Round Three - Battle Three: Rainfire vs. Heresy

[Rainfire]

Nurio couldn't help but feel that someone or something had its eyes on him. At first he counted it off as just animals on the battlefield... but then he realized something. There weren't any animals on the battlefield. His eyes made mental notes of his surroundings so that he could defend at a moment's notice. He off-handedly wondered if it was his opponent watching him... but he couldn't be sure. Psychic abilities weren't Nurio's forte, though he was capable of producing them if necessary. He peered around as he reached the center of the battlefield, cautious and ready, but with no visible sign of getting ready to draw his weapon. He would wait.

That's when he heard the voice. That's when he heard the name.

His eyes popped open as he turned around to see the most odd of things. A tree had just turned into a man, or at least he thought. He gazed at the man and appraised him roughly with his eyes. Was he really a tree for a second? Or maybe he was a man who could turn into one and not the other way around. It would explain why he felt something or someone was watching him but... Well, he decided it was best not to dwell on those things. What he could dwell on was the fact that this man, Salix, had just mentioned the name he was looking for. The bastard who made Nurio's blood boil with hatred and thoughts of revenge.

"Lightstar. Where is he? You know don't you?!"

He tried to sound calm but ultimately failed. No matter, he was here to get answers and to proceed in the tournament rankings. He focused his attention on the matters at hand and the expressions on his face calmed themselves. He remembered several mantra that he had went over in his younger days and recanted them to himself silently. He could feel the wind blowing around him, feel it in his skin and in his mind. He licked his lips briefly before he took a step back and sized up his opponent.

"Salix Winterwell. My opponent for this battle. You can tell me what you know, or I can beat it out of you. Lightstar is to be arrested and to stand trial for his actions against the Earth... and for that matter, several other worlds he's apparently destroyed. You can either help by telling me what I want to know and getting out of the way, or dying a miserable death and having the answer ripped from you anyway. Your choice. Make it now."

Nurio's features were still calm and so was his voice. However, with each syllable you could feel an eruption of hatred just underneath the surface. It was quite like walking on bubble wrap and not knowing when a particular bubble was about to pop, though you felt like they were all going to do so. His hands were at his sides and the three spheres of elements were circling now around the crown of his head, with his hair swaying in the wind. He only silently hoped that this one would give in and save him some trouble, but somehow he figured that unlikely.

 

[frisson]

OOC: I just realised I didn't really start on the opposite end of the valley. Is that much of a concern?

IC:

"Lightstar. Where is he? You know don't you?!"

Salix supressed a smirk of satisfaction. There was emotion; if even a hint, and the very name of this Valyon Lightstar had been the catalyst. Nurio must have realised this, and quickly corrected it. Quite the mastery over his own feelings, definitely... but there was always one button to push, one string to pluck. Salix, who was still young to these emotions, knew this better than anyone. They could take control at the most inopportune of moments... but they weren't without their benefits.

"Salix Winterwell. My opponent for this battle. You can tell me what you know, or I can beat it out of you. Lightstar is to be arrested and to stand trial for his actions against the Earth... and for that matter, several other worlds he's apparently destroyed. You can either help by telling me what I want to know and getting out of the way, or dying a miserable death and having the answer ripped from you anyway. Your choice. Make it now."

A single brow piqued in interest. To be perfectly honest, this man had just revealed more about this Lighstar character than Salix cared to know. Not that he had never heard the name... no, names had a habit of getting around much more than those who owned them. Now Salix seemed to share his opponent's curiosity... but there had been an edge to Nurio's words. He hadn't entirely been given any choice in the manner, but now he wished his master had at least imparted some sort of information to sate this being's now obvious thirst for revenge. But that wasn't the purpose of this battle.

'Well... after being spoken to like that I'm not so sure I feel like sharing anymore...'

Salix ran a hand against the air at his side, as if retrieving an arrow from a novelty sized quiver, or a blade from a sheath... and surely enough, the latter materialised within his grasp. He shuffled back several steps, facing Nurio from his side, the tip of the blade casually pointed at the man's face. Of course Salix couldn't do anything, he still needed one more element.

 

[Rainfire]

OOC: Nah, not really. Kind of gave me something to write about anyway.

Nurio watched the man-tree work. His stance was very casual but tightly formed. The expressions on his face seemed to weigh his own words. This creature was good at what he did apparently, anyone who had a trained eye could see that. He calculated the risks involved with every maneuver he could make at this point and from the angle he was at. A good three-fifths of them would end up with him skewered by whatever the hell kind of weapon that Salix was wielding. It looked like a blade but that never necessarily implied so. He could make Sleep look like an axe but in reality it was still a blade.

"Suit yourself then, tree creature."

Nurio left his shamanistic energies flow, turning off the restraints that he normall kept on himself. His power was still not fully awakened but it would be enough to probably end this battle. He could slowly start to hear the voices of the the earth, of the water, of the fire surrounding this place, and of the sky above. The wind was whispering him into tongues unknown to most. The plants at his feet seemed to cry in joy that there was someone here who would listen to them. And all this person asked was that they help him first. There was something a little dismaying though... the voices of the trees seemed scattered and disgruntled. It was as if something or someone was effecting them. Nurio wasn't surpried... he figured it was this Salix character. No matter, he would simply use everything else in his arsenal to destroy him.

He would start with a simple tactic. He closed his eyes for a moment and wind seemed to surge in around him, blowing this way and that and forming a compressed field that would even slow a bullet down to reacting speed. A blade would have no normal effect on this and he doubted it would even be able to pierce the bubble of air that now surrounded him. Since this was a defensive technique it did not require the energies he had gathered. He continued to summon the wind for its efforts until the wind in the bubble around him was moving at such a rapid velocity that it would essentially rip to shreds any kind of flesh it came into contact with, and would bend and break a blade.

He sighed as he finished, feeling a small amount of energy drained from himself. Now it was time for attack though... He looked at the ground and then at the elements around him, feeling the wind blow in a protective bubble. He talked in his mind to the earth below, asking for a favor from it. He asked it to send him a fighter, something to protect him. At first the earth gave no reply, as it considered and weighed the options of helping him. After a moment though, it replied with a firm yes and a loud cracking sound.

Nurio moved back a bit as the ground below started to tear open into a rift. It became a large crag through which steam rose. As the ground settled, a large earthen fist grabbed onto to the lip of the rift, and pulled itself up. Higher and higher the elemental rose from the ground, bringing himself up to a full heighth of twelve feet and a massive ton in weight. There were small indentions in the dirt that told one where his eyes were, or where they were supposed to be anyway. He opened his dirty crag of a mouth and gave a roar, before the ground below closed up.

Nurio felt the spheres around his head disperse and shoot off into different directions. He would have to spend time gathering them again in a little while, assuming that his elemental couldn't kill this one off. He gave a small smile and bowed his head to the elemental.

"Brother of earth, I ask of you to dispose of this one, Salix."

The elemental paused for a moment and turned to Nurio, and then turned back to Salix. He roared out again and started jumping up and down, signaling that he accepted the challenge put forth before him. He peered at his enemy... what appeared to be a fleshy small creature. He hated fleshy small creatures and wanted them all to die, except for Nurio, who was his friend now. He had given him a reason to fight. The elemental exploded forward with tremendous energy, hurling large rocks as he went, and coming in close to Salix, swinging a hard, large right hook at the man-tree.

 

[frisson]

Just a quick thing that needs clarifying... are the elements required to attack in general? Or just to attack the other opponent? As in, do I need to hold them to defeat this golem as well?

 

[frisson]

OOC: Nevermind, it just says the opponent.

IC:

So he could talk to the world as well? Salix was impressed... and suddenly realised why this man might be of use to The Fenriarch. Perhaps even more useful than himself. Yes, Nurio held a certain charismatic edge to his words. Words that would inspire confidence. Salix was a being of nature, much like the nature that surrounded him, and while true that he had in fact spoken to the trees and the river and the rocks... he was foreign to this world. A stranger. A tree and yet he was a man. The other trees did not understand. They were suspicious. They could see through him, just as the Ancient Forest had. He was a lonely, somber willow. Short-lived and aviricious, it was not unlike a tree such as himself to make a deal as he had.

No, he probably couldn't contest for their favour with a man such as Nurio present. But they were still so easy to manipulate. A world of instinct. Simple, directed thoughts. Harbingers of great and intricate knowledge, yes. Grand, ancient memories. But so easily captivated. They weren't meant to think as humans did, and so they could never out-think the deceptive mind of a man. However... they knew a great deal more. It was active thought pitted against dormant knowledge. Salix felt a great advantage in that he was both... but also a particular sadness in that he was neither. What cost came with sentience? This question constantly plagued his thoughts. He did not desire to serve The Fenriarch... but it was more than obligations and loyalties. There was something else... a burden of awareness.

Yes... The Fenriarch. If Nurio could inspire movement in the elements, The Fenriarch would immobilise them in fear. Salix dared to guess which was more powerful, but even now his master's visage continued to haunt the corners of his mind. He wondered if his master had intended for such harrying feelings to surface at thoughts of betrayal. Most likely, yes. But Salix had grown used to such fear now. Fear in general. Emotions once new and unfamiliar had gradually been nurtured with time, like another tree that was essentially Salix, but did not exist in the observable world. He questioned everything. He knew his usefulness was deteriorating with each independent thought. He hadn't been granted this opportunity out of benevolence. No, it was just easier to control a tree than a man. Then how exactly did his master intend to persuade Nurio, if he indeed sought his power?

"Brother of earth, I ask of you to dispose of this one, Salix."

Salix snapped to his senses... he had rooted himself too deep in thought. A rock barely skimmed past his cheek, the air whistling in his ear. In a blur of motion he leapt up into the sky, hair trailing like leaves in an undercurrent, narrowly escaping the massive force exerted by the elemental, who met no resistance. As a result it was carried in its own weight, losing balance and direction. Salix hurled the Blanca up and above his head, before shifting weight in a somersault and descending once more. The golem inclined its gaze upwards to track its target, and was met with two piercing blows to the eyes and one to the throat. Salix's arms were embedded in its face, as well as his left leg. He regarded the construct with a grave stare.

'Even the hardest of stones may fall victim to the roots of a tree...'

The elemental reached for its face, but multiple ruptures ran throughout its body, as Salix's root-limbs burrowed and split and grew within its structure, poking through its arms and its chest and its legs and then suddenly shattering into large chunks; a ring of rock and soil that Salix crouched triumphantly in the center of. Two hands and a leg broke through the fleshy roots that encompassed his shoulders and upper thigh, but his right hand rose disregarding, catching his blade as it descended from the sky. Tracing his left along the grass, there materialised yet another, and with both blades crossed before the stones and crumpled mass of dry roots, he struck their edges in one slick and fluid movement. A shower of sparks rained before him.

'Makeshift...' he remarked, or rather muttered, standing up and taking several steps back as the flames crept up and consumed what was once his own flesh. It was quickly dying. He wasn't sure what to do with it. The irregular bend of the air was what he discerned to be a shield for his opponent. The golem had worked more like a distraction... but now Nurio couldn't attack. Just defend... hmm. The skin on Salix's forearm rippled, and a seed pod emerged from within. He had just designed it from scratch... it contained a chemical agent that would preserve a small fire like a slow-burning oil. It clicked open, and he stored a tongue of flame within its shell, before it sunk back into his arm. He slowly began to walk toward his opponent, bare feet stepping out the fire in the process.

Every second he wasted just gave Nurio another opportunity. Again he pointed a blade at his target, as if in challenge. In actuality it took longer to materialise items from a distance, and some sight-body indications helped with proportions and the illusion that he was making physical contact. So Nurio would have an opportunity to move before the blade materialising within the bubble also did so within his abdomen.

OOC: These paragraphs are long and full, but none of the sentences feel related to each other, it's all very fragmented at the moment so I hope it isn't too troublesome to read.

 

[Rainfire]

OOC: I think I can manage.

IC:

His golem was a true testament to the earth below. It was a creature forged from a pure element without any kind of violation or taint that was normal to the earth in cities or around civilizations... or magicks for that matter. Nurio watched with interest as the man-tree made his offense against the golem. He had already calculated that the tree would more than likely be too slow to give this Salix a match but at least there was an alterior motive to it. The dirt that made up the golem, that now covered Salix, was much more than just the normal. Nurio gave a small smile as he watched Salix finish up, then move towards Nurio.

The dirt that now covered Salix would begin to eat away at him. It was acidic earth -- earth gathered from near a vein of magma that flowed underneath, where nutrients reacted differently to one another. It was still pure earth but sometimes pure elemental ability came with a bonus. No doubt that Salix would be feeling it soon. It seemed that in the meantime though, Nurio had his own problems to deal with . This creature before him was serious about wanting this as well... or at least, he came off that way. Honestly Nurio couldn't be one-hundred-perecent sure, but nor did he care.

He cocked his head to the side as he studied Salix. Something was odd about his maneuver... he was just walking towards him and pointing the blade at his abdomen... What could it mean? Rainfire had little time to think about it and wanted no more in the first place. He leapt into the air and bounced up into a nearby tree, out of sight. He would only have a few seconds. He placed his hand on the trunk of the tree on which he balanced, and placed another hand up in the air. He whispered a quick, darting-sound of a language, and it seemed that static seemed to fill the air. He asked a summons of lightning, to aid him in his quest... and for that matter, a thunderstorm.

It felt draining to do so with so little time to prepare. However, he had done much worse and felt no need to be worried at this point. His tongue continued to twist and hit certain accents as the mantra was recited over and over, and the question pleaded. It was working though, because the sky above seemed to roll and boil in response, as if they were angered by what was occuring below. Clouds turned a dark murky gray and became threatening in their speed and movement. Soon, a hard rain came down, both soothing and unhelpful at the same time. If Salix had not removed the acidic dirt from his form by now, it had done some damage... but with the rain around, it would wash it off before it could severely injure him. No matter... here came what Nurio was waiting on.

He felt the sudden burst of energy and leaped from the tree as it caught fire, a lightning bolt cracking down its middle. He reached out with his mind simultaneously, as he had done before, and captured the elements into the spheres that began to circle his head. He landed with grace and poise about fifteen yards away from Salix, and stood there, staring at him. Passion seemed to be alive in Nurio's eyes, but calm would win out the day for an attitude. He knew that his opponent was a bit more of a threat than he let on... and he still wondered about that attack from earlier, if it was an attack at all. With every crash of lightning a new thought entered Nurio's head on how to take on this eerie opponent.

The current of air still surrounded him as he began to walk towards Salix. He had several things at the ready in case Salix tried something. He watched the ground below him, the sky above, and the trees around him, while watching Salix at the same time. Determination was on his features as he edged ever closer to Salix, before he finally came to a stop. He held his hands at the ready, at his sides as he stood there. He was calculating all the possibilities that this man had up his sleeve. He mused silently to himself that there were probably several, most of which could end in death for Rainfire.

At the moment though, there was nothing left to do but wait for him to make a move.

 

[frisson]

Haven't forgotten... just can't post today or tomorrow.

 

[frisson]

OOC: forcing... myself... to write...

IC:

As Salix advanced on his enemy, a prickling sensation worked its way up his fingertips, and spread to the majority of his body. His blades fell to his sides as he clasped pointlessly at the random spikes of burning pain, sudden realisation dawning upon him.
The third blade never materialised, and even if it had, Nurio was no longer there. Salix barely caught a glimpse of movement as he faded into the foliage.
Teeth grinded in humiliation.

He had thought it foolish enough that the man's attack had been wasted on what he assumed to be a distraction, but now Salix understood how Nurio played the game. No, that was another hasty judgement... rather, he would keep up his guard from now on. Who knew what to expect? Well, what did Salix know? Obviously Nurio was some sort of communer, it's how he seemed to work his magick, so the man would have some understanding of nature and its properties. But would he understand Salix?
Frost traced the remains of his corroding skin, an attempt to delay the process, when clouds gathered in the sky at an alarming rate. Another shaman's trick?

Salix welcomed the rain, but he knew Nurio wasn't sparing him the trouble of dealing with his previous threat. Something worse must follow. He instinctively dipped at the flash of lightning, retrieving his blades and leaping back several metres, the crash of thunder lagging behind. A brother was now dead, split straight down the middle. Such a tree's death; to be struck by lightning. But not for Salix. Not today. Already his flesh began to renew as the wet soil stirred beneath his feet. Maybe he could at least, make use of some allies today.

Nurio had re-appeared, he now had what he needed. Salix smiled as he rested a hand on a nearby tree. It awoke with a start and fathomed the extent of this shaman's abuse of power and life. He channelled the emotions through its very form. Others nearby followed suit. They were all connected, you see. Salix could feel it, an intricate rootwork running deep underneath... exploitable.
Salix wanted to say something, but there was no time for words. This duel had begun.

Tendrils burst forth from all around Nurio, and though they would be shredded should they come into contact with his shield of currents, their intentions were indirect. The earth would suddenly collapse under his feet; a tight cavernous chasm wherein little movement was granted. Salix leapt forth, up and above it in anticipation, blade pointed at its depths in the height of his arc. He had now forgotten the reason they were fighting. He just wanted to win.

Yet again the blade would materialise at the point within Nurio's shield as he fell, and if it was not dispelled, he would not be able to grasp at a ledge, as the shield would eat away at it. Likewise, if he did remove the shield, he would be subjected to the second part of Salix's plan.

OOC: The blade will definitely materialise this time, so yes I've used up my attack.

 

[Rainfire]

Nurio was impressed with his opponent, for the most part. He was a quick thinker and an even quicker fighter. He was already setting up for his attack against Nurio. The Sleeper calculated all the angles as quickly as he could while maintaining form. The trees were responding oddly and he could feel the vibes from them. It was as if they were ashamed of him using them... as if he was some kind of taint. Was it possible that Salix was using them against him? Possible, or maybe he was just programming them with his own emotions or false memories or something of that sort. Nurio would sort it out later.

Tendrils burst forth beneath him. Salix was going to and try and literally pull the earthen rug from beneath his feet. Nurio closed his eyes, choosing to keep his shield, and as he fell, he whispered the language of the storms, asking and beseeching. He could feel the magic working within, feel his blood becoming charged and his entire body feeling hot. There was a sizzling around him and everything felt static-like, before Nurio was suddenly swept away, having become lightning and forming a complete bolt with the strike from the air, before being retracted into the clouds above. His mind was racing and it was hard to control. He wanted to scream in pain -- shifting his form into the elements was always hard to do and it was demanding.

Rainfire slowly pulled himself together to focus, his atoms trying to disperse themselves across the clouds as electrons. He could feel the bombardment against others, and it felt all so... noisy. Well, that was the best way he could describe it anyway. There was excitement, anxiety, thoughts, everything was so chaotic and so fast and he justwantedtogogogo!

No, focus! He had to do it. He forced himself together once more and felt along the bottoms of the clouds above the battlefield, looking for an opening, a part of pressure that was just about to strike the ground in a favorable position. He had to wait for a second, he had to hold on longer... and then there it was. A spot that was no more than ten yards from Salix, off to his right. Nurio was grinning... or at least he felt he was. There was never proof that one could hold emotions as an element, but it was assumed if one possessed the power then one could. He grabbed onto that spot and sped down to the ground going as fast as anything in the universe was capable of and then, he was back, on the ground.

Nurio was crouching. He felt sore, as if he had just been running for ten hours straight at full speed. He couldn't let that stop him though. He came to his feet again, the elements still circling around his head, having re-atomized them along with himself. It would take just a moment for Salix to take notice he was over here and that was all he needed. Nurio did not hesitate and pulled everything from within himself and the area around them, forcing out a wall of a blazing inferno -- a firestorm that spread outwards from him, radiating in waves, spreading in no time at all with the force of 800 pounds of TNT and just as, if not more, deadly. Red and orange seemed to absorb the environment, eating everything in their path, with Nurio at the center, his hair aflame and his eyes glowing red, screaming out into the sky.

The elemental spheres did not disperse this time. They hadn't the time to react and instead just disintegrated, as Nurio hoped Salix would. He was at ground zero and the chances of his escaping were slim but not impossible. Nurio slowly lost his glow, coming back to normal, and panting fairly heavily. He had to finish this fight quickly and smartly, not flashy and with brute force. It was the acidic earth that had actually landed a wound on Salix after all. He formed another shield around him of air and, this time, molten rock so as to block any physical project that would pierce inwards and probably melt them. He was going to be prepared this time, extending his senses outwards to prepare for any attack to come.

Now just to see if Salix had survived or finally died.

 

[Rainfire]

So, is this fight over? Can we get a judgment?

 

[frisson]

No it's not over. And it doesn't need a judgement. You're 5 and I'm 6.

 

[Rainfire]

Well I've been wondering about you. I've not seen any activity from you here-about. I don't care about rank so much as I just want to move on, if there is anywhere to move on. If not, then finish this battle, since the last one was called on account of pregnancy. (Damn ED)

 

[frisson]

OOC: Aw, I missed you too Kegan ; )

IC:

A blast of air and heat flashed forth from Salix's trap, barely grazing his airborne frame. In a number of unneccesary loops he came to a rather shaky landing at the edge of the pit. Leaning forward ever-so-slightly, all that met his inquisitive gaze was the glean of dull steel. The blade Salix had hoped to impale Nurio with, and not the earth.
His sights immediately turned to the grave and tumultuous clouds overhead. Probably the most fearsome display Salix had ever witnessed, were he to briefly put the Fenriarch outside of his thoughts. Lines of static criss-crossed the delicate fabrics of the sky.
A tree knew the storm better than the storm cared to know...

Forever staring up at the sky in fear.

And so Salix shuffled back as Nurio came crashing back down. But engrossed in one thing and ignorant to the other, Salix's foot met empty air and he fell down, into his own trap. Powerful fingers ploughed into the earthen wall, while a foot pressed against the flat surface of a blade.
Breathing a sigh of annoyance, his self-directed criticism was cut short by the rumble of soil and the luminescent display of red and white that snaked down from above.
Cursing loudly Salix ripped out his root-like grip and kicked off the imbedded blade, further down into the abyss.

He could feel the intense heat creeping at the tips of his toes, coiling around his thighs. He needed to be faster. He needed to be heavier. But first he needed that fire.
Salix almost hit his head (which had switched places with his feet) at the shift of his weight; catching a tongue of flame. His whole lower half began to solidify and freeze, while his upper half failed at the oppression of the heat. But it worked, and the fire suddenly fell behind at the quicken of his descent, and the thunderous crashing of the earth parting like some black sea soon fell distant to his ears.

Instead it echoed faintly within the vast walls of the chilling chasm he had just entered. The sudden wave of cold, ancient air hit second to the realisation that Salix no longer had any walls to cling on to. Furthermore, Nurio's display up above had effected the environment below. Icy stalactites were falling alongside him, crashing into the black depths of the underground pool.
Now Salix needed to lose that weight.
With no quick-solution weightloss programs in immediate sight, Salix opted for the second option and broke apart into a display of white leaves that drifted gently onto the water's surface.

Rematerialising, he caught the captured flame falling after him, his feet suspended on the water's surface by two thin plates of ice.
Salix held little influence with the water. He was Salix Winterwell. He only played nicely with ice.
He stepped casually from side to side, avoiding falling stalactites as he contemplated his next course of action.
Nurio had just killed most of the trees in the immediate vicinity up there, so they weren't much use now. Ashsenders were more or less necromancers and Salix knew none of that...

All rather still, his legs slowly sank into the water's depths. His gaze downcast, Salix exhumed a fog of frost from the corners of his mouth and the pores of his skin. Sinking further, icy tendrils reached out underwater like lucid roots in a murky earth.
This place was cold, dark and silent.

The perfect location for a Winterwell.


OOC: Holy shit that means ED had sex!!!

 

[Rainfire]

OOC: It does, doesn't it?

IC:

Nurio saw the crack in the ground. He knew that Salix must have done it while he was still spreading that firestorm. He figured that the tree-man was in there but couldn't be sure of it at the moment. His gaze cast this way and that, making sure that it wasn't some kind of trick to lure Nurio down into the crevice before him. He gathered the elements to himself again, this time, calling forth water from the heavens, seeing as how the area around him had been dried out by his previous attack. He took a few steps forward, the flexible molten rock that was now hardened but still flexible making the ground shudder with every step he took. Yes, he was slower now, but it would be nigh-impossible for an attack to get to him.

He gazed down into the crevice. All he could see was darkness... there wasn't light for anything. He took a few steps back and decided it was time to unleash his weapon. He hadn't wanted to unleash Sleep this early in the battle but this opponent demanded urgent and dire attention. He closed his eyes momentarily, gathering his energy and raising his right hand over his shoulder, and grasping the hilt of the blade. His eyes popped open, revealing two swirling pools of color as his aura started to fade into existence, giving a beautiful tone to everything, even the shadows. He slowly pulled forth the blade, its immense energies flooding the area around him, sending renewed life into everything that had just burned. Its odd and impossibly jagged appearance almost seemed softened in the light, as the sword's own aura melded with Nurio's.

"Behold! Sleep!"

He spun the blade deftly in his hand, which looked odd for such a large, two-handed weapon. Lightning seemed to strike all around him in approval of wielding such a weapon, and he felt his shamanistic energies replenished. The trees themselves, newly restored with life all seemed to turn, as if mobile, to greet this powerful new energy that had restored them. The glow finally started to cease after a while, brimming back into just below Rainfire's skin and Sleep's metal sheen. He needed no armor now, no shield. They dispersed and he was back in his outfit, renewed as well. He stuck the blade of Sleep into the ground, keeping his hand upon the hilt as he waited.

"Come out Salix and face your judgment!"

 

[Alaude Drenxta]

I hate you guys. >.>

 

[frisson]

OOC: ^_^

IC:

A sharp, heavy air greeted Nurio. It ascended from the earth, rather than descending from the sky. A chilling, sedimentary air that glistened sporadically in the limited light, preceding a fog that now spilled voluminously from the chasm opening and eerily upon the forest floor.

Down below, the scenery had intensified. It hadn't taken long for the winterwell to spread within the already chilled atmosphere. A marvel this pocket of space actually existed; credited most likely to the ring of magma that encased the landscape. Now thick layers of ice encased the walls, reaching up from the frozen basin as elaborate, crystal vines. All along the water's surface, magnificent, tree-like sculptures stood erected; their leafless branches stretching forever upward into an intricate interlacing web of ice.
Marvellously reflecting its brilliant design, Salix hung half-submerged in the well's center, encased in a brilliant armour of frost. Every edge and contour of this crystalline platemail split into hundreds of branch-like tendrils, forming the foundations of the winterwell's webwork.
Symmetrically, the same process was observed from below the basin's surface.

This was a winterwell. Much like The Winterwell that Salix had once called his home. What he intrinsically was, in a sense, and with these same intrinsic memories visions of the past crept through his mind.
Salix was not much liked, especially as the Fenriarch's spy, but neither was he exclusively hated by the Ancient Forest and its denizen. He was long respected as the only living creature of The Winterwell.
Indeed, how could anything live in such an environment, let alone a tree? But that had been the entirety of his existence, and perhaps he'd have never known any better, were it not for The Fenriarch. An eternal, frozen sleep.
Was this life of servitude a worthy exchange?

Up above, iceborne foliage sprouted from the frozen earth. Otherworldy. Obscene. Beautiful. Some towering, most of them oddly bent, star-like flakes materialised like diamond leaves on the translucent branches of these white trees.
And then, approaching footsteps in the fog, there emerged Salix... or at least a rough resemblance. A silent, glass-like sculpture of the tree-man, living and breathing, in a sense.
The copy regarded Nurio and his blade.
Salix's voice could be heard. Faint at first.

'...never achieving vengeance... never accomplishing anything.'

The frostclone raised a hand, vapour condensing into a frozen replica blade. With a single step it came to a sudden and immediate halt. And one would note, despite the fact that it essentially was ice, it somehow managed to freeze beyond its state. All because of a hand that rested gently on its shoulder, and the dark, unfathomably black figure this hand belonged to.

'That's enough, Salix.'

The voice, it was... indescernible. It carried nothing but the words that comprised it. All around, the growing icescape collapsed in a shower of white dust, and so the clone followed suit, as this newcomer slowly brought his hand to rest at what appeared to be his side. It was like a veil had been thrown over a silhouette. It was too difficult to determine what was happening, or if this being was actually there at all.
As the frostclone fell to pieces, its head hit the snow with a dampened thud and audibly sighed:

'Fenriarch...'



OOC: I'm ending the fight now, but for the sake of your own character's development, here's a chance for some light conversation with The Fenriarch, who also shares an interest in Valyon Lightstar.

 

[Rainfire]

OOC: If that's what you wish. It was fun. ^_^

IC:

Nurio was honestly, a little worried. He had seen many-a-thing in his time and existence, but some things just continued to amaze him. For instance, he had once visited the city of R'lyeh, and even with his intellect he had almost been driven insane by its impossible angles, designs, and denizens that defied all comprehensible reason. It had been almost like someone had inverted the universe and all its laws just to witness a perversion of that magnitude as some kind of joke. It was angering in a sense -- why would something like that ever come to pass in a universe where gods supposedly existed? It was blasphemy in the most physical sense.

That was almost how he felt here though. The only difference was that here, there was some beauty to it all. That wasn't to say there lacked beauty in R'lyeh but rather that this time this work of nature had been erected as a testament to power and beauty. That beauty itself was haunting and a little worrisome for The Sleeper. He did not show it though and instead gripped his blade only slightly more so than he had. His eyes kept a close watch of things around him so that in case Salix tried something, he would be ready for it. True to form, Salix soon emerged... or what seemed to be a copy of Salix. Nurio took only a step back, before another entity entered the battlefield.

Rainfire was a bit confused and angered. This was supposed to be a one-on-one battle. He was never told he could receive help... unless this was a creation such as one of Nurio's golems. If that was the case then all was fine but this one seemed to be vastly more powerful than Salix himself. Something was definitely awry. Nurio's feelings seem to bunch up as his senses tried to perceive the contradiction that was in front of him. Cognitive dissonance was heavy but soon he filtered it through, and also became surprised with the ease of his destruction of the Salix-Clone, that was, if he destroyed it. He raised an eyebrow as he pointed the sword toward Fenriarch.

"Who are you and what are you? What business do you have here, 'Fenriarch'? Are you a messenger of Valyon Lightstar?"

 

[Prophet]

OOC: I do not mean to interrupt the battle, just confirming that Rainfire is rank 5, and Heresy, Rank 6. Continue

 

[frisson]

Post Theme: YouTube - XxDanTe'sSXMusicxX: Nothing can be Explain [Instrumental Vers.] - Bleach The Movie Fade To Black OST

"Who are you and what are you? What business do you have here, 'Fenriarch'? Are you a messenger of Valyon Lightstar?"

The soft inclination of Fenriarch's gaze appeared to fall on Nurio.
As the weight of his master's form shifted in the dying light, Salix rose from underneath the earth; head hung, face out of plain sight. On his hands and knees.
His presence wasn't even acknowledged.

'One question at a time. Now, who I am? My name is-'

The Fenriarch still appeared to be speaking, yet the words were muffled and unintelligible.

'-but you already seem to know me as "Fenriarch", a title my inferiors address me by...'

Salix maintained motionlessness, his face buried into the dirt. His master's intentions were forever imperceptible, however he felt a growing understanding of his role in today's assignment... and perhaps the greater scheme of things.

'For the sake of familiarity, you may call me something trivial... like "Fen", for short.'

Fen paused for a moment, and then continued.

'What I am, you'll find, is just as useful as me telling you my name. But no, rather than being sent by Valyon, I too seek him out, as you do... Nurios Eskeleon.'


OOC: Ahh, what a lame attempt at suspense lol

 

[Rainfire]

OOC: Could have been worse. Also, to CoF, yes, those are confirmed I suppose.

IC:

Nurio's glaze slowly slid over to Salix as he rose from below. He was on his hands and knees and seemed nothing better than a dog, or a puppet cast aside. He frowned only momentarily before shifting his gaze back to Fenriarch, who had muttered something quite unintelligible. Nurio raised an eyebrow out of curiosity before shifting into his solid-faced state again. He also noticed the slight jab on his part -- apparently Nurio was an "inferior." At least, he figured it was an insult, it could have been that Fenriarch just didn't catch what he himself was saying. Either way, it mattered little to Nurio. He was above insults and above those who gave them.

Apparently this one wished to seek out Valyon as well. The Sleeper slowly sheathed his sword again as he then crossed his arms to stand there in front of Fen.

"Why do you seek him out?"