“Enough waiting then, I will kill them NOW!” bellowed the troll. A blast of white hot energy hit the ground in front of the massive troll as it turned to charge the helpless prisoners. “Patience my friend,” called out Magnalian, “You will get your chance, I promise. When the sun crests the mountains we will begin the games. But not until then.” --- The warm sensations that came from it, stirred the Magnan. He quickly became aware of the lack of movement in his hands. So I’m not spiritually bound as I initially assumed. A poor wizard I think if one can’t seize full mastery over his prisoners. The Shadow in Chains certainly knew how to use Ulzingor, but does this person know who they are dealing with. Yes, they have the creatures, but the tenacity, I think not. He opened his eyes and rolled onto his side, a sharp pain in his right arm was the answer; he could feel something trickling down it. Wounded, starving, and still without answer. He saw the girl he had tried to rescue; she looked like she had been sleeping, then to his surprise she vanished. Show off. The ropes remained still tied. He tried to get a sense of perspective, although it was difficult when your hands are tied behind your back. He finally realized he wasn’t the only one; the winged creature was here also. There was now five of them in total not counting the teleporting girl. He quickly began to heat up his wrists; a small plume of smoke began to rise, as the bindings slowly melted away becoming ash on the sand. There was a snap, followed by relief that he could move more freely. He managed to get unsteadily onto his knees. Aware of the emptiness in his thoughts, he began to worry that once again Blade Edge was lost. ‘I’m still here’ ‘You slept I see’ ‘First time in years, so I worked it out. The guy, who captured us, is ironically called Magnalian. That oversized troll thing is called Ogini. I also heard things, something about spies. This is a scheme all right, and we are caught in it. ‘That’s a name I’m familiar with but it’s not the Emperor of White Tallon. What about his thoughts, any give away’ ‘Only a concern about a spy, he’s magically well protected, if I was too intrusive he would sense it I bet. Not the time to take risks.” ‘Right, still no real answers there Blade Edge,’ ‘There’s this orb, the Orb of Pyritus. I found it in some of people’s thoughts, it seemed to be the main focus of the wizard, and it brought us here no doubt. Its purpose I can’t fathom. It will be your bane, I fear.’ The Magnan had taken the time to find his sword lying amongst the sand, still in one piece he sheathed it. Turning back to the five others that lay before him, he subtly sent a trickle of heat through the ground, to release them from the ropes that had bound them.
Eslana Forcanus When Eslana awoke, she was bound by strong ropes, and the only reason she had awoken was hearing rustling next to her. She shook her head, trying to get her vision clear. Her vision had been made a bit blurry by traveling with whatever had attacked her and Kitza. Kitza! Eslana turned and found Kitza near her, its three legs tied up, along with its two arms tied to its snout. It looked very uncomfortable, but for a creature that walked on three legs, Eslana wasn't sure. Kitza was staring at her, and got wide-eyed when Eslana opened her eyes. "Woman!" "Are you okay Kitza?" Kitza nodded, moving its arms with its head. "Okay woman is?" "Yes, I'm okay." Eslana turned her head the other way to attempt to find out where they were. Instead, she found other people nearby. A man, a woman... wait, the woman looked familiar. Yes, she was the one with Faramar when she'd left him at the caves. And... Faramar! There were others as well. Eslana was about to call out to him when the girl in the middle vanished. Eslana's heartbeat began racing. Whoever had them bound... were they going to kill all of them off? "Woman." Eslana turned her head. "Next man you to, thoughts strange. Talking minds two them of. Of Orb about talk." The man next to her. Eslana looked, and it seemed he was awake, but concentrating on something. She decided to leave him to what he was doing. "Faramar!" She called out to her friend. "Faramar, its Eslana!" Kitza Kitza awoke, its long walkers tied together, as well as its feeders tied to its food-in. Turning lookers, it found Woman. Woman had lookers closed. However, Kitza still mind-heard Woman. Active mind still, Woman's was. Kitza back-rested for some time before Woman lookers opened. When Woman looked Kitza, she asked if Kitza was okay. Kitza nodded. "Okay Woman is?" "Yes, I'm okay. Kitza looked as woman looked at other non-Kitzas close-in-looker-range. Kitza mind-heard man aside of woman. Minds two were. Kitza had never mind-heard two in body same. Kitza mind-heard Woman as second Woman disappeared. Lose-life mind sounded. "Woman." Woman switched-head-facing to Kitza. "Next man you to, thoughts strange. Talking minds two them of. Of Orb about talk." Woman switched-head-facing to man. "Faramar! Faramar! It's Eslana! Kitza switched-head-facing to not-ground. Looked old Master. Strong mind felt.
Magnalian the Summoner 'The captives are starting to awaken,' Magnalian thought to himself. 'Good, this will make for an interesting morning.' The troll was continuing to grow impatient. Several of the more docile of his servants stalked about the edges of the arena waiting for their own opportunity. Suddenly, one of the females in the center of the group vanished. Ogini noticed and stomped over to where her empty ropes lay. As the massive creature stooped over the prisoners it suddenly froze. Sniffing the air it began to murmer. “I smell troll's blood.” "Faramar! Faramar, its Eslana!" called out the girl on the far end of the line of captives. Quickly the troll stomped over to her and breathed deeply through its bulbous nostrils. Meanwhile, one of the warriors had somehow freed himself and was collecting his weapon while the troll was distracted. Standing to his full height the Troll pointed his mace at Eslana and bellowed. “Hello! My name is Ogini Ayotanom! You killed my brother, prepare to DIE!” 'This is not at all what I had in mind,' steamed the Summoner as the troll swung his weapon toward the defenseless woman.
Sydrian Darkblood Sydrian was slow to wake, his senses finally returning after so long. He tried to move, muscles flexing painfully with the stiffness of... age? No, he hadn’t been out that long. A growl in his stomach told otherwise. He looked around, finally taking in his surroundings. Woods, dark and desolate as it seemed, but the sounds of birds and insects buzzing reminded him that there was life. He staggered up, finally stretching his legs without the stiffness hurting him so much. Quiet screams, what seemed like miles away, turned his attention towards a giant colosseum. The dim sounds of a giant creature, still hidden by the treeline, screaming in rage, caught his attention. Every time before he had known to run. But whatever had possessed him to move forward had other ideas. He was slow-moving, slightly limping, trying to get his muscles moving again, but that only gave him time to sightsee. A few berries presented themselves, which he gladly ate rather ravenously, but beyond a few small critter the forest proved desolate. He kept hearing bird calls, some exotic and enticing song he never had heard before. They grew closer as he moved on, either by luck or fate, but either way inevitable. The phoenix attacked quickly, catching Sydrian off-guard from the rear. The bird’s talons dug in deep, but the hides of Avialos were thick; Sydrian was knocked to the ground, catching sight of the fiery bird only seconds before it struck him from the side. He rode the impact, this time knocking the bird’s talons aside before they could clamp in. The bird flew off into the cover of the trees, where it hid surprisingly well in the dense vegetation. Sydrian didn’t take his eyes off of the branches. Every leaf stirring was another opportunity for attack, and each opportunity meant he could trap it. He waited, still and silent, flinching at nearly every movement of the trees. The bird’s next strike came from behind, where it had disappeared moments before. Sydrian was ready. He flung himself back, planning to pin the bird to the ground with his weight, at least if it was slow enough. The phoenix reeled back in confusion, catching itself before it flew into the falling prey. It never saw the claw coming down upon it. Sydrian couldn’t help but feel relieved when he felt feathers giving way, but his cheer was quickly dismissed. The bird was unharmed, perhaps a bit slower, and if the light wasn’t playing tricks, a bit duller in feather color too, but still alive and unhurt all the same. It flew off into the woods towards the colosseum quickly, and Sydrian sprinted after, only taking his eyes off of the magnificent bird to dodge trees.
Faramar As Faramar regained consciousness, his every limb felt as stiff as if he had been laying still for eons. Without moving, he opened his eyes to see where he was. It looked like an arena of some sort, its walls dark as the ocean from Gharr'tash. The peace keeper could question the awkward situation. However, since he had arrived in this peculiar world, he had learned not to. As his senses adapted to his surroundings, he could also hear a very distinctive sound. It sounded like somthing was breathing heavily, which he found strangely familiar. Where had he heard it before? Suddenly, another familiar sound called out to him. "Faramar! Faramar, it's Eslana!" Taken aback by the surprise, Faramar let out a gasp. How was it that she was there with him? Had they been captured? Had she returned from her journey? Was she successful in repairing Jor'Reda? Pyree! The peace keeper had completely forgotten about his fallen companion. If Eslana was there, it was possible that Pyree was too. Maybe even the strange man who was helping him fight the rocky beast. He tried to move, only to find that his hand and feet were tied together, rendering him immobilized. And to make the situation even more eerie, the ground started to shake as if some kind of giant being was walking. And then, he heard the words: “Hello! My name is Ogini Ayotanom! You killed my brother, prepare to DIE!” The peace keeper's pulse sped up. Eslana could be in danger! He struggled against the ropes. Wrapping his tail around them and pulling with all his might. His efforts seemed pointless, until he felt them give way. Slowly, but steadily, Farmar continued to pull on the ropes with his tail and finally, to his relief, they burst. He felt the circulation flow back into his hands as he reached for the ropes that bound his feet.
Corporal James Farmer (Atlas) Atlas watched in dumbfounded silence as the enormous structure rose up from the ground ahead of him. If it wasn’t for every other impossibility that had happened to him so far, he would have easily believed he was dreaming. Captivated by the rising building, he forgot about the ravine behind him and nearly lost his footing on the cliff-side. The bridge had disappeared as soon as he passed through the portal. “Dammit!” yelled Atlas, as he stumbled away from the edge. Once he was a safe distance from the ravine, he turned back around to assess his situation, and immediately noticed that he was alone. The corpse-like beings were no longer in sight, and the General had disappeared with them. The axe-man was also absent. “Just my luck,” muttered Atlas, giving his equipment a quick once-over. “Am I the only person that can’t goddamn teleport or something?” “Hey!” he called out, hoping that they were at least nearby. “Hey! Is someone there?” Atlas waited a few moments in case there was a reply. After a minute or two of silence, he shook his head and continued forwards, grumbling under his breath. He had only made it a few steps before being interrupted by a voice. “I hope you like surprises, boy.” He spun around to see the axe-wielder stepping out from behind a group of trees. The man had his weapon out in front of him, and was grinning from ear to ear. All of a sudden, the man let out a harsh bellow and charged straight towards Atlas with his axe above his head. Atlas barely had time to jump out of the way, and he dropped his rifle in the process. He quickly scrambled back to his feet, trying to pull Thatratar off of his back. But before he could ready the sword properly, the man smashed his axe into its hilt. The sword went flying out of his hands and onto the ground, skittering away from him. “You’re finished now, boy. There’s no one around to help you anymore,” jeered the man, shifting his axe around mockingly. Atlas snorted. “You think I need help to fight you?” The man stopped fiddling with his axe, and glared at him. “Hell, you needed an entire army just to get your ass kicked. What makes you think you’re so tough now?” Atlas continued. He knew it was wishful boasting, but he also knew that an angry enemy was an irrational enemy. Without any weapons, he was going to have to use his brain to get out of this alive. And it appeared to be successful. The man roared and swung the axe at Atlas without bothering to wind it up, allowing him to catch the axe by its handle and grapple the blade away from his face. The man grunted angrily, as he tried to pull the axe back. But Atlas kept his hands planted on the handle, and tugged on the weapon with as much strength as he could muster. The axe continued to get pulled back and forth in the power struggle, and after a while of uncertainty, Atlas noticed that he was slowly starting to win. If it continued, the man would eventually lose his grip on the weapon. Then the axe-man grinned. “Pathetic weakling. Feel the power of the Lorin!” Suddenly, the man pulled on the axe with strength that shouldn’t have been possible for a human being. Atlas found himself getting dragged forwards by the force, and he had to strain himself to keep a grip on the weapon. “You don’t know when to give up, do you boy?” This time the axe came loose, and Atlas stumbled backwards, catching himself before he could fall. Once he caught his breath, he rushed forwards and grabbed the axe again before the man could attack. The axe-wielder roared in frustration as he tried to twist the axe out of Atlas’ grip. Again, the man seemed to get ready to draw in more power. But this time, just as the man hauled the axe with his superhuman strength, Atlas released the handle. The weapon flew backwards at an astonishing speed, causing the back of the axe to swing directly into his opponent's face. In a nearly comical moment, the wooden tip of the axe smashed into the man’s forehead, and sent him flying backwards. He cried out, landed hard, and didn’t move. Atlas waited for a moment to make sure he really was out completely. “Lorin my ass,” he spat. Without any further hesitations, Atlas grabbed his fallen weapons, and hastily headed towards the towering building. There had to be something there.
Kitza The large ugly creature, one of previous master's other do-works, heighted over Woman, starting to bring-down-to-crash on her a large stick. Kitza felt strong mind-voice from do-work: Kill Kill Kill. Kitza knew do-work wanted to end-life of Woman. "No!" Kitza eye-looked at previous master, looking at smile on face. Suddenly, Kitza turned hot in mind, and body felt strong. Without knowing what it was doing, Kitza closed eyes and lost all body-feeling. There was a bad-ear-hurt-scream from do-work, and Kitza slept. Eslana Forcanus Eslana watched in horror as the ogre swung his mighty club at her. The last ogre she had encountered had been easy to kill, despite the challenge it presented. However, she hadn't been bound, she'd had her sword, her magic, and an ally who was backing her up. This time, all she had were her eyes, to watch as the ogre prepared to end her life. It had been such a great life for her. She had made many friends back on her home world, ended many evils, and become someone who people wanted to meet. There was one thing, however, she'd never accomplished. It had been something she'd intended on doing just after the last adventure she'd gone on: settle down with someone. During her years traveling the world, she'd never fallen in love. Of course, as she'd come and gone so much, it was her feeling, no her duty, to turn down those who presented a romantic front to her. Now that she had finally felt accomplished, she had intended to find love. Of course, that would no longer be possible. Not with the ogre preparing to kill her. It was over, nothing was left. She didn't feel as though her life was a waste, but she still felt she could have done more. She closed her eyes and prepared for the final feeling, the final strike that she had always dreaded, imagining how it would feel. Would it hurt, when she died, she always pondered. Opening her eyes as the club got closer, she realized she couldn't let it end this way. She couldn't just lie there, and let this ogre, who wasn't even from her world, end HER life. No, ending her life would be her choice. She would know when it was over, and it was NOT over. Not yet! She took a deep breath, and prepared to do that which she always used as a last resort. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Eslana opened her eyes, and found the ogre had dropped his club. Not on her, but had fully let go and dropped it to the ground. She didn't know what happened in the short second she had closed her eyes, but the ogre was holding his hands over his eyes. "AAAUGGH! It burns! AAAAAAAHHH!" Eslana noted a bit of slime sliding out from under the ogre's hands, perhaps like that which flowed off Kitza. "No! No! NOOOOOO!" Eslana had seen a great many things and ways to die in her lifetime thus far. But nothing left such a horrified image in her mind as what she saw happen to the ogre. From under his hands, his eyes burst into flames, shooting fire from their sockets. Then, a bit of snot dropped from his nose before the nostrils, too, erupted in flames like a violent Break in the earth. He opened his mouth to scream, but it too shot forth fire. Eslana couldn't imagine that hurt too much. But when it erupted from his ears, and then from under the loin cloth that he wore, she couldn't imagine worse pain. Finally, little tiny fires burst from the ogre's pores, and in the end, he simply exploded. Eslana stared, mouth gaping open at the horror she had just witnessed. She looked at Faramar, who had been undoing the ropes around his legs, but had stopped to also watch the horror. To her other side, Kitza was out, its eyes closed and limbs limp. "What just happened," Eslana wondered out loud.
Corporal James Farmer (Atlas) The massive, ageless structure loomed ahead of Atlas, blocking out the sunlight. It reminded him of some sort of arena, or a coliseum that was used by the ancient Romans. A sense of dread seeped out of it, yet something compelled him to approach it. This had to be what everyone was after. But how would some building get him home? Atlas crouched behind a large boulder that jutted out of the ground, and aimed his rifle at the structure. He took a few minutes looking through the scope of his rifle, watching for any signs of movement. Suddenly, a loud, unnerving roar echoed from the building. Atlas couldn’t see any movement, so he concluded it must have come from inside. The more he waited, the less he wanted to approach. Whatever made that noise couldn’t have been human. He considered turning back, before remembering that he had no way across the ravine anymore. “Ah, shit,” said Atlas, rising up from behind the rock. Going inside was the only option left. Atlas approached the structure cautiously, fully expecting it to start moving at any point. He tried to think of it like the fortification assaults he had done back on Earth. He kept his rifle trained forwards, sweeping his field of vision has he moved. Once he reached the building, he kept himself close to the wall, and moved along the side of the structure. Every so often, he would tap the wall with the butt-end of his rifle. A solid thud would mean wall, and a hollow thud would mean entrance. But when Atlas finally reached the entrance, he didn’t have to tap it to know it was a door. Two large, arched, stone doors rose up from the ground and ended halfway up the structure. Atlas noticed intricate carvings that were displayed on the front of the door. He thought about ignoring the door and looking for another way in, but the structure seemed to lack any smaller doors or windows. This door had to be it. He only hoped that it wouldn’t lead him straight into the jaws of some creature. Atlas pressed his body against the one of the doors, and attempted to push it open. The door was extremely heavy, and he really had to strain himself to even get it to open a crack. Just as he was about to give up, there was a loud, metallic clunk, as if a gear fell into place. The two doors started to slowly roll open on their own. He backed up, and readied his rifle as the doors opened into the building. Once the doors had opened enough, he quickly squeezed through the opening, and crouched by the side of the door, waiting to see if anything would try to attack him. Instead, the doors slammed shut behind him. The only way now was forwards.
Pyree Lasstor Pyree kept her eyes open, but unfocused. With just 6 threads it would enough. She drew upon her bracelet taking three of the precious space-time threads out and set up a three dimensional axis with her self as the center. Each thread lengthened to 100 meter radius from her. Her mind held them in place, like a light burnt into the corneas even after the eyelids closed. She exhaled strongly and drew out another thread. She coiled it tightly around herself as a personal cocoon. Being the only observer for the event required at least this much protection, though Pyree had never tried a true bend within a planet's sphere of gravity. Pyree drew another breath and set herself. With her cutting tool at an angle, she sliced open the largest crystal on her bracelet, a pink aluminum oxide forming the outer layer of containment shattered to pieces. The space within ruptured, and the miniature black hole escaped into the real world. Expanding rapidly the sphere engulfed the entire space within the axis around her. Pryee looked to her right spotting Dras mid swing. The blindfolded blue-skinned woman was a serene statue poised artfully in combat. The beetle that her blade had passed through unhindered was still in the air, each globule of moist gut and blood caught frozen in place. The black hole froze time for everything other than the protected observer. Pyree's only black hole, was the miniature one used to contain the threads within her bracelet. She wandered the jungle looking for the last two threads. Spying one, she drew it closer. This one she would need to encapsulate her cargo. Within the black hole her space time threads were malleable enough to form complex non-euclidean shapes. She spread the thread out, blanketing every beetle within the sphere. Pyree took her time, knowing that the additional strains to her mind would come when she reintegrated her cargo with her destination. Although this time she wasn't transporting her standard space ship. While space ships were easy, already within the void of space and generating their own black hole fields. This cargo would be a burden. Finally, she encapsulated Dras with the tail end of her thread. Pyree found the last thread, tied it to the axis and stretched it outside of the black hole. She felt the faint line of a space-time thread left behind by her escape from the coliseum and followed it back to its origin. Remembering the unfortunate beetle that got in the way of her last teleportation she set her destination just far enough away to avoid interacting with any of her fellow captives. Upon teleporting the swarm of beetles would displace the matter of anything occupying the same space. However, the heat energy of displacement would have unpleasant results. Like with Pyree's knee heat would enter the beetles, enraging them at worst, or if the matter displaced was dense enough, like with solid objects, The heat would be great enough to cause combustion. The distraction her plan required called for teleporting a majority of the beetles straight into the surface of the coliseum. Pyree adjusted for the plane of elevation to cause any of the hundreds of beetles still crawling on the ground to appear directly under the surface. With her plan of action laid out, Pyree returned her focus to the space time threads. Held in place by her mind, the threads held incomprehensible potential energy. All she need to do was... let go. The sound of bubbles popping filled the air around her, showering guts and beetle juices in an obscene display. The miniature black hole disappeared in the jungles without the 3 axis thread framework to support it. Pyree's cocoon shriveled away, but she snatched up the thin strand before it could dissipate unused. Holding it tightly with her mind, she tucked it away refusing to let go of her last thread despite its fall towards entropy. Exhausted but resolved, she registered her position at the epicenter of the explosions. Dras was right where Pyree intended, off to the far wall next to a solid wooden door, clear of the beetles. The other captives were still gathered relatively close together, next to a pillar of flame. Faramar with his wings stretched and another man were upright. Pyree saw the glint of blue gems streak through the air as a sword was tossed to her winged friend. Finally, Pyree found her target, before the flying guts had even settled to the ground. The robed figure, with the the most distasteful scowl she had ever seen, turned his head from the gigantic jet of flame and stared straight at her. Pyree stared back in challenge. She may not have the best teleporting ability on this planet, but her plan required she act like it. Pyree wiped the innards from her face and strode toward the man she had marked as her target. Calling out in the commanding demeanor of a ship captain she left her intentions unclear, “I owed you a favor, and I hate being in debt. 542 beetles delivered on schedule. Will that be credit or barter? I can guarantee you don't want to owe me.” If Pyree could just get close enough. Several enraged beetles flew in front of her blocking her vision. She swatted them away with the dagger in her hand. When her line of site was clear the man was gone. “Gods damn!” she cursed to herself.
And so it Begins... “I owed you a favor, and I hate being in debt. 542 beetles delivered on schedule. Will that be credit or barter? I can guarantee you don't want to owe me.” With a flash Magnalian returned to the balcony above the arena. This girl had power it seemed, perhaps he had underestimated her. Not that she was a threat as long as he held the Orb, but she might prove to be a suitable replacement for that disappointing Greywind. A brief glimmer of doubt flitted through the Summoners mind as his attention returned to the now smoldering flame that had once been his Troll. Then again these 'Heroes' might be more powerful than he had anticipated. No, how could he be so foolish, nothing was more powerful than the ORB. The competitors were all rising to their feet, and several had collected their weapons. It was time to begin. “I fear you've misunderstood me my dear. I mean you no harm,” Magnalian began without looking at the woman directly. “I mean no harm to any of you. I invited you here only to make a proposal. I find myself in need of talented individuals such as yourselves to aid me in my... ventures.” The summoner paused as he looked once more over each individual assembled in the arena. Finally looking at Pyree he continued. “You may consider this my exchange; you, and your friends, here may compete for the privilege of my employ. And please don't refuse me; the alternatives are limited.” With a thrusting motion three bolts of lightening to burst forth from the Orb. Two bolts burst open two sets of doors that opened to the arena. The third struck the till now silent mound of stones near the opposite end of the field. Terrifying sounds were heard as out of the dark anteriors of the Colosseum creatures burst forth. From the first door, a swarming tangle of vines erupted into the light. The writhing mass intertwined and wrapped around itself until it formed the basic shape of a very tall human. It reached its arms up to the now well risen sun, almost in praise, before disassembling into a tangle of vines that rapidly burrowed underground in the direction of Magnalian's contestants. From the other side of the stadium came a black shadow that moved swiftly across the field directly toward the group of heroes. The creature was humanoid in appearance but far more gaunt and coated in a thick black substance that smothered the features of its face and seemed to be the only thing supporting its near skeletal appearance in places. It ran of four legs like an ape, which with close inspection could be observed to be its legs and the long pole like projections that extended from its forearms. As the creature ran the ground began to rumble and shake and the stone golem rose from the rubble. It stomped the ground threateningly as it silently challenged whatever had awoken it from its peaceful slumber. Magnalian smiled as his creatures moved in on the group. From beneath his robes he produced a black egg that was larger than two fists. He hurled the object into the center of the battlefield and watched as it cracked open with a spark of fire and the dark plumage of the immature phoenix burst forth. The creature shed its grey down immediately and replaced them before their eyes with dark reddish feathers as it quickly grew to the size of a large eagle. It quickly snatched a beetle from the air with its serrated beak, but dropped it with desregard when it spotted the much more substantial two legged prey nearby. Overhead a black ribbon appeared in the sky. The Nasgar slithered effortlessly through the air mysteriously aided by a set of webbed spines that now ran down most of its length. It gracefully circled above the arena as it watched the scene continue to unfold and awaited its own opportunity for blood. Feeling confident once more, Magnalian wondered whether any of the 'Heroes' before him would be worthy of such a challenge. The first attack was led by the Javelganger against the dark elf Dras who was closest to it. Its primal thirst for blood was executed with precision by its cyberneural networks. The pointed staves of the creature thrashed and swung with uncanny speed and precision owing to their ability to rapidly redistribute their mass along their length. The Drow found herself evading the barrage of attacks from the single minded undead machine. The beetles were no more than gnats compared to this new threat.
Sydrian Darkblood All sorts of hell had begun to break forth from the now visible colosseum, with cries of horrid creatures breaking out through the noon sky. Sydrian tried not to get too distracted, but to be ignorant to such cries would only get him killed. He took his eyes off of the phoenix, still flying slowly above the treeline, to look towards the sound. He didn’t slow, but the cries that were coming from there were just... horrifying. Wherever he was, it wasn’t a place to be rash. He looked towards the sky again, but the bird had snuck under the treeline. Shoot! He found a tree that looked fairly easy to climb, and quickly clawed his way up, hoping to catch the bird before it got too far off. He took his time picking a branch that poked over the treeline, and moved delicately up the thinning wood. About a yard from the end he was able to poke his head up over the canopy, and for the first time he saw the world he had entered. A colosseum with a corpse of a giant beast, as if it had exploded on the inside, stood out, tall and ominous in the otherwise dull landscape. A rustle of leaves below him alerted him of the phoenix’s attack, seconds too late. The large bird tackled Sydrian in the stomach, sending him falling into the trees. The bird followed, pecking and clawing at its next meal. Sydrian tried to ward off the blows, but couldn’t help but take a few pecks and scratches, let alone trying to control his fall. A branch flew past his back, missing him by inches and catching him off-guard. The phoenix saw the opportunity and struck furiously, but Sydrian was ready. He grabbed at the bird’s wings, pinning it along with himself into a freefall, the ground coming closer by the second. Too close. He had wanted the bird alive, but it would have to do. He pulled the struggling bird below him, and braced himself. The whole world seemed to explode. Sydrian was flung back, a burning scent of feathers- his feathers, he realized, filling his nostrils. He tried to find the ground, but the blast had left him deaf and blind. He hit the ground hard, rolling over, under, and through branches, stone and trunks alike. He wished for it to be over, for a sturdy trunk to break his spine and end it all, but no such luck came. He slowed, finally, barely conscious and even less aware. What he saw, but barely understood, was a small black egg standing in a charred crater, wood, rocks and plants all cowering away from the creature. Again, the cries of beasts far away arouse, but the bird-creature had already fallen into the void of unconsciousness.
Drake's Redemption Chaos erupted around him, he drew Blade Edge and for a moment watched as the girl reappeared, a swarm of bugs in her mist, someone was alongside her, although difficult to make out. Her shape was similar to the Silduinor he had come across on his travels back home. It was a strange thing when he considered it. Here he was, amongst those he had never met and yet he trusted them. There was a blue hue nearby, in his freed hand he lifted it up, and weighed it in his hand and then there was dawn realisation. He saw the winged creature look at it, and the Magnan knew, without question that this blade belonged to the winged one. The Magnan smiled, and muttered his own blessing. Let them burn winged one, now who shall I kill. The Magnan threw Jor’reda towards Faramar who caught it, unaware of Magnafire’s gift. In the ensuing maelstrom he heard Magnallian speak. Then things emerged, a shadowy creature descended amongst them, and soon the arena was filled with monster. One immediately caught his attention. Nasgar do you remember me? The Magnan raised Blade Edge, it glowed radiantly, an orange flame burst from it. The Summoner made the mistake of not reading my weakness, I’m recharged, and damn it I am ready to go to war. I am the General of the Burnt, those broke by intolerable warfare, shattered under the weight of sacrifice, but we never surrendered, hold the line. Hold steady, and then strike. The Nasgar slivered over towards him, hissed in a tone of anger, it bore the scar of their earlier confrontation. It’s lunged was so sudden that, the Magnan was forced to dive to the left, missing the deadly fangs but the long blackened and elongated tail soon found its mark, he was thrown towards the sand, resting on his back he grinned in his pain, it didn't matter, if death was the answer he could greet it. He got back up to his feet as the Nasgar, furious and with burning intent faced him once again. The thing Magnan unleashed had been building, the flaming dragon spirit left him, flapping using the invisible wind to gather pace behind it, before colliding with snake. The explosion of such a collision caused a rain of fire around them, the Nasgar howled, weakened slightly but still intact. I have only angered it. Another vicious lunge but the Magnan leapt onto its black scales, the armour was near impervious now, and could Blade Edge breach it. There was only one way to find out, with the blade infused with raw emotion, and dancing with the flames of centuries past he drove the point towards the Nasgar, balanced only by his skill as a Lightfoot, the next moments slowed down considerably. Corgraven, God of Shadow and Patron of the Black Dragon, for once in my life, give me the strength to make things right!
Faramar Everything around Faramar was happening too fast. First, the troll bursts into flames. Then Pyree materializes out of thin air with an army of small winged creatures and a very strange humanoid creature with blue skin and a red blindfold covering her eyes. It was at this point that he noticed man above them, holding a golden orb. The peace keeper knew instantly that this was the "evil one" he was to vanquish. “I fear you've misunderstood me my dear. I mean you no harm,” Magnalian began without looking at the woman directly. “I mean no harm to any of you. I invited you here only to make a proposal. I find myself in need of talented individuals such as yourselves to aid me in my... ventures. You may consider this my exchange; you, and your friends, here may compete for the privilege of my employ. And please don't refuse me; the alternatives are limited." Preposterous idea, Faramar thought. He would never be able to fight Eslana or Pyree. They were good people, kind. As he was lost in thought, again the miasma of eerie events kept on. From the orb three bolt of energy were released. Two of those creating doors where there was nothing before. These doors opened only to present yet another set of strange, twisted creatures. On one side ware vines. Sentient vines! Vines which seemed to form a humanoid form, before burrowing themselves, waiting to strike. From the other side came a dark, apparently shapeless being. However, it was all but shapeless. Upon closer inspection, the peace keeper realized tat this creature also had the shape which all of his companions had in common, with the slight difference that this one moved using four limbs, instead of just two. He had learned from his ancestors, back home, that this quadrupedal stance was an even more primitive one than that of those who stood with him on the arena. Faramar shivered in fear as he imagined a power so primitive, so raw, so primordial. But he was ripped from his train of thought. The third bolt of lightning seemed to have given new life to an old opponent of his. As he watched the incoherent mass of boulders and rocks move to form the beast that had earlier inflicted so much pain to his companion, he smirked. He and it had unfinished business to attend to. Unfortunately, monsters were not yet all introduced. It appeared as if the "evil one" had thrown something into the arena. As he observed it carefully, the medium sized pebble seemed to desintegrate, only to give way to a small bird. Its feathers quickly turned from grey to a black and reddish pattern that reminded Faramar of the landscapes of Gharr'tash. This winged creature grew from the size of the object it came from into a fairly sized and very majestic bird, which immediately started flapping his wings. Faramar did not know why, but it would seem like the bird had taken notice of his presence. It leered at Faramar continuously with menacing eyes and he knew that that creature would be his first opponent. However, another creature appeared. And this one was the most strange he had yet seen. A winged creature, with no limbs, donning a white armor. This monster appeared to choose his foe immediately as it dashed toward the man who had previously tried to help him fight the stone colossus. All these beasts appearing from thin air were absolutely breath-taking. However, the thing that surprised Faramar the most was that the man held in his hand not only his blade, but also Jor'Reda. Had Eslana succeded in repairing his sword? How could that be? The look of surprise had apparently caught the man's eyes, because he now smiled at the peace keeper and threw the sword at him. As he grabbed the hilt that his ancestors grabbed before him, he felt as if he could now fly to infinity and back. His confidence returned entirely and he looked to Eslana with a tear making its way down his face «Thank you, my friend.» His moment of bliss, however, was cut short by the screech emited by his foe. The peace keeper tensed up. He glared at the bird gripping his sword on his left hand. "Come at me, creature. Feel the might of eons of power. Feel the power of Jor'Reda!"
Eslana Forcanus "Come at me, creature. Feel the might of eons of power. Feel the power of Jor'Reda!" Eslana smiled, seeing the tear from Faramar's eye as he held his sword once again. As he held it up to the phoenix, Eslana too grabbed her sword and turned to the twisted mess of vines that was making its way towards them. Seeing as everyone else was busy, she decided to burn the plant thing that the robed man above had sent at them. As she lifted her sword to face it, both the Sword of Elements and Jor'Reda glowed bright. Eslana looked at Faramar, who was equally confused. It had been the same when she'd repaired Jor'Reda. The spell she'd used had obviously made a connection between the swords. Maybe there was more than just the radiant glow they now shared though. Perhaps, there was more to it. Eslana suddenly remembered that Kitza was still on the ground, unconscious. Instead of rushing the vines, she shot a small fireball at it to draw it to her. She needed to keep Kitza safe, for all that it had done for her. Still, she kept glancing at the man in the robe at the top of the stadium. There was a possibility that he could take Kitza right out from under her, with all the power he had. "Come and get me," she said, turning back to the vines. "I dare you."
Pyree Lasstor She watched the lumbering hulk moved toward the center of the ring, guided by some unknown sensory organ. Suddenly it leaped forward in an eerily silent collapse, covering twenty meters in seconds. Just as fast, it reshaped itself to lumber toward her again. Several bugs were caught in the torrent of stone leaving only dust behind. Pyree swatted the bugs surrounding her out of reflex. She knew the sounds they made when approaching from the air, or which clicking noise indicated a mandible fully stretched and ready to bite down. The stone golem bearing down on her would probably notice these bugs no more than Pyree would register an ant on the ground. She switched her cutting tool on, watching it quickly hum to a glowing orange. With her new dagger in the other hand, she entered the stance Faramar had taught her. “Let's see what you're made of.” She called out; half challenge, half curiosity. Immediately the boulder collapsed into a forward slide, much louder this time despite the buzzing of beetles drowning out the world around her. Pyree, light on her feet, jumped out of the way as a spear of earth struck air from out of the ground. Finishing her dodge roll, Pyree watched as the spear transformed back into a torso with too many arms and hulking pillars for legs. On her feet she rushed her opponent, slashing at the amorphous leg. Even at the highest setting her cutting tool didn't make it to the center of its limb. Faramar's strategy for disabling would be useless. She weighed her options carefully. Running was pointless, she knew. Disabling the boulder was beyond her. Which left her with striking a weak point. One clean cut that kept the opponent from adapting to her strategy. She didn't like the risky strategy. For starters the golem was headless lacking any obvious weak points, it commanded range which forced her to maintain close quarters dangerously overburdening her mind and body and it was ridiculously strong. She recognized the wide powerful stroke of its arm that had previously sent her flying. She hopped backward dodging by a hair. Landing on the balls of her feet she sprung forward feinting an attack to its leg. Her only other option would be to use the last space-time thread tucked away in her mind. No, it wasn't an option. She would need that for later. For now, she had what was in front of her. Strangely, if she dared to judge normalcy for such a monster, it did not respond to her attack. It simply continued swinging its arms. She circled the golem warily, cutting down two enraged bugs that approached her. She needed to know how to kill it, if indeed it was even alive. The third dissected bug she struck sprayed dark black juices into her face, nearly causing her to step right into the golem's crushing attack. She dashed forward, moving into a new blind spot beside the beast. Its arms only seemed to swing at specific orientations. The beetles that she killed died from instant fluid loss. The internal pressure that their organs required to operate failed to circulate necessary fluids. All living things needed 3 things, energy, air and water. She did not contemplate the golem's energy source. Foods varied widely even among the known living species she had heard of. Air supply, too, would come in various forms depending upon the anatomy. Osmosis or circulatory, the creature could be using either oxygen, carbon dioxide or possibly other elements to power itself. As the golem turned to reorient itself she saw it. The twisting fibrous movement that rippled down its leg, lifting the massive stone and setting it down again. Water, she thought, even on this strange planet, creatures still required water to live. With a new target found she continued to study the golem's anatomy. Was the movement localized? Did it require transfer of fluid? Where did the fibrous areas intersect and how deep did they flow within? She backed away slowly increasing the distance between them. If she could see more during its landslide type reformation, maybe she could identify a weakspot. She smiled wearily at the adrenaline rush and strain caused by the delightful puzzle in front of her.
Corporal James Farmer (Atlas) All hell broke loose. Atlas reeled back as the sudden, terrifying screeches echoed from the depths of the structure. The scene in front of him rolled out like a movie. Small groups of human-looking figures were bunched up near the center. Surrounding them was what seemed to be a swarm of oversized bugs. But before Atlas could figure out who exactly the people were, an array of gates opened up around them. No sooner had that happened, large, inhuman figures emerged from behind the doors, and started to close in on the group. They were monsters, unlike any sort of creature Atlas had ever seen. The group immediately mobilized, and split up. Some of them wielded swords, and turned to face the colossal beasts that advanced on them. If they were anything like the warriors Atlas had encountered before, they were very capable of fighting back. But did they stand a chance against the monsters? And even if they did win, were they friendlies? Then Atlas noticed that one of the sword wielders was familiar. Upon closer inspection, he realised it was General Drake from earlier. Atlas headed towards the man with his rifle at the ready. “Hey! Over here!” he tried to call out, but his voice was lost in the combined clamour of the monsters. Atlas watched as the General passed off a humongous sword to another figure nearby. The creature was certainly not human; it had large wings protruding from its back. But before he could confirm what his eyes were seeing, a long shadow passed overhead. Atlas looked up to see that the snake-creature, which he had come across before, was twisting its way through the air. Atlas quickly ducked behind a large pillar. “Goddamn great, it can fly now,” he muttered. The snake landed directly in front of the General, and started to lash out at him. Atlas aimed his rifle from cover and released a few rounds into the side of the snake. The bullets bounced harmlessly off, and the creature didn’t even seem to notice. The snake recoiled from an attack by the General, but seemed unharmed. To his surprise, the man took the opportunity to leap onto the back of the snake. Atlas tried running his bullets through the strange line of spines in the snake’s side, but they did nothing. His rifle was useless against the creature’s armour. He would have to use heavy weapons to stand a chance. The General reared back with his flaming sword in his hand, preparing to plunge it into the snake’s back. But at that same instant, the snake flared its spines, which appeared to have webbing between them, and shot out from underneath the General. Atlas barely had time to move out of the way, as the snake barrelled straight into the pillar. Then it swerved in midair, and took off into the sky, circling above them. Atlas rose to his feet and confronted the General. “Have a plan?” He asked, eyeing the beast. “We have to get it on the ground,” replied the General. “I can do that,” said Atlas, holstering his rifle, and pulling the anti-tank Javelin from his back. “Then what?” The General smiled, “Then I destroy it.” Atlas loaded one of the tandem missiles into the Javelin, and aimed it at the black snake circling above.
Faramar As Faramar spread his wings open the phoenix let out another of it's deafening screeches. The peace keeper stood impassive, his face hard as stone. But as he leapt into the air above, he noticed Jor'Reda started to glow. It was not reflecting any light, it was the actual light source. It had never done that before... Had Eslana done something to it besides restoring to its original appearance? He looked over to her and found Eslana looking at him, equally confused. He would have stopped to talk to her, were it not for the man-sized bird that was lunging at him with its beak aimed right at his head. Faramar quickly swung Jor'reda in a downward arch, forcing it to stop in its tracks. Again, a screech. The phoenix tried to peck at the peace keeper again and again, and every time, the mighty sword blocked the blows with no great effort. With each unseuccessful attack, the bird grew angrier and more frustrated. Until finally, it stopped attacking and flew backwards, always screeching in desperation. It was furious now and Faramar knew it. Now that the phoenix had given him a bit of room, he looked around him. Below him, everybody seemed to be engaged in battle. Suddenly, he heard the sound of flapping wings approaching and turned to face his opponent once more. Only this time, it spat out a fireball. Instinctively, Faramar raised Jor'Reda to cover his whole body with it, but the impact of the fireball was overwhelming and he shot backward and crashed into the ground. Although the fall had been considerably big, he did not waste any time getting back on his feet. His left arm had a big, gaping cut in it, probably the result of the landing, which had been anything but peaceful. Despite the pain, Faramar had a grin on his face. He had been testing the bird, but now it was his turn. As he leapt into the air once more, everything around him became a blur, he had only time to point the tip of Jor'Reda toward the orange mass. A big clanking sound echoed throughout the whole arena. Faramar looked up to the bird to assess the success of his strike. He was quite baffled when he was the bird's talons blocking the blow. He quickly pulled the sword back and swung it above his head, this time aiming for his foe's neck. The bird flew back at an astonishing speed, leaving only air for Jor'Reda to hit. The counterattack came quickly as another fireball sped toward Faramar once again. Only this time he too flew to the side. It seemed like the phoenix was much more intelligent then he had assessed it to be.
Dras-Morna Dras was startled by her new surroundings. She fell midswing as the bettle she was slicing towards vanished and presented no target. Dras rolled out of it and stood back up, quickly analyzing her situation. Somehow, probally Lasstor's doing she thought, she was no longer in the jungle but an enormous arena. Grey stone walls rose around her and she couldn't help but feel caged as the gates she did see closed. Severalother hominid creatures stood around the arena, each sporting thier own weapons and demeanors, one of whom Dras recognized as Lasstor. She seemed to be confronting one of the creatures but Dras felt no inclination to invlove herself in another conflict. Tall pillars rose from the floor of the arena in certain spots and Dras decided they could be used for cover in case something ill should happen. It didn't take long. A man dressed in robes began speaking and though Dras understood little of his speech she got from his demeanor that he was the one responsible for the arena. His voice held a contemptuous edge that unpleasently reminded Dras of the Preistess and she instantly fell into her years of training and held her body ready. Then the man in the robes started summoning creatures of terrible ferocity. Dras locked her fear behind a mask of indifference and just continued observe her surroundings. Dras heard something whistle through the air towards her and quickly dodged out of the way. She turned about, avoiding another attack, to face her opponent. A black hominid creature faced her, he resmebled a man but was bent over and looked more like a grotesque panther. He used his long forearms to swing at her with deadly precision, forcing Dras to back away. Her heel stopped at something and as Dras ducked beneath one of the creatures deadly arms she noticed that it was one of the pillars she seen earlier. A plan began to formalate in her mind. She could not fight the creature fairly because it was to fast and precise, dodgeing alone took most of her concentration. But she didn't have to fight fair.
Eslana Forcanus Eslana dodged to the left as the vines came at her with all their might. After dodging one vine, another came at her from the front. She quickly sliced the end off, forcing it back. She jumped backwards in surprise as the vine she had just cut off regrew as though it had never been damaged. "This thing is a little stronger than I had hoped," Eslana said, glancing over towards Faramar, who was busy with a phoenix. It was a shame, on her world, the phoenix was a helpful bird; she'd been saved by it more than once in her life. As Faramar fought the bird, Jor'Reda began glowing, as did her own sword. They're connected... Eslana saw Faramar look to her, confused about what was going on. She honestly didn't know what she'd done, but she did know that the spell she'd cast had intertwined the swords, somehow. What effects the connection had on the swords, she still couldn't be sure. However, she did feel a strange tug of power, something her sword had never done before. Was Jor'Reda giving her additional power? She could only find out one way. Eslana turned her attention back to the vine creature, and just in time to dodge another attack. She spun to the side, avoiding two or three vines that tried to catch her. However, she tripped over something, falling to the ground and landing with a thud. Never, when fighting an opponent, had she been so careless. What was it she'd missed? Looking at her shoulder, she saw what it was that had tripped her. It was no wonder she'd missed it; the vine hadn't been there before. This monster, whatever it was, was sprouting underneath her too. It wasn't stupid, that was a definite. Jumping back to her feet, Eslana decided to end the fight. "Enflamas!" The gem on her sword glowed bright red, and Eslana swung her sword at the mass of vines that she hoped was the body of the creature. Fire spurted out in an arc from the blade, carving through the monster with ease, and burning it. There was a high pitched screech as the monster burned, so bad that Eslana had to cover her ears. She watched as the vines finished burning, and the screeching stopped. "Phew. Now, to help Faramar," she said, turning and running towards the phoenix. Behind her, the vine that she had tripped over disappeared into the ground.
Dras's veins ran with adrenaline as she tried to put her plan into action. The creature continued it's barage and it was almost all she could do to avoid it's deadly arms. Sadly, it reminded her of the Drow that the Preistess would change into grotesque spider drow for punishment. Her father for one, for not bowing in her presence. Dras did him a mercy by killing him. One of the arms slashed acros her torso, managing to rip the fine cloth across her abdobmen. Though for some miracle it did not reach her skin, she cursed her mind for it's wandering. Turing her attention back to the creature she watched it's movements more closly to try and discrern a pattern. Mostly it was random but every few slashes it would lift it's face in a enraged grimace, a weakness perhaps. Dras waited for the next opening then quickly summoned a orb of darkness around the creatures head. The creature paused in it's attack on her and tried to remove the blackness. Not waiting for the the creature to succeed or the darkness to dissapate Dras dove around the pillar. She spoke the words of a spell to hide her scent, muffel the sounds of her movement, and reflect any eyes that looked upon her. With that in place she was practiclly invisible. The creature let out the most inhuman cry and Dras risked a glance around the piller to see it. It's head was still encased in the darkness but it still seemed very much aware of it's surroundings. Dras quickly pulled back behind the pillar, and pulled out her special scaling claws from her bag. As the creature let out another cry she quickly began climbing up the pillar, lodging the spikes on her scaling claws into the cracks and crevices in the stone.
Faramar While in battle Faramar was not aware of the other battles going on around him. This was already taking up all of his concentration. The bird seemed to be intelligent. Its attacks came quickly and methodically. It knew to attack with fireballs when he was out of melee range, and peck at him with its beak when he wasn't. The phoenix also used its talons to defend against the peace keeper's own strikes. Faramar started a barrage of blows. Jor'Reda swung from left to right, up and down in perfectly executed blows. Faramar twisted and pivoted his body in order to put full force into the attacks, and he could do this without compromising the speed. The bird, intelligent or not, was managing to block all the attacks. It dodged and parried, seemingly even "breaking a sweat". After some time of ongoing attacks, however, the phoenix backed away. Faramar didn't go after it, this was exactly what he wanted. The bird could be very ferocius and athletic but it couldn't keep it up forever. He could see how it slowed down the flapping of its wings as it gasped for air. He too was a bit tired, but he was used to this kind of feeling and he knew that if one of them was coming down due to exhaustion it would not be him. The seemingly endless days of training with his sword back in Gharr'tash had paid off. The phoenix adapted its strategy. It realized that fighting its opponent head on would probably lead to its demise. So now, it just spat fireballs at Faramar. But this time, it wasn't just one or two at a time. Towards came a massive rain of fire as the bird screeched in fury. In order to dodge them, he was forced to land back on the ground. However, the phoenix followed him, and so did the never ending torrent of fire. Now that he was on the ground. He saw how everyone was engaged in battle with the beasts he had seen coming from those gates. He thought he caught a glance of something burning from afar, but he didn't have time to look closer. If he stayed inside the arena, the collateral damage would be colossal, so the best way to fight this foe was away from this arena. Faramar started to run toward the phoenix. It looked confused, probably never thought someone would be runing towards it when dodging attacks. The peace keeper ran and ran, until he went below and then past the bird. He then spread his wings and jumped up in the air behind his foe. "Come with me, bird, if you want to settle this!" The phoenix screeched. It almost seemed like it was agreeing with Faramar's words.
Dras-Morna Perched on top of the pillar, Dras resembled a black gargoyle. Her concealing spells had worn off and Dras couldn't help but feel slightly exposed to everything around her. Nothing back home had been so wide and open, and frankly it frighted her to be noticeable. While keeping a careful eye on the creature below her she took the time to watch a couple of the battles. All the people she had seen in the arena before the creatures came were now fighting against them with an energy and purpose she had not seen since she had participated in the raids. She watched as the fiery bird fought against the winged-tailed hominid, the human and what appeared to be a draconian fight against the large snake, Lasstor engage the stone golem, and the last woman strike down the plant creature. She saw no immediate threat to herself besides the black creature, and felt no inclination to help any of the others. In her book, unless they provided a benefit to her she saw no reason to help anyone. She glanced down at the creature below her, the Black Globe and worn off and it was now searching for her in earnest. It walked on all four limbs, kind of using it's front arms to propel itself forward. It walked around and around the pillar sniffing and feeling along the ground. Dras watched with an amused interest, assimilating all the information she could about the creature and it's movements. As it walked she noticed that the blades it had used to attack her had been retracted like claws on a feline. Other then it's movement it almost resembled a hominid. Dras removed her bow from her back and removed three arrows from her quiver. She notched one black fetched arrow and held the other two at the ready. Slowly she drew back the string, aiming carefully she waited till the creature paused for a moment. With a musical twang and whistle the arrow went flying towards the creatures underarm, Dras allowed herself a small smile as it pierced the creatures skin. It was short lived because the arrow stopped a mere fingernail width inside the skin. The creature jerked in surprise but yanked the arrow out with ease, it turned it's head upwards and grinned savagely at her. The slight wound the arrow gave it healed instantly. Dras scrambled back from the ledge of the pillar but it was already to late, the creature unsheathed it's blades and begun scaling the stone. Dras's mind reeled, how can she defeat such an armored hominid? She frantically thought for an answer as the creature kept up it's ascent. Something nudged her in the ribs. Dras glanced down and noticed one of her sais pressing against her side from it's hidden pocket. She looked back at the creature and saw the bloodrage in it's eyes, then back at her sai. Dras pulled free the sai and it's twin from another pocket. She held both sais in front of her and looked at the creature once more. It had scaled two thirds of the pillar and then some as she watched. Dras smiled, "Ka Usstan el yallt, dos orn el xuil uns'aa!" she yelled at the creature. She leaped from the pillar and dived towards the creature, sais leading. The creature paused in it's ascent just long enough to provide an even better target. Dras smiled fiendishly as her sais plunged into the one unprotected spot on the creature, it's eyes. The creature let out a howl of pain and anguish as it tried to slice her with one of it's blades. But Dras had already dislodge it from the pillar and both were now in a free fall towards the ground. Dras twisted her sais in it's eye sockets seeking out the fleshy brain tissue. A couple times the flailing blades on the creature's arms bit into the skin on her back but Dras hardly noticed as she continued twisting her blades in the creature's skull. Dras saw the ground in it's final approach and placed both feet firmly on the chest of the creature, of whom had stopped it's flailing. Bracing herself for impact she launched herself off the creature pulling out her sais and pressed the creature into a faster descent. She did a flip in the air and landed facing the creature, her back towards the other combatants. The creature had broken the stone in the arena floor with it's mass, but it lay unmoving. She turned back to the arena and found the robed man looking out over the rest of the combatants. "Dosst phindar hojjau!" she screamed at him defiantly. She didn't notice the mass of little bots racing to repair the damage she had done.
Pyree Lasstor The large rock creature shuddered at about 20 meters. Drawing up to it's full height it launched itself towards Pyree. She watched patiently, isolating the tenuous strands amid the heap of stone. The momentum alone made her quake with anticipation and fear. She spotted a web-like tangle of the fluid strands, but she couldn't hold her ground a second more. She dove to the right of the oncoming landslide. She kept her eyes open ignoring the disorientation of her roll. If she could just catch a glimpse of where the central nervous system rested. From upside down she watched the parts, ligaments jerked on their heavy loads, the fibers pulsed rapidly, and the core... slid straight to the top. How could she strike the creature from above? Impossible, she decided. The creature was far too tall for her. She dashed in to make a cut at one of the thin ligaments, her cutting to went straight through, leaving a deep gouge into the boulder beneath. The golem merely paused for a moment while new sinuous threads took purchase onto the stone. And then the arms were swinging again, forcing Pyree to dodge back. If she she could somehow attack it while it was low to the ground in its landslide then maybe she reach her target. She turned to dash away from the golem, increasing the distance from her opponent for another opportunity to study it. In front of her she recognized a figure down on one knee. Atlas! A projectile streaked through the sky to fast for her to follow. She craned her neck backward to follow the trail of smoke high over her head. A thunderous explosion vibrated through her. She watched the a bright flower of flame curl and roll in the sky above. She searched for the monster he must have struck but couldn't find it. Then she realized it was no mere monster he was aiming at. The head of it was right at the explosion, and the body followed curling through the sky. An enormous snake was was up in the air, bigger than any creature she'd ever seen. Black, jagged and sinuous, its girth would easily encompass the golem she'd been battling to her wits end. Was this Atlas' opponent? She looked back to Atals, he was standing near another man waving her away hurriedly. She looked up and noticed the snake falling rapidly. Pyree ran without thinking. Her tired limbs juiced with pain as she sprinted toward the two not daring to look back.
Eslana Forcanus Eslana ran towards Faramar, where he was fighting the phoenix. "Come with me, bird, if you want to settle this! Eslana had to admire Faramar's spirit. She'd do what she could to help him, so as he flew up to leave the stadium, she prepared to follow when something grabbed her ankle. Turning around, she was quite surprised to find the vine-creature coming out of the ground again. "You have got to be kidding." She hacked off the vine holding her ankle and turned to look up at the top of the stadium, glaring at the robed man holding the bright orb. "Is this all you've got? Regenerating monsters to do your dirty work for you?" The man in the robe smiled. "You are right my dear. Perhaps I should do some work of my own." He waved his hand, and the orb glowed. She turned back, expecting another monster to appear, or some random spell to fire off right in front of her. However, there was a flash to her left, and she turned to find... "Kitza!" The poor, unconscious creature vanished in front of her eyes. Eslana's shout set off the vine-creature, and it attacked more relentlessly than ever. She hacked off vine after vine, having little time to even take a breath between the flurry of swings that still couldn't satisfy the creature. Activating the gem on her sword, she engulfed the blade in fire, hoping it would frighten the monster off. Though it burned the vines when she slashed at them, the creature buried each into the ground, and it came back out seconds later fully reformed. "Just fantastic," Eslana said, continuing to slash at the vines, and now having the dodge them as well. She was growing tired, something she hadn't felt in some time. It was at this moment, in anger at the man above the stadium, and tired of fighting what should have been an easy opponent, that she had an idea. However, at the same time, she recognized that the man across the stadium who was fighting a large snake was also the man who had been in her head not long ago, begging her to not use the spell she was now contemplating to use for the second time. A vine came up from behind her, wrapping around her waist and hoisting her into the air. She swung her sword behind her, hacking it, but not before another vine came flying up to catch her wrists. A second vine replaced the one holding her by the waist, and now more were climbing into the air to begin wrapping her up. Within seconds, since she couldn't swing her sword, the vines had surrounded her and were lifting her up higher into the air. "I just wanted you to see that I could do things for myself," the man in the robe said when Eslana had been lifted high enough to see that he was standing over Kitza. Kitza Kitza's lookers opened, and it felt faster beating in body, seeing Master again, standing over it. "I just wanted you to see that I could do things for myself," Master spoke to a non-Kitza. Kitza turned eye-lookers, and saw Woman, wrapped in plant-creature's arms. Then Kitza turned eye-lookers back to Master. "Master..."
He hadn't expected this, he was thrown of balance, the warning came too late as the creature's spines rose and it shot upwards, forcing him to stumble off. He landed painfully on the heels of his feet, and looked at Atlas. “Have a plan?” asked Atlas his gaze focused on the Nasgar. “We have to get it on the ground,” replied Drake. It's armor is now reinforced, and that makes it more confident, we can use that as a lure. The Magnan considered his swords thoughts, it made sense but it was risky. Atlas was preparing some form of propellant device, as he said “I can do that." The man looked back at the Magnan and asked, "Then what?” The General smiled, “Then I destroy it.” Blade Edge ignited once again. Even now, we stride side by side, in the whims of dark and light. We are bound to one another. The Magnan ignored the comment by Erif and watched as Atlas loaded something into the large bulky weapon. "I am glad, you are not my enemy," said Magnafire. He looked across the stadium, and could see a girl trapped in vines, he knew it wasn't his fight but still she needed help, he then felt a sense of familarity in her head. It was you I contacted earleir. He knew he had to make a decision sacrifice his dragon's breath on the Nasgar or use it to save the girl. In that moment his conscience decided, in one moment a vast fiery dragon raged over Magnafire, it was in many ways like Blade Edge but it was a spirit with one single purpose. Usually it would be destroyed upon impact but the Magnan had been clear in its thoughts it would survive, and be free of its torments. A gift in retrospect if it can save her, and as it glided past over enemies towards the girl, it's flames began to burn the vines but the heat and deadly flames would never hurt the girl. Hopefully if all went well she would drop safely onto the back of dragon. He once again felt the stabbing in his head and the nagging of Erif he shook it off and hope the dragon could save the girl from her possible demise. He was now without the one single power he could have used to destroy the Nasgar. The dragon had also taken a lot of his strength away. He felt like buckling but he refused to show weakness. He tightened his grip on the hilt of Blade Edge. If I can, when that dragon hits the ground, I will destroy it in one hit with you. He watched as the missile stuck the Nasgar, and with a single smile, he watched it plummet.
