The Inferno

[Zanarkand Lover]

Ananaias walked through a dense forest, continually glancing up at the sky whenever there was a break in trees. Day by day, minute by minute, the sky was reddening even more

'This is getting absurd...' he thought to himself. 'This needs to be stopped...I need to find out who is controlling this beast.'

He walked further along a light path of dirt, still looking up. He could hear the faintest sounds of birds chirping, foxes running, and the sound of feet running. Running? Why was he hearing that? This was a path only he knew about; or so he thought. He continued to walk, silently as ever, but faster, still. The footsteps were growing louder behind him, and closer, too. He heard a sound, as if metal rubbing against metal - the sound of a sword being drawn from it's sheath. The birds that he had heard earlier took flight, for they sensed the danger in the atmosphere.

'There would be blood spill at this very spot.'Ananaias thought' And it won't be mine' He gripped his staff tighter, preparing for a battle.

 

[afrobutt]

OOC: Since you nvr gave me a list of cities, I'm gonna make up one is that ok?

IC: Cuno walked through the streets of Accalek, trying to avoid as many people as possible. It wasn't good when people realized who he was, they tended to call out his name. Which led to someone from the royal court hearing it. This meant that his father would discover he had run away... again. Cuno just had to make it to his hideout, and he would be homefree. In truth he shouldn't have even come out here at all. Even though he had brought a cloak with him, it was still possible to be spotted. But that damn sunset was too irrasistable. It was the first place he had met her. Once again lost in the the pool of his memories, Cuno didn't notice the old man in front of him. This old man was at the moment, incredibly discouraged. He had been searching for someone all day, with no avail. Indeed, the young man was as hard to grasp as light itself. As the two passed each other, Cuno recognised the old man. But fate smiled on Cuno today, and the old man noticed nothing. Cuno sighed in relief as he watched the old man walk away. "Good to know at least some of the gods like me." Cuno thought happily to himself. Unfortunatly, that was the moment when Cuno crashed into the knights escorting the old man, also known as the advisor to the king of Accalek. "Oi! Who the ell do you think you are ye little piece a..." the head knight, Sir George, spouted, before realizing who it was he had just case mere seconds to insulting. "S-s-sir Altair!!!" he stammered like an idiot. "I-I-I... I didn't mean to.... Er...." he continued. But luckly the old man had caught up to the group in time for the good knight to save himself more embarresment. "What do you think you're doing George? You moronic drukerd! Who is this little rat anyway??" the advisor said while looking at said person. Cuno sighed and stood up, he was caught anyway. "That would be me Ienzo, and please don't call Geroge a drunkard, it tends to piss him off." Cuno sighed as he wiped the dirt from his clothes. The one good thing about being the son of the man who served as bodyguard to the king of Allalek was that you could tell off anyone without worry.

 

[Akans]

Meanwhile ~
Sylfae slipped through the forests, finished with her latest job. It was easy really. The guards were easily passed, and the near-vertical climb proved no challenge whatsoever. On the way back, she had seen Ananaias, but had passed him without greeting, nor even him noticing - she needed no witnesses.
She had barely walked two steps passed when the distinctive sound of steel rang out.
Looking back, she saw a man, on the ground, frozen, with Ananaias standing over him.
She also saw an archer on the side.
Sylfae thought about warning him, but human's reactions were so slow. The archer tightened his bow-string. Ananaias didn't have much longer to live.
A whisper-soft movement on his right - his bowstring snapped in half, and the arrow fell uselessly to the ground. The archer blinked, confused, and then fell over dead.
Sylfae stepped out from behind the dead archer.
"Ananaias" She called out...

 

[sephiroth2]

------------Location: Unknown-------------------

Three dark cloaked figures stood facing each other in a circle. Suddenly, the one that seemed to be the leader, was the first to speak.
"How is the process coming along!" said the taller of the three. "It is coming along quite well, my lord. It is already at 43% of completion!" said the smallest.

"Good to hear! And what about yourself!" said the tallest. "My armies, are rapidly spreading. Soon, they will be ready for your command!" said the oldest of the three.
"Very well then! I can sense the presence of two strong individuals. I want you to locate and assess their power!" said the tallest to the youngest.
"It will be my pleasure, my lord!" and with that the youngest erupted in a burst of bright red flames, and disappeared from the other twos sight.

"Do you think it was wise sending him on his own!" said the oldest. "He is more then a match for most opponents. But just in case, I want you to go and watch over him!" said the tallest.
"As you wish!" and in another flash the oldest erupted in a burst of dark flames, and disappeared from his superiors sight.

------------Meanwhile (Forest)---------------------

High above in the sky, a bright red flash appeared for just a second, before quickly disappearing. The youngest of the three individuals slowly glided down into the trees, until he landed on a sturdy branch. As soon as he landed, he quickly began jumping from branch to branch towards the location of the two people.

Suddenly, he saw one of the two, a woman, instantly disarm and kill a hidden archer. "Well, at least one of them seems strong!" thought the youngest, before he turned his attention towards the man.
"But, he seems to be quite strong as well! Better introduce myself!" jumping from the branch and softly dropping to the ground, he turned towards them slowly.

"Hello there!" he said, with a smile under his hood, as he waved to them

 

[Zanarkand Lover]

"Who are you?" Ananaias asked, looking at the man standing before Sylfae and himself.

'Sylfae,' he said telepathically, not sure if she could here him in her mind. 'This guy is most likely an Inferno soldier, as I'm sure you know. We need to be very cautious.' He looked at the man before them and stuck his staff out towards him.

"Who sent you? Who sent you here?" Ananaias asked. He was preparing for yet another fight, thinking of which spell he should start out with.

 

[sephiroth2]

--------------------------------------------------------

"Who are you? Who sent you?" the hooded figure was asked. "Who am I? Why my name is Zack!" the hooded figure said, as he pulled back his hood to reveal a person with short black hair.

"Oh, and by the way. I'm not an inferno soldier!" Zack said as he raised his hand, and a large creature made of red fire appeared, "This is a soldier! I'm something much more! As to who sent me! If you prove your strength to me, I might be persuaded to tell! Soldier attack!" with that the large creatures fist exploded into flames, before launching a huge fireball towards Sylfae and Ananaias.

 

[Zanarkand Lover]

Ananaias jumped in the air, avoiding the fire balls by mere inches. He quickly froze the fire balls using his ice magic. Ananaias then controlled the balls of ice, sending them back towards Zack and finally landing in a tree preparing for an attack.

"I'll make sure you tell me." Ananaias said under his breath. "I'll make sure I know who is behind this."

 

[sephiroth2]

OCC: Sorry if I didn't make it quite clear for Zacks personality. Think of him, as acting and talking like a child then an adult. He would look around 18, but he acts like a kid.

-------------------------------------------------------

Zack watched as Ananaias froze the fireballs, and proceeded to relaunch them back towards himself.
"That's a cool trick!" said Zack with a huge grin on his face. "But mine is better! Sorry but I don't need you for the time been soldier, thanks." he said as he raised his right hand.

Suddenly the fireballs reignited themselves, shattering the ice from the inside. At the same time, Zack changed the fireballs, and the soldier into pure fire, before redirecting it back towards Ananaias, at a more intense heat then it previously was.

"And there's no way, I'm going to tell you the name of my leader. That is unless you can make me!" Zack said with another great grin on his face.

 

[Zanarkand Lover]

OOC: It's okay. lol. I like Zack. He's pretty cool so far.
___________________________________________

Ananaias saw what he had done and immediately put up a shield of ice in front of him. He then quickly doused the fireballs with water, and refroze them right before they hit his ice shield. The shield and ice balls practically exploded on impact as Ananaias jumped down from the tree.

'I need to figure something out...quick.' Ananaias thought to himself. 'I got it!'

"FREEZING RAIN!" Ananaias yelled. Suddenly, it began to rain and hail all around them. He used the puddles to his advantage. Ananaias murmured a short spell under his breath and began to sink into the puddle below his feet. Instantly, he popped up behind Zack and struck him in the back with his staff.

"Ice Incantation." Ananaias said, pointing his staff towards Zack's rolling body. Five bolts of ice launched towards his body.

 

[sephiroth2]

OCC: Thanks :thumbsup:

---------------------------------------------

Zack didn't expect to be struck in the back by Ananaias' staff. Before he could be completely caught of guard, Zack propelled himself away from the full force of the attack, but it didn't stop him from being flung from the little bit of force, and forced into a roll.

As he continued to roll, he heard Ananaias shout out something, before he saw five huge bolts of ice launched towards him. Aiming a small amount of energy towards the rolling ground, Zack as able to launch himself from the ground and back to standing up. Looking up at the ice bolts, Zack summoned a large wall of intense fire, to collide with the ice, causing both of the attacks to disperse and fade.

"Well, that was some attack!" said Zack as he held his hand on his back. "Well, I did say that I would tell you who are leader was, so...". But before Zack could say anything, "Zack, what do you think you are doing?" a voice yelled from a tree above Zack.
"Oh, didn't see you there Sleif!" said Zack with his trademark grin. "Where you going to tell them, who our leader was?" said Sleif, as he removed his hood, as Zack had did.

Below the hood, Sleif had shoulder length pure silver hair. It also seemed he had light tanned skin, as well as red piercing eyes.
"Of course, I wasn't going to tell them our leaders name. I would never be as stupid as to say 'Our leaders name is Vahn, now would I.", at that moment it took Zack a few seconds to realize what he just said. "I see what I did there!" he said with a slight grin.

"It can't be helped now. Come on lets go!" said Sleif, before erupting in black flames, and disappearing. "Alright. See you guys later!" Zack said waving at the two, before he himself erupted in red flames.

 

[Zanarkand Lover]

"Vahn...Vahn...That name...It's so familiar...Why?" Ananaias said allowed with a voice full of confusion. He thought back to that night.

BOOM!

Ananaias' door had been burst open by someone, or something. "What was that?" He heard his mom yell. Ananaias' dad was right next to him.

"Run," he said into his ear. "These are bad people."

Ananaias quickly ran to his room, wondering why these strange people were in his house. He head another bang, followed by a scream. It was his mom.

"MOMMY!" Ananaias yelled.

"What the hell was that?" He head a strange voice ask. Ananaias heard yet another bang. He concluded that his parents were dead. He heard footsteps coming towards his room. A strange man dressed in a blood red armor walked into his room. "It's just a little boy, boss." The man yelled to his superior.

"Kill him. We can't risk anything."

The man lifted an odd machine that Ananaias didn't know what it was. The man couldn't bring himself to killing a kid. "Hide" the man whispered to Ananaias as he shot a round, making his superior think he had killed the boy. The man then ran out from the room and him and his superior left his house with Ananaias' mother and fathers corpses. Or so he thought.

Ananaias put on his clothes and ran. To where, he didn't know. He just wanted away from his house.

"No...he was killed along time ago...It can't be," Ananaias said, walking towards Sylfae. "Let's go," he said to her. "We need to get out of here."

 

[afrobutt]

Cuno hated this room, more then any other rooms he had ever been in. This was the study space of his father Sir Isaac Altair, and it was full of achievements and memories. The walls were decorated with various pictures and medals of his father's adventures. Cuno was sitting on a stool, the same damn stool he always sat on in this room. It was tall and uncomfortable, probably the cheapest thing in the room. Cuno stared at an old picture to his right. It showed his father and two attractive women sitting in a bar drinking, the women touching the man very intimately. Cuno always stared at this picture while his father was talking for two reasons. The first was because he simply wanted to piss the old man off. The second was that the two women were very hot, and much more interesting to look at then anything else in the room. " You see Cuno... I think I've figured out why you are so rebellious." the knight began, looking at his favorite sword. "Oh really... and what is that?" Cuno asked, not taking his eyes off the picture. "Well... I believe it is because you are sexually constipated!" the man answered, as if it was the grandest proclamation in the world. Cuno froze at that point, and an awkward silence filled the room. "My son, have you been... relieving yourself lately?" Cuno snapped at that point. "That's none of your business old man!!!" he yelled, emphasizing the word old. His father cleared his throat. "I think it is my business if my son is mentally injured by lack of...." "Shut up!!!!" Cuno interrupted, jumping off his stool. The knight was standing up now. "You know, I know a lot of people who owe me favors, people with very beautiful daughters!" the man said snidely, opening the window in the study. Cuno was very red in the face at this point. "St-stop that!!" he demanded, taking a leap back from his father. The old man sighed "I had no idea I had raised such a prude, what a horrible father I have been!" he bellowed. Cuno grew angry again. " I am not a prude!! I just have some dignity unlike some perverted ol-" Cuno started, as someone knocked on the door.

"Sir Isaac, are you here?" the voice asked. "Yes, come in please." the knight said, propering his shirt. The door opened, and a messenger boy walked in. He was obviously felt nervous of the old man, which was worsened when he saw the angry figure of the knight's son standing behind him. "What do you want? I was in a very important meeting with my son here!" Isaac said, indicating to his son. Cuno scoffed and looked away. "Well sir... I was sent here by the royal court to tell you that Inferno presence has been detected in the outer woods just moments ago." the boy said. Cuno's attention increased, he had been very interested in the activities of the Inferno. "Really?" the old man said, his interest increasing as well. "Yes, would you like to respond?" the boy asked. Isaac stomped over and patted the boy on the shoulder. "Yes! Let's go tell them together that I, Sir Isaac Altair, would like to hear all the details!" he said, nearly giving the poor child a heart attack. "Cuno? Please stay here while I-.... Cuno!" the old man stammered as he realized his son had run away once again.

 

[Zanarkand Lover]

Ananaias heard heavy steps of a running man headed towards himself and Sylfae.

"It's coming from Accalek," Ananaias said, looking towards Sylfae. "Could it be another one of the Inferno?"

Ananaias and Sylfae waited for a few minutes, watching a small, dark figure grow near them, getting bigger and bigger. After about five minutes, the man was fully visible.

"Who are you?" Ananaias asked sternly, gripping his staff for support. "What do you want with us?"

 

[FishBox]

Spike ran through the forest, he had only one memory yet it was more horrible than what most would imagine. It wasn't the fact that the man was frozen alive, it was the look on his face...

Spike tried to wipe the thoughts from his mind, and decided to rest. His Ancient Halberd rested next to him, yet was still firmly in his grasp. He sat next to an old Pine tree and gazed at the sky. It was an absolutely beautiful sunset, yet it was somewhat redder than what nature had intended.

He watched the dying sunlight dance along the rocky path through the flickering shadows. He was about to doze off when he heard strange noises. He heard the crackling of fire, and the singing of an icy breeze all at the same time. He decided to investigate.

He followed the noise, and looked around from behind a thick tree trunk to see a knight chasing a person. The person seemed to be a mage, and seemed to be about double Spikes age. He didn't know the person, but he felt something powerful emanating from the mage...

And the woman that was there as well.... no, a girl. She seemed Spike's age... perhaps a bit older. Spike could tell she was also quite powerful. Quite beautiful, also...

Spike focused on the matter at hand. This is no time to be involved with girls. But she was different... he could feel it.

Spike must have missed the fight, as all that was left was the mage and the girl, who were engulfed in their own thoughts. The girl seemed to twitch, and looked in his direction. Did she see him?

Spike wanted to talk to them. He just needed some company other than Mother Nature. He was about to introduce himself, when another person began to emerge from the shadows. Spike couldn't tell if he was good or bad, but the girl and the mage were alarmed by his presence, so Spike assumed they didn't know the other man.

Then it happened.

His left shoulder started to burn. The pain was excruciating, and it seemed to happen for no reason.
His birthmark was glowing.

He tried his hardest not to scream out in pain, but he couldn't help it. The others were alarmed by the sound of his voice, and instantly ran over to see what was happening.

Spike shook violently, and then changed. His whole body was engulfed in a brilliant white light, and when the others looked again, he wasn't there.

Instead, in the place where Spike once lay, was a 15 foot rock golem.

 

[Dawning Twilight]

Alex walked through the streets. The sky was filled with clouds. Would it rain soon? Alex didn't know. But it was beautiful to him, especially if it thundered and lightning flew through the air around him. Sighing he placed his arms behind his head as he walked leisurely through the streets of some city called "Accalek." Looking at a sign Alex saw a sign for joining some army. A war was going on no doubt.

People who fought in wars were pathetic and stupid. He hated them. They fought in the name of their "justice." They sinned in the name of their "justice." They even killed in the name of their "justice." Justice didn't exist anymore. One of the reasons he avoided busy cities and people in general. walking by a apple stand he approached the small stand and placed down some money before picking up an apple.

The man at the stand thanked him as Alex had obviously overpaid for the apple. Walking away Alex bit into it and continued to walk down the street. The apple was very fresh. It tasted so delicious to him. So many sinners were probably walking in the city with the good people of this town. It made him sick to his stomach as he walked down the street towards no specific area at all. He was led by fate which would soon connect him with "someone"...

 

[Akans]

Too many people had appeared, too fast. Sylfae did not have much time to tell Ananaias what she knew.
"I'm glad that you were able to hold Zack and Sleif off, while I completed what I intended to do. Do you think I would just sit around while you got all the fun with Zack and Sleif there? I made sure they wouldn't escape." She whispered disdainfully.
A glowing blue sphere appeared in her hand. On it were two distinctively red dots.
"People underestimate the power of wind so much..." She whispered to herself. "They are here." pointing at the dots.
And then she vanished, leaving behind only the echo of her voice... "I am going after Sleif. Come when you can...Bring along the kid. His name....is Spike."


As she prowled through the forests, her mind started drifting, and she thought about what had happened. Zack she had never heard of, but that was not surprising, since he did not seem like much of a threat. A simple teleport move had caught him off guard. She knew Sleif, and he was dangerous. If he was involved, then this would be serious. Ananaias she had heard of only through his reputation, and Spike...if he lived...then...

Cursing, Sylfae snapped back to reality: the red dots had vanished from her sphere. They were no longer in this world.
Sighing, she turned around and left.

*OOC: Damn, I can't keep up, you guys post so fast!*

 

[FishBox]

Although he was a giant monster made of rock, Spike still had his mind. He tried to speak, but all that came out was an intelligible roar. The people were staring at him in intrigue, rather than fear. Yet although the others weren't scared, he definitely was.

The world looked different. It was pitch black, except sentient beings and surroundings were outlined in a light blue. Spike searched for the Halberd, only to find that it was embedded in his chest. On his back, his birthmark had grown to the size of his whole back, and was shining brightly.

He didn't know what was happening, and he couldn't understand what the others were saying. He couldn't understand English.

Spike began to run, each step shaking the forest floor, but he was stopped by a wall of ice that seemed to just magically appear. Then his enormous feet were being glued to the spot by thick sheets of ice coming out of the mage's hands.

Spike began to relax... He didn't have enough energy to stay in this form... He just wanted to sleep and hope that he'd wake up in a nice warm bed.

As soon as Spike began to relax, he transformed back into his human form (yes, his clothes were still intact). Spike was a smart kid, and he realized that if he relaxes, he can return to his human form. But how did he get into the Golem stage in the first place?

He hadn't slept in three days, and transforming took away all of his energy. The mage was standing over him, talking... but Spike was too energy deprived to listen properly, and he dozed off.

"Do...understand?....I....Ananaias...help you..."

Spike fell asleep, hoping that some rest and some human company could help him regain the memories he so dearly wished he could reclaim.

 

[vinnie]

Anrufer watched, with angst, at the unsettling way the air smelt. Rain? Of course. He hated rain. He had hated it ever since he was a child. The rain makes entering the dark realm that much trickier, as the process involved an immense trick of the eye on the part of the witnesser, as the dark realm is but a transparent pocket in space, an anomoly, but still enterable by anyone, and only openable by one who is void of light.

And then he heard it, the hair sticking up on the back of his neck beneath the shadow-veil cloak that surrounded his body. Footsteps. Was he being persued? Quietly, he stepped into the comfortable patch that is the dark realm, careful to re-bend the rain so that it still hit the ground as normal. He crouched down, producing three shadow-kunai in the palm of his hand and staring through the plasmatic greyish purple portal.

"He's gotta be here somewhere? Where else would he go?" A voice. A man's voice. And looking for someone. Had he been spotted? He'd not let them tell the tale...

He sprung, catlike, from the abyss faster than a normal human eye can see, gripping the man's collar vice-like and slamming him hard into the tree of the old Elm forest. If the Inferno were seeking human blood, his blood would not be for the claim on this day. His eyes sprung to life, fierce as fresh embers and illuminated against the calm of the setting. He placed the free hand over the mans mouth to silence any of his screams.

"You. Whom do you persue, unwelcome stranger. And numb your tounge," His eyes flickered, inciting a shiver from the man. "For if you lie to me, the air used to regurgitate your words will very likely be the last you ever form."

The man wore a shirt made of a cavas-esque material, probably that of a peasant. His black hair fell just short of veiling his eyes, and he began to shiver when he realized he was dangling a foot from the ground, held only by the strength of the pencil-thin arm and the skeleton-like hand clasped over his mouth. He stared into the eyes, demon eyes. His breath came in a loud vaccum sound as he clattered to the dirt, motionless as the man placed a shadow-incarnate knife against his throat.

"This is the end of my kindness," Anrufer barked, bringing the kunai closer to his throat, inciting a recoil from the man. "Answer me, or die. It's your choice, and a time-sensitive one at that."

"M-... my name is Eric... I was looking for my dog, Alucard."

The kunai disappeared from view, the hand closing around the area it was once located within.

"You know nothing of the inferno?"

The man's face contorts into a look of confusion, hardly daring to speak too forcefully.

"The What?"

A sigh emitted from the infinite black of the cloak's hood, the eyes dulled down, and the runes ceased to burn.

"If you don't know, then it's not for you to worry. Find your animal, then go."

The man sits up in his place.

"But-"

"I said [b]GO[/b]."

Sensing a finality, the man crawled backwards at first away from Anrufer, not taking his eyes off of him. He scrambled to his feet, running off into the distance, all the while Anrufer stared off at the on-coming storm, rain drops refracting off of him and evaporating into the darkness.

"A front-row seat to the apocolypse. How could I be so lucky?"

Suddenly, he shot around, drawing two shadow-kunai to each hand. This must have been the real assailant. The person obviously thought following the man would put him one step ahead.

"Please, your name, so that I may etch it upon your tomb stone."

 

[Akans]

"I am Sylfae." she said confidently as she stepped out of the forest, having met Anrufer accidentally. "And do tell me what you know about the Inferno before you become too injured to speak."

She grinned, baring her teeth, and her hand whipped up in front, three wind-formed knives appearing in her hand.

"Looks like we were born with equal abilities then."

And without warning, she threw all three at Anrufer, and vanished from view, a plume of dust spiraling up from where she was seconds before.

 

[afrobutt]

((And this is what I get for waiting >.>))

Cuno walked through the streets once again, but this time it was raining. Cuno cursed himself as he walked through the puddles for 3 reasons. The was for getting caught in the first place, by the senile advisor and the head of the idiots George. The second curse was for running into the woods instead of going back Home. He had jus wanted to see what had happened, and had run into nothing but a group of freaks. Cuno chuckled, as if he was one to talk. And the third curse was for running all the way there, and then running all the way back. He could have at least asked for information. But he didn't trust three strangers, especially the girl and the giant boulder. Cuno had a rule about chicks, the hotter they were the more inclined they were to causing males damage. And this girl was smoking hot, so Cuno made sure to get outta there as fast as possible. He had used his Flash Leap, so it would've looked as if he had dissappeard into thin air.

So here he was, walking in the rains to his Home. Cuno hated the rain, it always helped to set a depressing mood. Plus he was cold, really cold.He debated staying in the inn till the rain stopped, but that might get him caught again. Plus, she was probaly worried about him, and she had every reason to punch Cuno when he got back. Walking along his way, he noticed that someone had bought an apple from the soon to be closing apple stand. Cuno smiled, no one ever bought an apple from this guy except Cuno. He'd helped Cuno hide from the George's guards once, and Cuno had made a deal that he would buy one apple everytime he walked by. Buying his apple, with the money he tended to sneak from his father, he asked the man who else had bought an apple. Will (that was his name) said it had been a tall, angry looking man. Cuno asked where he had gone, and Will pointed toward the central square. Cuno had to pass through the square to get Home anyway, so he thought he might as well see this guy anyway.