P.S.S. "The Legend Of The Primal Keys"::Ch.1- A Bit Of Deception [Completed IC]

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"Aye, doesn't sound good either at that." Sinbad said "Any idea what it could be my good man?" Sinbad didn't really need to ask the question, he already assumed it was the worst. Most likely some sort of attack. It troubled his mind that such a thing would be happening in such a peaceful city. But perhaps this was the break Sinbad was looking for, time to be a hero.

[Ragnar]

Gideon glares at the beam of light as it pierce through the sky. the Swordsman wasn't impress of this fancy display of lightshow as he stares at the blind followers down below in disgust; Cheering,throwing themselves at the altar, worshiping this so called savior. "for a God, the Sky Lord is surely full of himself, what's the purpose of him returning? and why now?" the skeptic Turk thought to himself.

Edited August 12, 2014 by typhlosionrulez

[Chim]

Trystane watched on as the crowd went wild and shook his head in disbelief. Look at all these people, he thought. All of them are sheep following every word that Pope says. I bet at least half of them would do anything he said just because he told them to do it. Like with that Stratos guy. Everyone seems to hate him for what they were told he did four hundred years ago. They judge him like they were there… Mindless people, I feel sorry for them. And then there is that God, Azuaqyar, or whatever. What’s the point in bringing him back after four hundred years?

He had seen enough. It was time he got back to the reason he came here for; to find the black market and hunt down some slave traders. Surely there would be some thieves around an audience this big. He gave Onyx a pat on the neck and started to make his way slowly through the crowd.

[Chevaleresse]

Matrim found himself drawn to the light, mostly out of curiosity. He was a bit of a scholar, after all. The bard picked up his pace to a quick jog, hoping the guards at the gate were distracted.

[Sutoratosu]

Hukuna

As the two men stood there on that roof, the sounds of fighting and war faded just as soon as they had started. all was silent in the night again... silent except for the massive cheers of the crowd down below as the ceremonial procedures went on. Boho had to shout over the roar of the masses.

"Guess it was just the wind carrying the sound from somewhere else!" He had to put emphasis on every word to keep them from getting lost in the sea of noise. "It had to be, if it started and ended that quickly... probably something going on miles outside the walls... too bad though, because that's outside my jurisdiction!"

Just then, however, a second pillar of light appeared in the sky, the very earth itself shaking, threatening to throw the two men off the roof. luckily it ended a few moments later. Boho looked at Sinbad as he regained his footing on the shingles.

"What in god's name was that?"

Chimchain
Trystane soon found that the crowds were far too thick where he was. there was no way he'd be getting out of this plaza anytime soon... at least, not without just letting loose and literally cut a path through the thronging masses... but that would've been highly illegal and un-courteous, to strike down a person when their trying to enjoy a show, not to mention that there were many Warriors in his vicinity, all of them dressed in white and grey linens draped over steel breast-plates, flowing out around their bodies like robes. The young man couldn't have known it, but these were the elites of the church army... the young men and women who had proven themselves to be several cuts above their comrades. they faces were solemn and stoic as they kept their eyes on the crowd, hands at their sides, though no weapons were visible there. They were probably assigned to watch the crowds in order to keep the peace... as well as slay a certain Dragoon should they spot him.

there was no way out of here that wouldn't end in incarceration... or worse.The young man would have to simply stay where he was for now. this fact became even more true when a second pillar erupted in the sky and the earth shook for a few moments, the crowd going wild with fear before it finally ended and the pope managed to get their attention once more.

Murdoc

The dirt road beneath Martim began to shimmer as crept further and further on... he didn't know if it was just his imagination, but he was approaching the city with far fewer paces than he should've need. soon Dirt gave way to chiseled stone, and within minutes, he stood before the Northen gates of the Holy Capitol. The Guards on duty were all laying on the cobblestone street just within the gate, out cold and snoring loudly. it was very faint, but the air had a hint of Mint and Sage in it... though as to why, it could not be explained; neither of those two herbs grew this high up in the Cithal Range. if Martim took the time to remember his walk here, he would've recalled that when the road had started shimmering beneath him, the air had also filled with this same scent. a slight tremor shook the ground. in the distance, Martim could see a pillar blossoming up into the night sky. a few moments later it died down, fading to nothing. the guards were still sleeping like logs.

GILWYN

"This is where my path ends..." Gilwyn whispered. he was on his knees, severely wounded, cold, his clothes stained with his own blood. around him the twenty young men and women who had volunteered to join his hunt tonight all lay still on the roofs, their bodies torn and scattered haphazardly, a variety of injuries riddling them all. the only thing that gave Gilwyn some peace about the sight of their broken forms was that all of them were already dead when it had happened. Eros... was not just any sorcerer... no, he had proved to be far more than the average transgressor of ancient law. This man... this man who stood before him now, looking at him with pity and sorrow and at the same time disappointment, this man who he had once called his master, his mentor, his savior and friend...

This man was a Dark-Father. What in the old language would be known as a "Krad-Refath". He was a Sorcerer among sorcerers. A thing spoken of only in legend and myth... Eros... Artel Erosin Noche... was the second of his denotation to ever walk the Earth. The first had lived thousands of years ago... wreaking havoc and destruction in the Necrania Isles. he had been defeated only by a coalition of the world's most powerful magick users. but now another one was alive and walking. and as gifted and powerful with magick as Gilwyn, he stood no chance against this beast.

"it's over, boy." Artel said simply. he reached out in the air with his palm, extending the fingers outward as a large electrical charge began to crackle and sizzle in the cool night air. "you had a good run, but no you're gone!" the moment the words left his mouth, a torrent of lightning pulsed forth from his hand in a massive conjuration, arcing through the air in waves, headed straight for Gilwyn. He closed his eyes. he had no more energy to cast with. and in his state, it would be impossible to get more from the spheres before this spell killed him. he clenched the eyelids shut, refusing to gaze upon the moment of his own death. and he kept them shut. for a minute. then two... he snapped them open, seeing a massive protaris encircling his body, the lightning falling in sheets upon it, but being repelled as if it were mere rain droplets. the Air smelled of Mint and Sage, so strongly that it was almost as if he were standing in a wild field filled with the stuff.

*********

Muya Kept the Shield around the young man going with little effort, streaming power directly from the spheres in order to fuel it. across the tiled roof stood Artel, his hands alive with electricity as the stuff whipped and snapped out into the air in such a high concentration that it formed thick sheets like a heavy, horizontal rain fall would.

"You shall not prevail!" Muya shouted in fury, her eyes glowing with an ethereal white light as she expanded the sphere around Gilwyn, putting more power into the spell. "You're Charge is drawing towards it's end, I can sense it!" almost as if on cue, the lightning streaming from Artel's fingers sputtered and died. The Dark Father looked down at his hands, a surprised expression coming over his face as he tried to restart the spell, only to find he could barely summon up a spark. Muya wasted no time, her old, wrinkled hands moving in a sequence of complicated signs and motions, the Sphere of protective energy surrounding Gilwyn collapsed and imploded outwards in a massive shock wave, a beautiful aria of Angelic voices sounding out as it did so. it was the only thing in the night that could've deafened the crowds noise. Artel reached into himself and crafted a charge of power from the darkness in his own soul, attempting to cast a protaris to sheild the light. it was broken like tissue paper as a sonic bomb echoed out and beams began to form on the roof tops, twining with each other, becoming thick with power and shooting into the heavens, piercing the stars themselves, the very earth shook beneath it's might. he thought he would surely be killed by this...this... what the hell was this? but a voice echoed in his mind as he felt himself being yanked backwards, falling through the air and becoming engulfed in familiar darkness.

"You have failed me, Artel." it called out in disappointment.

Muya Collapsed the pillar upon seeing the Dark Father vanish, negating the spell and watching as the light faded into nothing. her hands still crackled with Divine power as she appeared next to Gilwyn's side, the man had passed out sometime during the intervention. she hoisted him upon her shoulders as if he were a sack of flour.

"Come," she said "The Lord Marcelos has taken notice of you." As soon as the words left her mouth, a portal of golden hued light opened before her. she flung Gilwyn's unconscious form inside and then stepped through the portal herself, and as suddenly as it had appeared, the door way closed again.

---AT THE HOLY GROUNDS---

in an instant, everyone in the holy grounds had stopped, all of them looking around in surprise and fear as the sound of several sonic booms echoed out and the very ground itself shook. there was a second beam of light in the sky now, this one coming near the west market district. the thronging masses stood and gasped at it, awed and terrified by this unexpected Pillar of light. The pope issued out orders for them to calm themselves, and gradually they listened, though the cermony had stopped now as Eeree began shouting orders to two unseeable individuals standing beside him on the balconey.

Within a few minutes, however, the second pillar faded to nothing and the shaking stopped. Pope Eeree soon managed to get control over the crowd again, while unseen to everyone, a massacre was occurring in the grand hall of the Holy citadel.

STRATOS

Stratos stood among the fallen soldiers of the Church Army he had slain, their blood staining his face and arms and simple cotton shirt and trousers. his cloak lay singed and tattered around his shoulders, barely even there any more. his steel breast plate was cracked down the middle, hanging of his chest in two pieces. his blade lay on the stones of the Grand hall of the Citadel, shattered into thousands of shards during his Resonance-enhanced rampage, having been unable to take the power that was coursed through it. in his hand lay the spear Star-Ripper, cloaked in the blood of the fallen, glowing in foreboding light. He had broken through the side wings of the citadel not long ago, and had found a massive host awaiting him here in the Grand Hall, at least five hundred men. and when he had seen them... all hell had broken loose. there were few soldiers left standing, all of them were high ranking officers, and all of them had their swords raised, ready to battle to the death.

"Just give up." He ordered "Lay down your weapons and you will walk out of this room alive tonight." A few of the officers began to glance around nervously, weighing their options. most of them seem to be about to toss their swords away and run... except for one. a young looking soldier with a commanders uniform, his hair shoulder length and styled like a woman's would be. it struck Stratos as a bit odd...of all the stylings this lad could've chosen, why the one that would have surely given him grief later on? that's when stratos noticed the man's figure, the build of his body... the shape of the breast plate on the chest of the young soldier....and realized that this courageous fool was actually a young woman. she stepped forward, her blade held at the ready as if she intended to take him on one to one. She began speaking as the other officers were visibly loosing their courage.

"In the name of the Sky Lord and all his champion's who came before him," she began. the words were familair to stratos... he'd uttered them himself once... many, many years ago.

"I shall become a beacon in the night," As she continued on, the other officers joined in, forming a chorus. "I shall become a soldier of the lord and a warrior fighting in the name of good. I shall stand no injustice. I shall suffer no wound too greivous. I shall suffer no lose too horrible. I shall hold no Vice, claim no power, and run from no battles..." by this point, the chorus had grown louder as they began to shout. Stratos cut them all off however.

"And so you service ends" he said, making a complete mockery of the oath. the next moment, he tore off his breast plate and tattered cloak before disappearing from sight. The officers searched the room, trying to locate him. one of them had the idea to look up, and his comrades had a similar idea...

And the last they all saw in this world... was The Sky Slayer executing a Flaming Resonance Leap off one of the Many Chandelier's lighting the chamber.The Impact was fierce, a massive shockwave a white fire billowing out and engulfing the room as he landed, driving his sphere through the heart of the female officer. There was no smoke from this fire. Magicked flames never caused smoke. he held up his hand in a commanding gesture, and the inferno blazing all throughout the Grand Hall died down and returned to his hand, his eyes taking on another scarlet hue as he restored the charge he had gathered from the spheres. He stood in a small crater in the stone floor, the heat of the resonance he had just used still dissipating off him, steaming in the air. all around him lay the charred remains of the foolish commanders. his spear still burned with the fury of a lenach flame. he set his eyes on the twin staircases lining what was once the Grand hall, now just a charred room full of cinders and cremated corpses. it was there that he found what he was looking for there... the door to the highest levels of the building... the door leading to the Papal Alter, where the ceremony was taking place even now.

Edited August 16, 2014 by Stratos

[Aurorix]

Zolivar new that this wasn't planned, his curiosity got the better of him and he started heading towards the the second light. He struggled trying to get through the massive amount of panicked people, many times getting pushed back or falling over. Once he was out of the chaos zone he took a quick rest to get his bearings then proceeded forward.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Sinbad got a nice taste of the roof as he feel flat on his face. "I dunno" he said as he jumped up trying to brush off the fact that he fell over. He patted the dust off himself quickly as to not make too much of a scene. "Anyway, is it something we should check out? It looks pretty serious. But whatever it is I doubt it can deal with a god amongst men like myself." he said, pointing his thumb to his chest.

[Felicity]

After recovering from the confusion created by the monstrous shockwave, Darius came to his senses. His mind working furiously to decide whether or not to investigate. Soon enough, he came to a decision, Darius was never one to waste time on consideration. Darius turned toward the direction of the blast and began wading through the crowd. Once he escaped from the swamp of inebriated citizens, he set off at a jog towards his destination.

[Sutoratosu]

STRATOS

The Pope's voice echoed out over the crowd as Stratos leaned against the door-frame of the papal staircase, watching in complete silence. No one had noticed him standing here, just meters away. Two Arch commanders stood on either side of the pope know, hands at the swords on their waists. but they would stay where they were for now. those two would not draw their blades for several more minutes. the reason why, you ask?

Because. Stratos had no intention of striking at this moment. his task was to slay Azuaqyar again, not to stop his resurrection. on the contrary, he'd spread the word of that himself, word that the sky slayer wanted to halt the ceremony tonight. it was strategic in effect. when the ceremony went off without a hitch and they relaxed their guard, thinking it was nothing but here-say... now then he would strike and end this... but for now he waited. the puppeteer would not make his appearance unless his puppet was back in action again, and so he waited... waited for the one he really needed to kill here... waited so that this time, he could strike down the controller of this whole mess instead of just his proxy. his aim had been faulty four hundred years ago. he had missed the real target. but tonight... tonight there would be no mistakes.

And as he stood there undetected, waiting in the shade he had time to think. think about all those who had fell by his hand this night. and thinking of them brought up thoughts of when he had heard about his family... about the sheer hate he had felt then... but he had tried hard not to allow himself to indulge in that hate tonight, against those Church soldiers. and he knew damn well that for the most part, he failed miserably in that aspect. he had felt the tide of overflowing anger and grief and contempt while he struck them down. but he had to admit, he did better than he did all those years ago... back then, he didn't give those soldiers quick deaths... and he had always been hateful of himself for that, but at the same time, had also felt justified for it. so conflicted... he knew that he had failed in one mission tonight, however. He had projected the faces and actions of those three hundred centuries dead soldiers... onto the faces of these young soldiers, despite his efforts, it still happened. He had still held past sins against this distant generation. for that, he was ashamed. but he was not ashamed by the fact that he killed them, not in the least. He had offered them mercy before he attacked, had he not? no... no, that wasn't fair on his part. it had always been just a formality when he had offered it to them tonight. he knew before he even gave the option that they wouldn't be mentally capable of accepting it.

he wasn't ashamed...because what he did to them was a mercy compared to what had already been done to them. every last soldier he had slain tonight... had been completely gone. past the point of saving. their minds had been completely raped by the monster he was seeking now. And even with the strong feeling of contempt he still felt towards all of them for reasons already explained, he also felt sorrow for them. if they had been able to think for themselves, he was almost certain that most if not all of them would've just thrown down their weapons and went home tonight instead of trying to fight him... and if they had been able to think for themselves, and had of surrendered... he wouldn't have allowed himself to pursue them any further.

But they COULDN'T have surrendered. they COULDN'T have thought for themselves. he had seen it clear as day. the lord, the one true god, creator of all, had touched his eyes and given him the power to see what he must see in order to succeed. And because of that, he knew just how bad things were for those soldiers tonight. he could see the strings binding them to the puppeteer. they were so thick...so strong and unbreakable. they had been his pawns tonight. they had been his stall strategy. Because he knew that Stratos was coming for him. and he knew that Stratos was capable of killing him tonight. those young officers not long ago... they had been the worst of them all. the glow of their control tethers had been almost blinding. Stratos had to turn the second sight off in order to do what needed to be done then. That young lady... the one he had driven through the heart. she was the worst of them. he could see it in her eyes. the far away look. the slits of red instead of actual pupils. she had been nothing more than a skin controlled by an outside force.

Yes. He was Stratos.... Slayer of God and the sky itself.

Yes. he was Stratos... a monster and a fiend among men.

Yes... He was Stratos... but at least he was not a monster without compassion for others.

he knew that those soldiers had no choice. and he knew who took their choices from them. and so it was that he spoke the name of the one who had pulled their strings tonight. he spoke the name of their possessor.

"Rossephus..." he said silently. "Rossephus... I am coming for you. to save this world from you. and to avenge those who I had to slay this night because you raped their minds and took their souls. even if I die in the process... you will go out along side me."

((Updates will be edited in later))

[Ragnar]

Gideon held his ground as the earth shake, He turns around and clutched his head from the strong wind blowing against him as a second beacon of light emerges from the western part of market, oddly the second light vanishes in an instant. "I was there." he come to a sudden realization. "Cesealia" he said a bit concern, not that he cared but still.

He uses one of his sword as a cane to pick himself up from that shockwave and decided to head towards the source of that explosion. using his agility, Gideon nimbly gets around the city's roof until he reaches what seems to be an empty central market. Wasting little time, He dashes off to investigate that explosion.

[Sutoratosu]

Hukuna

"Ya know, Sinbad..." Boho said, drawing his blade and activating the resonance stone embedded in the hilt. a moment later the power of the earth itself began flowing through the sharpened length of Muinnat. "Checking it out is probably a good idea right about now." with that said, he reached out and placed his hand on Sinbads shoulder, casting his gaze over to where the noise had come from... and held it there for several seconds... and then for several minutes...

Boho looked back to sinbad after a few moments. "Well... I don't know what's going on, but it looks like Light Walking isn't working right now. Sorry, Sin, but we'll have to get there the old fashion way" as soon as the words left his mouth, he took his hand off Sinbad's shoulder and sprinted towards the edge of the small roof, leaping off and performing a perfect flip as he landed on an adjacent building top, sprinting off and gathering speed to continue on. Sinbad would have to be quick if he wanted to keep up.

((just Follow after him for now. I'll say when you two have arrived at the scene))

Exlink, Dobby, & Typhlosion

The Night wind howled as three young men all converged at an intersection on the street below the scene of the noises, each one not expecting to find the other two there as well. each of the young men stopped in there tracks, unsure of how to proceed, whether these other two standing before him were either friend, or foe.

SAMIEL

Samiel checked the streets before him, glancing down both lanes before proceeding. Aaron's unconscious form was draped across one of his shoulders, under the grip of a an induced sleep. The day had come... after seventeen long years, the day him and his allies had been awaiting... the day when this boy was needed in their fight against the beast of the Alpha... the fight against Rossephus. It had been a long time since Samiel had left him on the front steps of that house in a small Zrazaran town. He had issues with the order he had been given at first, but like any good soldier of GOD, he had done as he was told... even though what he had been told to do that day was to take his only child and leave him at the front steps of complete strangers. The boy had grown a lot, he was almost a man now... and that saddened Samiel... the fact that he had missed out on most of the boy's early childhood. But the Almighty rewards his soldiers for their deeds and devotion to his cause. and Samiel had been rewarded, not with Gold or Gems or Power or anything that any other man would wish for... no, instead of wealth and glory, Samiel got the one thing he had ever really wanted. He had gotten to spend a few precious years with his only son. The boy's childhood had belonged to strangers, but at least he had spent his adolescent years in Samiel's household.

And Samiel had taken strides to make this count as much as possible. He had taught the boy everything he knew, not just about magick and the spheres, but about the world itself, about the allegiances of different people, about how some individuals could be trusted with one's very life, while others not even a loaf of bread. he taught him about history and the stars, about Wyrms and the men and women who used to ride them. But there was one thing that Samiel had never taught the boy. and that thing... was his real past. that thing... was what his true name was. The thing Samiel never taught him was who he was, who he is, and who the boy will ultimately need to become. and this is what caused Sam the most grief... the fact that for the past half-decade, he had to constantly lie to the boy.

And over all these years, The boy had suspected nothing about his own lineage. he had never stopped to ponder as to why the hair of the man and woman who raised him had been light in color, while his was pitch black, nor as to why they had both had Blue eyes, while his had been green... well, no, in the boy's defense, he couldn't have pieced together any ties to Sam from that latter aspect alone. The man had been wearing a veil of illusion over his eyes all these years, portraying them to be hazel instead of the deep, vibrant green they truly were...well, at least one of them. in the other eye sat his mark of Divine Fealty, his oath of service to Marcelos. in that eye, there was no set color, it changed constantly from day to day, sometimes from hour to hour or even minute to minute. the only thing about it that had ever remained static was the Symbol of the Almighty sitting in the middle of his pupil. but that illusion was broken now, He had no more reason to keep it in place after hearing of his son's last Vision from the spheres. it had matched exactly with what Marcelos had told him what be the signal... a Castle, larger and more heavily fortified than anything built in this word, under siege in the light of a full moon.

And so it was that Samiel dashed through the streets now, staying to the shadows whenever possible. The tower was where he needed to go, the place that him and Muya and the others had all agreed would be their gathering point on this day's arrival. But though a direct and peaceful route is what he would've preferred, he did not get that luxury this night.

Rossephus had his men about as well, the Church Army. his pawns stalked the streets all around the two of them now, patrolling the areas of the city. already, Sam had been stopped and confronted three times now by them, and all three times, he had taken no time to speak. he had simply burned the pawns to a crisp. It pained him to commit the murders, a lament for those fallen rang in his heart even now. but with each other time, he did not hesitate to resort to it. He was no fool. though they all claimed to want to question him, he knew that if he stopped and indulged them in this, the only outcome would be his son's blood on their hands. And so it was for the lad he carried over his shoulder that he had killed these men tonight. And so it was that he would continue to kill tonight if necessary. He stopped in an alley way, not more than just a few dozen meters from the tower along the city wall. The beam of light still shown in the distance above the citadel. The ceremony had not reached it's climax yet, and so Stratos had not yet had the opportunity to fulfill his mission tonight, meaning that the Sky Slayer would not be joining them at the rendezvous area. But he would find them after wards, of that, Samiel was certain. Stratos was probably the most powerful warrior in all of human history, and that was just while on his own, not even in the company of his Soul-bound. He had been tasked with destroying that monster before anyone else in their little coalition had even been born. and if any man could accomplish the feat of striking down the Destroyer, then it was him.

He took a moment, leaning against the wall of the alley, catching his breath as his son lay on the ground nearby. The boy was starting to stir, struggling against the bounds of the spell afflicting him. Seeing him fight like this brought a sense of pride and assurance to Samiel. this was the most complex and well put-together Sleep Inducement he could muster, and it had only taken less than twenty minutes for the kid to fight his way out of the deepest part of it and begin trying to wake up. This was a good sign for things to come... a very good sign.

Rossephus may have the best army in the world and the strength of a thousand men in his arms, but they had a Savior... They had an heir on their side.

Edited August 17, 2014 by Stratos

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Sinbad was as fast if not faster than Boho, probably since he didn't want anybody showing him up. He didn't take off ahead of him though since he didn't know where he was going. "Strange, I don't know exactly how light walking works, but is something blocking the spheres?" Sinbad had drawn Bianca, his massive custom made crossbow, she was a beast. Having a strange reloading mechanism, and the custom bolts Boho saw earlier. Surprisingly Sinbad could still keep up even with that heavy girl in his arms, and still moved with grace as if it didn't burden him, like he was used to running top speed holding her.

[Aurorix]

Zolivar quickly stopped at the sight of two men approaching the scene. He saw that they were just as surprised as he was, "Are they friend or foe?" Zolivar pondered to him self. He was too unsure to make any sudden moves and got into an alert state. He thought out many ways to prevent any conflict between the three of them. He could tell that one was from the desert and the other a knight based on their appearances. To end then silence he asked in the least threatening way possible,

"I came here to investigate the strange second light coming from this area, are you two here to do the same?"

[Felicity]

As Darius came to an intersection, two figures emerged from other directions. One looked to be a man with features that reminded Darius of the Diran desert natives, though he couldn't be sure. The other man bore the same features that were so common in Darius' own home. The two looked as though they had been rushing to somewhere, or from. Wary of the two, he clutched his bastard sword, doing his best to keep a blank face, and drew it to defensive position. though somewhat lowered in attempt to look less threatening than the average armor clad man. A difficult task.

After a brief pause the man from Renalim spoke:

"I came here to investigate the strange second light coming from this area, are you two here to do the same?"

"Aye, what with the supernatural happenings this night, i didn't think that light would bode well."

((Dammit, ninja'd))

[Ragnar]

On his way through, Gideon stops as the two knights intersect his path, Other magistrates? no..wait they have no symbol on their armor the Turk though to himself as he observes them keenly and can tell they're aren't from the city's law enforcement. Gideon swiftly withdrew his two swords from his back, pointing them each at the two knights.

"You don't withdraw your sword, unless you're willing to use it" the Turk said to the others.

"Most people would run away from that light, not drawn from it, I think we're on the same page. who are you people?" Gideon intensely stares at the two, not letting his guard down.

Edited August 18, 2014 by typhlosionrulez

[Aurorix]

"Now isn't that bad manners, usually people say their name before asking others." Zolivar said arrogantly to the Turk, though it did seem to raise the tension a bit but in his mind it was worth every second of smugness.

Edited August 18, 2014 by EXLink32

[Ragnar]

Gideon raise a brow at the knight's smug response, he didn't like the way it answer that caught his attention, "Manners? usually people don't raised their sword at each other while asking these question, but if you must, my name is Gideon." the Turk tighten his grip on his sword and held it up high pointing it at knight's unprotected head, showing a bit of his aggressive side.

[Sutoratosu]

Hukuna

It wasn't long before the Magistrate and the Sniper made their way to the scene via the roof tops. Boho was impressed by Sinbad, not many people were agile enough to keep up with him without any gear on, let alone while carrying a heavy weapon like the crossbow in his associates hands was. Hell, If he wasn't absolutely certain the man would turn it down, Boho would've even been willing to offer him a position in the Magistrate department. The Deputy arrived at the scene first, spotting three young men down on the street below instantly, identifying the Warrior types as Two knights and a Turk. The Turk and one of the knights had their weapons drawn, but he focused on the Diran Man for now, seeing as how the Knight held his blade rather easily in his hand, as if just in case things got ugly. The Turk on the other hand, was pointing his weapons at the other two men in a threatening manner.

"Sinbad, ma friend," He whispered to the Sniper. "If you'd be so kind as to aim your crossbow at that Diran man down below, I'd mighty appreciate it... he looks a bit shady. Don't fire unless I say so though."

Dobby, Exlink, & Typhlosion

The Magistrate then turned his attention to the Young men below, calling out to them from the roof top he and Sinbad were perched on.

"Well... What have we here!?" He looked over at the Turk "You might wanna explain things, folks, because all I see is one man pointing swords at other peoples faces, about to attack em, and another one with his in his hand, like he's expecting trouble... it would Be a shame if I can't get this sorted out and had to arrest all three of ya!"

ERIC

Eric picked himself up from the ground following the explosion a few minutes ago. both him and Octavia had been Knocked clean off their feet and had hit the stones... hard. He brought his hand up to his lip, feeling a strange warmth there. he yanked it away as a stinging pain filled the area, seeing that his palm was covered in Scarlet. He must've gotten cut somehow. he looked around, seeing that it was entirely possible since there was a particularly jagged and sharp rock projecting out of the cobble stone street, a few specks of his blood on it's porous surface. Octavia lay on the ground beside him. Apparently the fall had knocked her out cold.

"Hey," he said, trying to shake her awake. He didn't really care about the fact that he himself was injured and bleeding. just so long as she was okay... "Hey, Get up Octavia...are you alright?"

((Wake up already... I'll leave it up to you as to whether or not Octavia was injured. you two were closer to the epicenter of the event, so the shaking was a lot stronger (All the buildings are still perfectly intact however...))

Edited August 18, 2014 by Stratos

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"Aye, but I got an itchy trigger finger, you better talk fast." Sinbad said, aiming Bianca straight at the Diran man's head.

[Ragnar]

Gideon never takes his eyes of the knight until he notice a familiar voice on the rooftop, it was that funky looking magistrate from before along with a man holding a crossbow that was ready to fire, great just great, Gideon sighed."No troubles here officer, i was just showing my new found friends here how shiny my sword is." Gideon gave a coy response as he returns his two swords to his back."Shouldn't you be more concern about that second beam of light that appear just a minute ago?" Gideon shouted at the man on the roof.

Edited August 18, 2014 by typhlosionrulez

[Chevaleresse]

Matrim headed to the gate, slipping through while the guards were distracted. He started running toward where the light was, eager to see what the source was.

[Snap Crackle Pop]

"Hey, Get up Octavia... are you alright?"

Octavia opened her eyes, blinking away the black dots that obscured her vision, confused for a moment, although seeing Eric with some blood on his face made her remember precisely what had happened. "Ow," She muttered, sitting up. It took a few moments to gather her thoughts, for her head felt like it was split open and she could feel bruises forming along her spine from where she'd landed on her scythe. Yeah, quick note to self; get a better scythe. She checked the spot on her head where -as she suspected- there was a lump forming, aside from minor injuries, however, she was fine.

"Yeah, I'm all good here," Octavia said. Glancing at Eric up and down briefly, she assumed he was too. "What the heck was that though..?"

Edited August 18, 2014 by Snap Crackle Pop

[Felicity]

Darius sighed. It looked like sheathing his sword was necessary. it certainly didn't help matters, though he hated to give up the sense of safety and assurance it gave him. As he did this Darius spoke slowly and clearly to not agitate the Turk,if he was willing to draw swords that quickly, Darius didn't want to risk a fight. Not now at least

"My names Darius, and it seems like we all have an interest in that light" Darius raised his voice to the Rooftops

"I assume that means you two as well, correct?"

[Sutoratosu]

Exlink, Dobby, Typhlosion, & Hukuna

"Well... you've come to investigate, have you?" Boho looked around at the area, just now remembering that that was what he and Sinbad had been doing. "Lower your weapon, Siny," He said as he continued to examine the area. it wasn't long before he caught a terrible sight... twenty or so people strewn across several rooftops, their bodies beaten and battered... these injuries were nothing like He had ever seen before. He whirled around, facing sinbad again, his voice solemn and deadly serious.

"On second thought, don't lower your weapon." he turned his attention to the young men down below. "And you three, Get up here, NOW!" with that shouted, he turned and walked away from the edge, not bothering to stay and watch if the men did as he had ordered. on the side of the building was a small, rickety stair case leading up to the roof. it looked treacherous, but it should still be strong enough to bear the weight of all three men if they went one at a time.

Hukuna only

The scene was even grizzlier up close. Blood splattered all across the shingles, scorch marks in the shape of paws all around the place, the air stung with burnt ozone... and Boho saw something he hadn't been expecting. standing among the carnage was Atton.

"Boho..." he said, crouching down and looking over one of the dead mages. he cast a wayward glance at the man. "These are Chimera Whites..." he stood from the corpse's side, his eyes burned with a righteous fury as he drew his bastard blade. "Raise the alarms, lock down the city gates, and get a Magistrate on every single street corner. We are dealing with a Dark Father here...There is a curfew, effective immediately. send orderlies to the holy grounds and evacuate everyone to their homes. there will be no more festivities this night. if anyone resist you, then arrest them. while they are herding the people indoors, you and I are going to arrest the Pope and assist Stratos... even someone as powerful as him will need it." The giant of a man then turned to face the Sniper, and in his left eye, Sinbad could spot some type of strange symbol emblazoned upon his pupil, the color of the iris around it glowing and changing every minute. now that he noticed, a similar glow could be seen issuing from beneath Boho's dark glasses. Sinbad didn't know if it was just his imagination, but they both seemed to now be radiating some type of...strange power...

"I suggest you get to safety, Sniper. Things are going to get hellish... and take those vagabonds down below with you." those were the only words the arch magistrate said to him before He and Boho both disappeared into thin air, leaving Sinbad standing there alone.

Snap Crackle Pop

"I...I don't know..." Erick answered. The bleeding was beginning to stop as the blood began to clot. he again touched his fingers to his lower lip, feeling a rather large cut their. it seemed to be small enough, though. nothing to worry about. in the distance, something seemed to be happening in the holy grounds... the pillar of light from the citadel was gone now.

In the distance, a fearsome but faint roar of power could be heard as twin bolts of black and white lightning burst across the cloudless sky and arced downwards from the heaven, striking the highest levels of the citadel. the following explosion was fierce and sent stones and parts of the broken outer edifice tumbling to the plaza below, but before it could hit the ground and kill any spectators, another twin burst of black and white lightning issued forth, this time it came from the silhouette of a man atop the highest levels of the building, holding some type of object in the air. this next batch of lightning completely destroyed the debris before it could get anywhere close to the crowds. whoever this man with the spear was, he had saved countless lives just now. Eric, still a bit awe struck by the sheer power he had just witnessed, turned to Octavia, grinning.

"It seems we'll be getting a far more interesting show than just some Resurrection" as soon as the words left his mouth, he sprang back onto his feet, offering his hand to help Octavia up.

Murdoc

As Matrim Crept further and further into the city, he could hear faint voices nearby. around the corner, he spotted a young man and woman laying sprawled on the stones, apparently knocked down by the earthquake just now. he stood there for a few moments, watching as the young man seemingly asked the woman if she was alright. His attention was pulled away from those two, however, when the quell of a Dragon's roar tore through the night, faint as it was, Matrim was sure he had heard it. two burst of black and white lightning followed the roar, along with the sound of an explosion, though from where Matrim stood, he could not see anything more than a few flashes of light in the sky. his attention was drawn by a blur of motion in his peripheral vision, and he looked back to see the young man from before spring to his feet and offer his hand to the young woman.

STRATOS, Supernovae, And Kenny

(Kenny)

It had been several long minutes since Marculo had left, and in all the chaos that had transpired, Ko'Luki began to think that he would never be coming back with help for this soldier. suddenly, however, a convulsion came over the young warrior on the ground, despite his full paralysis. The convulsions ended seconds later, and he looked up at Ko'Luki now, a strange symbol visible in one of his pupils, the Irises now flaring in a thousand different colors. The young man's hand shot up and grabbed kenny by the lapels as he hoisted his body up, now in a sitting position. he thrust his other hand out, pointing towards the Papal alter at the top levels of the Holy Citadel. Ko'Luki could see several silhouettes there, but as he looked, his vision somehow clarified and he could make out the scene as if he were there. A man with shoulder length, snow white hair and gleaming eyes of gold knelt on the stones of the Alter, clutching his bloody and battered shoulder and staring up at... Mother of God... he was staring up at the same man Ko'Luki had seen in his strange incident at the store. in the man's hands was a greatsword, the appearance of which also matched exactly from what Ko'Luki had seen earlier; the sword was the same blade made of pure light that Ko'Luki had seen straped to the crowned man's belt earlier. His vision returned to normal within seconds, and Ko'Luki was again staring at the man grabbing him by the shirt.

"HELP... HIM..." The Soldier managed to croak out, the voice issuing out of his mouth was not his own... this one was far more authoritative and rang with raw power. "IF YOU DARE... TO CALL... YOURSELF...HUMAN...THEN HELP HIM!!!!" with that, another batch of convulsions over took the lad's body, and he fell back to the stones, laying still after several seconds... he was dead, tiny trails beginning to leak from his nostrils.

((Means to survive this battle will be provided if you choose to enter the fray... though you can always just ignore that urgent message and run away...like a coward.))

(Supernovae)

Maximus heard Rodriguez call out in surprise as a burst of black and white lightning lit up the sky. He turned his head, only to find that where his friend had been sitting beside him only moments ago, was now a portal filled with golden light. before he could move, however, the thing slammed shut, leaving him on the Rooftop alone... but that was not the thing that grabbed his attention the most at the moment, for he could see the top levels of holy Citadel... and he could see that on the Papal alter, Stratos was kneeling on the floor, seemingly badly wounded somehow... and standing all around him were various individuals, over top of him was a man who appeared to be preparing to behead the Dragoon. At his side, the Spear known as Steele-splinte began to...resonate. a draconic voice rang out in Maximus's mind.

"You have the power to stop this... if you stand by and do nothing, then you are nothing but a monster. That Dragoon fights to protect the whole world. he has sacrificed much for his cause, far too much. and now he is alone, wounded, and outnumbered, without an ally in the world to come to his aid. Help him, or I shall rescind my ties to the Steele household. Make your decision, you do not have long, Boy."

And as suddenly as it had spoken, the voice was gone.

(( If you decide to assist Stratos, then fear not, I shall provide you a means to survive the fight...though, you can always just ignore that voice and run away, but don't expect Steele Splint to be usable to Maximus for much longer if you do.))

(STRATOS)

Stratos Clutched his bleeding shoulder in agony as he stared hatefully at the man standing before him, a gleaming blade of light held beneath his jaw... the beast he'd been pursuing all these years... He had to admit, he had been caught by surprise by how things had turned out here. This ceremony... he had been wrong all this time; the church had never been seeking to bring back the Puppet, Azuaqyar... they had only wanted to bring forth the master. Of course he had been wrong about their intentions, Rossephus himself probably ordered them to spread that rumor. but that hadn't made any difference for him at the time, he had felt that it would only gave him a better shot. He had tried to end this quickly by calling upon Star-rippers power, summoning bolts of light and darkness from the heavens themselves... but it had been a foolish mistake in the end. Rossephus had detected it instantly and rerouted the path of the lightning, causing it to impact the building itself and collapse a large portion of it... which then fell towards the crowd. Stratos had had two options at that point, either ignore that and begin his complete offense, or to call upon Star-Rippers power again and save those people below, even though it would've put him in a critical opening that could've been struck.

Stratos had chosen the latter of those two options, despite the danger it posed to him. he had chosen to save life instead of act to take it... and that decision had serious consequences now. Rossephus had perfectly calculated that moment, knowing the what Stratos would do, and had made his strike, catching the Sky Slayer with a brutal sword stroke to the right shoulder, shattering every bone in the area and nearly tearing off his entire arm. He had had his chance, and yet he had been to weak to take it... he had been distracted. and now there was no way he'd win this fight, not with his dominant hand worthless and Star-Ripper far out of his reach.... not with so many enemies all around him now.

The Pope stood to the left Stratos, the two arch commanders to the right. and behind Rossephus himself stood an individual Stratos had never seen before, a weighty tomb in his hands as he sneered at him. That's when Stratos realized just what he was dealing with here... this must be the Dark Father Muya had warned him of just moments ago. Rossephus starred down at him, an arrogant grin spreading across his dreadfully handsome face. the golden crown atop his auburn hair gleamed in the moonlight. across his chest he wore a golden breast plate and a regal cloak the color of blood. His servants didn't make any move to try to finish off Stratos, knowing that their master wanted the pleasure of that himself. The False King raised his blade of Light above his shoulder, preparing to bring it down

This was it, Stratos knew he would likely die tonight... His mission.. was about to fail completely.

"Any last words, boy?" Rossephus sneered. Though he appeared younger than Stratos, he was in fact a being of old. "Speak them now... perhaps you'll sing a lament for Phalla?" That remark caught the Sky Slayers attention immediately

"You wouldn't dare!" he shouted "why would you, she's already completely under your influence!"

A chuckle was all stratos got out of him. "So protective of her, aren't you? strange how one-sided love works, Boy. Shes hated you ever since that day. and you know it even better than I do." He raised his blade higher, preparing to deliver the final blow. "But I will answer your question regardless, Stratos. I will kill her to further spite you... as well as eliminate a possible threat to myself in the future." with those words, the blade's light began to intensify... Stratos knew what was about to happen.

Rossephus didn't intend to just kill him...

He was going to completely wipe him from existence. But Stratos just smiled... smiled because behind Rossephus, in the night sky, was a blazing flame...it was so far away that it was just a tiny blip, but in the sky he knew it was his soul bound. Stratos could sense the dread in Thead's mind, the fear that his friend and Soul-bound rider would be slain and he would be able to do nothing about it. but Stratos was almost certain that at top speed, he would not make it here in time. and he knew that Thead knew that fact as well. but he was still touched by the fact that depite the odds, Thead was not just going to give up... he was touched by the fact, that at least he had one friend who had never doubted him. but the mission was over. he had failed. the taste of defeat was bitter and unpleasant...

no... that wasn't fair... he did have friends... people who were willing to stand by him, and as few as they were in number, they still counted for something... they still mattered. but they were all to far away to help him now, or occupied with their own portions of the mission. it was over now. he had failed to do his part, As much as he hated that, he had to accept it. he had been defeated. not even GOD was going to help him now... if he was, he would've already... if even he had given up on Stratos... then he probably didn't even deserve to live in the first place... he had one purpose in this world, and he had failed utterly. and so it was with these thoughts that Stratos resigned himself to his fate.

"Go on," he told Rossephus "Do it."

Edited August 18, 2014 by Stratos

[K_H]

After seeing the Figure he'd seen in the Darkness and the Death of the Soldier, Ko'luki knew he had to act fast. He Loaded a HED into Hilda, and yelled out at the Balcony, aiming Hilda at the right Trajectory.

"If you Kill him, I'll Blow you Sky-high! I've got a clear shot, and my Ammunition is Explosive!"

Edited August 18, 2014 by K_H