His hood was thrown back by the wind, revealing his snub nose and elongated lower canines. Perhaps I bought them enough time. Even mere moments will be treasured when this monster continues upon his path. The sword reached the half-Orc, slicing cleanly through his left collarbone and down through his heart. The blade stopped there, as though rooted in stone before being withdrawn from his body. Drug'thok crumpled to the ground, a grin still on his lips as the light faded from his vision and blood began to pool around him.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

A gold light sprung from Dru's body and flew into the sky. The Gentleman headed for his next target. "Warriors, a Brave bunch, though I think it is more stupidity than real bravery." He went for a Heavy downward strike towards Sigurd.

Edited April 17, 2014 by Hukuna

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

A volley of arrows shot towards the gargantuan... Monster? Demon? Thing?

Whatever it was, Helzebeth felt both awe and hatred for this hulking creature.

Without skipping a beat, he-- it?-- slew the local folk that tried to flee.

The being, afterwards, turned to massacre her allies, starting with the Paladin-dwarf.

He took the Wind Templar. And then, what roused her fury, Odin Thunderbrew.

He destroyed a couple more of the others, but she couldn't think clearly any more after having seen the dwarf-father be slain. After moments of silently fuming, she took one arrow after the other and began firing them at the creature, her stormy grey eyes brimming with blinded indignance and hate.

Coming to her aid was Hunter, who was livid after having chewed off his adversary's scaly hand and feeling Helzebeth's rage sweep over him like a rushing flood as it breaks the dam. He charged toward it, the object of his master's hate. It mixed with the feral rage he'd felt mere moments earlier, making him just as blind as he leapt, fangs bared.

[Flux]

Nero grimaced as he watched the illusion disappear.

"How did he know?!" He was bent over in exhaustion. "That was one of my most complicated spells..."

He watched as the half-orc approached the rider, telling the others to run. However, the rider erected a barricade around the entire town, trapping the inhabitants.

"Just... how strong is he?" Nero panted.

The rider swung a blade at the half orc, cleaving into his body but seeming to stop at his heart. The orc collapsed to the ground, blood pooling around his dead body. Some sort of golden light sprung out of it. The templar of Aelia charged next, running at the rider with his blade drawn.

Nero let his muffling spell and the blurring spell fade away. They couldn't hope to beat this rider. He walked into the street in front of the rider, a dark smile on his face. As he came out into the open, in front of Sigurd as the others, he calmy drew his longsword, the ruby on the embellished hilt gleaming. He let out a slow laugh, turning to the rider and raising his sword.

"It seems my time has come. Armageddon is here, just as it has been for the past many decades." He brushed his silver hair to the sides of his defined jawline.

"My whole life has been lived in ruin, all joy taken from it. What more can you take from me? This life is worth nothing, nor is the life of anyone else." He walked towards the rider at a slow pace, sword dragging across the ground.

"Come beast, send me from this world." He gave a grim smile. "Perhaps if there is an afterlife, it will be better than the hell I've lived."

[Code: PIRULUK]

Jeneve stretched out and yawned. That was a good nap. She assessed her condition. Nothing broken, nothing missing. All in one piece. She searched around for Odin and Magni, but they were nowhere to be found. What she did find, however, was that it was raining blood. That was strange. An unknown fear resonated through her as she felt a presence; an incredibly dark, undeniably evil presence. Shivers ran up her spine as she looked around, just in time to see the Half-Orc that pranked her getting sliced in half. Ouch. A small, vindictive part of her snickered at the thought of the trickster who embarrassed her getting sliced apart, but the rest of her shuddered at the sight. No one should have to die like that.

She cautiously looked at the adversary which had sliced the half-Orc in, well, half. The moment she set eyes upon it, she averted her gaze. Its armor was terrifying. Half demonic, Half angelic, it was an aberration which seemed to curse any who set eyes upon it. Trembling, she turned away, and noted that the village was surrounded by some black barrier. She frowned. Big black barriers tended to be bad.

So, her options were as follows: She could either stay where she was, playing dead, hoping to escape notice, or she could rush into the fray with the rest of the heroes, or she could take a risk and try running through the barrier. Jeneve had a nagging feeliing that the first option would work for about a quarter of a second. The second option would basically be suicide, and the third option may potentially be suicide. That said, potentially fatal maneuvers tended to be much more favorable than inevitably fatal maneuvers. Option three it is.

Jeneve jumped to her feet, then made a mad dash for the black barrier, closing her eyes as she approached it.

[Ragnar]

After the combat with the Lizards, Akuma didn't notice about the droplets of blood pouring into him cause his vision is still crimson as it vanishes without a trace . Suddenly a huge amount heat source riding a horse immensing not to far from him along with his comrades. As the Gentlemen slaughter everyone he can find with wielding his giant angel wing sword, The Birdman can hear the sound of his allies' final war cry for justice as one by one their infrared traces begins to disappear.

Akuma takes a step back to deliver his final blow hoping to take down the Demon. Forgive me Birdmother, for I have soiled my hands with the blood of the innocent and wicked alike.

Akuma spins his body as he hurled his massive hammer at the Demon with all of his might((like a storm bolt)). As he quickly grabs a nearby sword and follows up his flying hammer, The rage birdman dashes towards with a burst of speed as he was gliding with his wings was widely spread towards the Hellspawn trying to inflict as much damage.

[Chevaleresse]

Xavier was incapable of helping his fellow Templar as their foul enemy murdered him. He roared with rage, and pouring as much power as he could into an attack, he moved at a blazing speed at his foe despite his wounds. The oversized blade sung as it cut through the air, slicing in what would normally be a deadly arc. The strike was aimed at the supposedly angelic side of his enemy, syncing up with Akuma's attack.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

The Gentleman snapped his fingers again. He disappeared in a Black Cloud. "Hello, Birdman!" He said as he appeared behind Akuma, thrusting his Blade up into his chest. He kicked Akuma off his blade, as his pathetic form crumpled to the ground. A Gold Light also escaped from Akuma's body, though the heros still didn't know what it was. The Gentleman then headed straight for Nero. Stabbing him in the Back as well, in an almost seamless motion. "Wish granted." he said as it Plunged into Nero. Another Golden Light erupted from Nero and traveled towards the Heavens. The Gentleman stopped, waiting for his next foe to come.

Jeneve crossed the Border of the Barrier. Instantly searing pain racked her body. Her very Soul was torn from her physical body, for a second she could see her old body shrivel quickly into dust, while the pain still seemed to rack her mind. Her soul was being tormented by the very evil in the air, when all of a sudden a golden light washed over her. The pain disappeared, and she heard a Beautiful Women's voice. It echoed throughout her mind. "Come to me child, I will save you from this nightmare, your others friends will be waiting, you will understand once I save the others, but for now you must trust me." A Golden Hand Extended downwards to Jeneve. It waited for her to grab on.

[Chim]

The Beast’s blade cut Sigurd from his shoulder to his waist. The Templar fell on the ground, barely alive. Ah Aelia, I have failed you. I couldn’t slay this Beast. I can only hope I made my Kinsmen proud and that my skills honored you.

Sigurd felt a last breeze crawling over his face and smiled. “Oh Goddess, does this mean you accept me?” were the last words he mumbled before everything went black.

(OOC: I will haunt you in your dreams!)

[Code: PIRULUK]

Oh my gods that voice is pretty.

Well, the dying part was pretty much expected; the crumbling to dust bit seemed a little... excessive. Jeneve felt a slight tinge of regret. She liked her body. In front of her - or maybe behind? Keeping track of directions while incorporeal was a huge pain - a shiny golden hand extended out. Jeneve liked shiny golden things. In her experience, things that were shiny and golden tended to be good. Unless it was cursed gold. Then it wasn't all that good. But this shiny golden thing seemed nice, not to mention that it had a pretty voice. She attempted to reach out and hoped it was working. Having no body, it was kind of hard to tell if she was actually reaching out.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

The hand grabbed Jeneve, and embraced her soul in a warm Golden light. Jeneve felt as if she was pulled somewhere else. ((and that is where that will end for now until I kill everybody else's characters. ).

The Gentleman looked at where he once stood. He saw a Wolf. "Hmmm, I wonder who's that is, a Wolf wouldn't just be here." He thought to himself. He looked towards the ground and saw the Arrows lying on the ground he traced their possible trajectories. "I see you up there, Archer!" he snapped his fingers again. Disappearing and reappearing behind Helzebeth. "I thought I would fight you head on, you know since firing arrows aren't going to do much to my Armour, might as well give a fair chance."

Edited April 18, 2014 by Hukuna

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

Hunter missed. That sort of added to his anger-- and confusion as well. He wheeled around in search of the monster and felt Helzebeth's slight pang of surprise, which did little to overthrow her vindictive anger. The wolf began finding its way towards the church rooftop, with a new feeling emerging from the pit of his stomach-- apprehension; fear, even, for his master's safety.

A now increasingly familiar wave of horror-- increasingly, yes, much to Helzebeth's umbrage-- swept throughout the half-elf's tensed body. Speaking of that indignant response to the feeling of unease, it was what pushed her to wheel around in response to the savage being's challenge.

Helzebeth stowed her bow, a metallic attachment on her quiver snapping around the bow securely to keep it in place on her back. She pulled out once more her short sword and a hunting knife, and glared up at the creature with a tranquil sort of wrath, ignoring the unshakable feeling that she was about to die.

"Save me the pleasantries, fiend."

She raised both sword and long knife and moved to thrust them both into where his face should be.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"Nice try." aid The Gentleman, as he stooped down, dodging the blow, moving inhumanly fast for the amount of armour he was wearing. he then lunged forward quickly, elbowing Helzebeth in the chest knocking her down. He Placed his sword on her throat. "So then, any last words?"