Fable - Ask Born with a King's Heart

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

At Lazule's side, both Erën's confidence and determination were renewed. In the face of these mighty champions, these beasts on their own were little more than an obstacle. An annoyance. As Anur motioned the first forward, he attacked it. The second moved past him to his friend. Soon, with his first target finished another four came forward, and Anur seemed to flee.

Erën battled with another beast, whirling around it, climbing atop and plunging his sword deep into its back.

And for a time, they fought the gnashing monsters. But here in this church, their numbers were their detriment. Like a well trained duo of surgeons, Lazule and Erën dissected the monsters with a brutal percision, leaving a soaking mess of blood and flesh at the center of what was once this house of worship.

Sliding his sword free of his final victim, he turned to Lazule and promptly approached, "Lazule. Its, Anur'Ephal. He intends to finish what was started.

The Ancient Dweller. Somehow. Here."

He gave his head a bit of a shake, "thank you... for helping me..."

Then realization.

There was no way Lazule had made it all this way on his own. Erën had been quite conscious for his ensnared journey here, and was quite aware of the distance that had been covered. He guessed Lazule's method.

He placed a hand on Lazule's shoulder, looking up to him now. A strange, unfamiliar change. At least he wasn't that much taller.

"Lazule. Where is Caliane?"

She could not be allowed to face Anur alone. At least in his mind, anyway.

Caliane Ruinë | Lazule​

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Caliane glanced below her under her wing as she heard the sickening crunch of bone meeting stone and saw the creature that had first attacked her crumple into a heap. Her hair blew across her face and she brought her hand from her side to brush it back behind her ears and give her clearer sight of the beast that still dogged her tail. This one did not suffer from injuries like the other had and it was not as tired as she was. It's teeth just barely missed her leg as it craned its neck towards her but she felt their intent and pushed their flight upwards instead. It would give the creature the ability to draw level with her but at least it would force it to come in range of her weapon. As they broke into the skies above the streets where Caliane had been flying its dark scaly wing drew level with her own white ones and for a moment the two opponents looked at each other as the same thought passed over their minds.

The chase was over.

The beast threw its weight at her as she went for her sword and drew it in a whistle of steel. Her opponent attempted to fold itself around her, its long neck going for her arm whilst it threw its tail up towards her back. Caliane countered by twisting her own body into the crook of its neck and the joint of its wing forcing it to stop its attack with its tail or hit itself. The jaws were easier to focus on alone and she brought her blade up as it went for her arm. It screamed as the silver metal made hot by her flame slid through the soft tissue of the roof of its mouth. She pushed further upwards then twisted the blade when it met resistance of stronger ligaments and muscle until it pierced the brain itself. In its last throws of painful existence it still attempted to carry out its intention of biting down on the Avariel and Caliane gave a wordless cry of her own pain as one of its fangs pierced through her armour and sunk into the tender flesh of her forearm.

With the creature dead it began to drop like a heavy weight and Caliane went with it as she tried desperately to wrench her arm and blade free. In the seconds before they hit the ground she managed the feat at the cost of further tearing of her own skin, but she had no hope of turning the fall into that of a path of flight this late in the game. Instead all she could do was brace for impact as they hit the centre of the town square. Cali's own impact with the ground was cushioned somewhat by the dead beasts body but her shoulder and wing jarred as she hit then slid off its scales onto the cobbled of the ground itself. One of the key lessons in cushioning a fall was always to roll with the impact instead of fighting against it so she did just that, sword clutched still in her hand and rolled a couple of times across the square before coming to a stop on her back.

The redhead attempted to push herself up and rubbed at her face to try and clear the field of stars that plagued her vision.

 

[Anur'Ephal]

​

Having departed the fray of combat, Anur's mind was free to assimilate the perceptions of his beasts. One met an unfortunate end, one even prompted him to chuckle. Such simple creatures, incapable of much foresight. Had he been less interested in taunting Erën perhaps he'd have expressed more dominion over the wyverns pursuing the Avariel. No matter however, it would seem that she had found herself in the very place she most likely did not want to be. And he most certainly could make excellent… use of.

But in truth… there was something about her that intrigued him… in the few moments his beasts would garner him, he would investigate.

So he followed, stepping forward and descending into a black mist that coalesced and darted forth, weaving around and through structures and taking again the shape of his figure at top of a tall arch – becoming solid once more. Balanced on one toe, with his other foot rested on his ankle, his arms spread wide with his sword hovering just above his head. A red aura enveloped him. And two piercing eyes gazed down at her there in the center of the square.

As he appeared, across the square atop another ruin, dud yet another figure leap atop of. Adjacent them, two more, marking each point of a compass. His apprentices, who had dwelt here near the square. Lying in wait. Preparing.

Not for her, not specifically. No. But all the same.

The three acolytes began to wave their hands around in particular patterns, a bright light fading after their fingertips, leaving the lasting image of strange symbols hovering before them. Then, they extended their arms and the symbols moved forward, stretching far and wide and joining in a large circle overhead. The circle spun, and gently descended to the ground enveloping the entirety of the town square – which was no less than 50 meters in diameter.
Between them, green lines burned across the ground, crossing each other to draw out the image of a horned monster encircled with malevolent scripture. And the ground began to tremble.

Anur smirked, and called down to her,

“I wonder, how does your kind feel fear?

How do they hurt?”​

A sinister, almost frightful laugh escaped him, and the sword above his head turned – its point aimed for Caliane.

“A shame… perhaps the metal one will sing to me before the end, while I pour my shadow into his wretched light…” slowly his hand began to move, coming up above his shoulder, “or perhaps that broken fool will tell me the tale, before I tear his still beating heart from his chest.” he tsked, then lazily has hand fell forward, and the sword shot forward, seeking to impale her there.

Caliane Ruinë | Lazule​

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Her head was ringing and when she opened her eyes she had four hands. One blink, then another. She rubbed at her eyes gently and finally her vision righted itself and four limbs became the two she should have. And the sword still clutched in her fist covered in the blood of the wyvern that lay slain some meters away. Tenderly she moved her wings next but other than slightly bruised they were miraculously alright. She breathed a sigh of relief that she had not found herself grounded when the fight had seldom even started yet. It was possible to fly on a broken wing but like with walking on a broken leg it was painful and clumsy. Content nothing was severely damaged she attempted to get her feet under her to go in search of Lazule; perhaps he had had better luck than she in finding Erën. The thought of them not finding him was simply out of the question and hurt her at the merest entertainment of such an idea.

However, the black mist that crawled its way about a tower directly in her eye line gave her pause. She had to squint again to sharpen her vision but it seemed to sort itself out as the ringing subsided more and more. An... elf? Her eyes snapped to the other three figures and very slowly she rose to her feet, turning in a slow circle to take them all in and linger on the green scripture they had begun to spew forth.

It brushed past her, though she was careful not to let the lines touch her, as it descended to the ground. The Soulfire stirred within her.

“I wonder, how does your kind feel fear?

How do they hurt?”

Caliane's attention snapped back to the figure she had seen to begin with. Her fingers flexed on the handle of her blade but she did not answer him apart from to frown. His next words gave her more insight; he knew Erën. Somehow. The threat against her friends was less easy to ignore but she had no time to launch her own attack for he threw his sword at her. Her hands shot forward and suddenly a wall of flame rose between her and the oncoming weapon. The heat that pulsed from it was blistering and so intense it would be hard to even look at it for the moment that it burned.

Then it died until all that remained was a few flickers of flame against the ground in the same line of where the wall itself had been. And behind it now the Avariel held the sword by the blade, one hand pressed either side of it before it had touched her chest. Flames licked at the emeralds of her eyes as she raised her gaze to his and the very metal began to drip into a silvery pool at her feet that bubbled and hissed. She let the remainder of it drop into the puddle with a splash.

"My kind feel no fear." for the first time, the Soulfire and Caliane spoke as one.

 

[Lazule]

"And there are those who speak with corrupted tongues," Lazule recited quietly. "Let their words fall unto deaf ears. For they have lost the sanctity of personhood."

One of Father's Mantras. Apropos, in response to the what the Foe had to say. There was nuance in the world, and sometimes there was not. Lazule had determined that there was no nuance here. Thus, Father's fitting Mantras.

And the Foe retreated. Left Lazule and Erën to fight the monsters which carried forth his bidding. This was acceptable. The monsters, the wyverns, were to be destroyed regardless. Erën fought, and so did Lazule.

The Javelin of Light into one--the one that had stalked past Erën and toward Lazule. More wyverns. Lazule backpedaled. Toward the broken wall where once there had been a front door. An error. Caused by his feet. He fell backward, and a wyvern clamped down on both his feet. A stretch of his right hand just outside of the Church and a gathering of light. A high-pitched whine as this light coalesced. An aiming of his palm and a rapid-fire burst of Needles into the creature's skull. The last wyvern, crawling over the body of its fallen kin. Snapping its jaws hard around Lazule's waist and chest, teeth grating against armor of stone and metal. Lazule kicked his pronged feet into the creature's neck, pierced the scales, it roared and let go, and Lazule rolled backward out of the Church and into the sparse light outside and quickly gathered enough to conjure another, weaker Javelin. A throw into the wyvern's open and roaring maw and a muffled explosion from within, the beast's body slumped and a river of steaming blood and viscera evacuated through its slack jaw.

Lazule could feel the increased warmth in his chest, the overheating of his Life Fire through prolonged use of Luminomancy. Mild, this overheating--for now.

Lazule stepped back inside the Church. Erën finished the last wyvern that had assailed him. Turned and approached and spoke.

Lazule. Its, Anur'Ephal. He intends to finish what was started.

"You know him." More of a statement, than a question. What Erën said next brought clarification. Lazule remembered the first night spent in the cave, Erën and Lazule and their small fellowship. What assailed them in the night, interrupting their rest. Was this him? The Foe, Anur'Ephal, he was the one behind that?

Yet it did not change anything. The Ancient Dweller did not rise when Zeng sought to raise It. It would not rise now.

Erën inquired of Caliane's location.

"She is present. She had taken flight. Watched my approach on the ground from the air. I do not know her exact location.

A sudden shift then of Lazule's helm, off to one side, like a vigilant sentry that had become alerted.

"Strange light. Green in hue. From further in the city. And...fire light. Intense fire light."

Eren'thiel Xyrdithas Caliane Ruinë

 

[VigiloConfido]

Anima waited.

Anur'Ephal had gone from the Church. The vaguely familiar elf Anur had fought and his armored comrade still inside.

She stayed hunkered down against the inside wall of an adjacent ruined building and deep in its shadow.

Perhaps they would pass by her, as Anur had. Perhaps they would see her.

Delight, from all outcomes.

When you simply give in.

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

He nodded. It was natural for her to take to the skies. And from everything he had witnessed in Bhathairk there was little need for concern regarding the wyverns, vicious as they were. No, Anur was his concern. His powers proved perilous, and Erën was uncertain to what extent the elf had sold himself.

It was a worrisome consideration.

"Strange light. Green in hue. From further in the city. And...fire light. Intense fire light."

The light he was unsure of, "No doubt his trickery." The fire he was not, "We should regroup. I do not believe he is alone here."

He moved out of the church, directing his eyes toward the light. He too saw the flash of fire, and then the firelight faded. He took a step forward -

He froze.

A cold wind blew through. His hair skewed his vision.

A familiar presence... somehow...

...uncertain...
​

Slowly he turned his head, and he saw her. But... to his eyes she was robed as Anur'Ephal would demand. He drew up the sword again as before, and turned to face her. His eyes for all he could tell were not deceived, but there was something far more recent to this individual than the Fell Elf and his dark sorcery.

"You there!"

Lazule​

 

[Anur'Ephal]

"My kind feel no fear."

He could hear it in her voice. What it was, he could not tell. But there was something to this elf that he found quite interesting. It intrigued him, compelled him to investigate.

"Indeed," he said, stepping off from his perch and floating casually to rest upon the ground. The snow crunched underfoot, and for a moment he stood there. The spell that surrounded her did little more than emit the strange light.

"But tell me... oh fiery one," he snapped his fingers, the melted sword disintegrating into smoke and billowing toward him with haste, taking complete shape in his hand once more.

He brought his empty hand up, and snapped his fingers together again. There, between his index and thumb a small arc of black light buzzed. He closed his hand and then opened it again, the arc spreading across to each of his digits.

"what about the pain?"

His final word was accentuated with a shout, and he stretched forth his hand and from it red lightning twisted with black spread out toward Caliane.

Caliane Ruinë ​

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Who is he?

The Avariel watched the elf as he descended to the ground and approached, her hand clenching and unclenching on the hilt of her blade. It was the Soulfires question but Caliane wanted to know the answer too. The wind had begun to pick up and it blew her hair about her in a frenzy. She caught out of the corner of her eye as one strand blew across her face that the ends were beginning to catch alight as her power stretched inside her chest. This was a threat to be destroyed and it would be.

He spoke again but gave nothing else away that might have helped her answer her question about who he was so she didn't bother to give it a response. He did, however, offer her a small insight into his magic as he brought the sword back to his hand formed once more. Her green eyes narrowed. Her flames were strong such a thing shouldn't have been that easy to do. Caution would be necessary not just blunt force brute strength. The Soulfire disagreed; everything could be consumed by fire if there was enough of it.

This soon after the Amalgamation and her own Wakening though? It would not be possible without resulting in certain death. Even the Soulfire had to concede to that.

Caliane sucked in a breath when she saw the lightning form in his hands. His further taunting gave her the time at least to prepare for the attack unlike the last few times lightning had been used on her. She launched her own counter strike and fire and lightning clashed in a ball of intense power in the space between them. The two serpents of power, one of red and black lighting and the other of white flame, writhed and twisted round one another, probing one another for weakness to gain the upper hand. The light the two forces caused was blinding. They were matched. Cali's jaw clenched with the concentration.

"Who are you, how do you know Erën?" she had to shout to be heard over the sound of crackling flame and lightning.

 

[Anur'Ephal]

A mild surprise washed over him. The fire magic matched his dreadful attack and stayed it there between them. Black tendrils lashed about, seeking to wrap around the twisted ball that had formed. Each one that stretched forth was consumed in white flame, forbidden from passing the equator of their clashing powers.

He stepped back even, steadying himself.

Now that is more like it.

"Who are you, how do you know Erën?"

He grinned. The game is afoot.

He shouted over the sound, "Surely you know what he is, a tool. An instrument. Imprisoned in a cage in his own mind... well..." a step forward, forcing more power against her, "...how do I know him? I was the one who joined him with that prison.

And I am also the one who freed him.

I made him."

He took another step forward, and with another push he tried to force against her once again. However, her flame overtook his magic, and he relented and dove out of the way, wisping some meters away as smoke before becoming whole again.

Caliane Ruinë ​

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Sweat beaded her brow due to a combination of the effort it was taking to keep his dark magic at bay but also from the heat coming off the clash of energies. Her arm began to shake and her gaze flicked for a moment to the skies debating her exit strategy should her power falter before his. Her opponents words brought Caliane's attention back to the elf opposite her and her temper flared. The Soul Forge was a beautiful thing that Erën had shown her and it had felt so... wonderful. Every single second inside of it had filled her with a joy she would carry with her to her dying breath and he stood before her and called it a prison? As her anger flared so did her power so it matched his force tit for tat, the energy between them growing more intense. The cobbles beneath their feet began to crack and groan inwards from the force.

And I am also the one who freed him.

This made absolutely no sense at all if he called the Soul Forge his prison. He couldn't possibly have... Then realisation struck her. Memories of Erën surrounded by the darkness that had once been the Amalgamation, the sadness in him, the tiredness... Those weeks she had been in Sleep something had happened, she had felt it in her bones from the moment of her Wakening. Was that it? Was that what had changed him? Was the Soul Forge... gone.

Shock replaced her anger in the same moment the elf opposite her broke their match and threw himself to the side. Her flame guttered and she stumbled forward as it suddenly left her, forcing her to spread her wings a little to give her some sort of balance. Caliane could only imagine what Erën was feeling if she had reached the correct conclusion. Her heart broke for him.

"You couldn't have...." after the roar of lightning and fire the town was so quiet you could hear a pin drop and his elfish ears would have no trouble picking up her horrified whisper. "You took him from the Soul Forge?" the only way she could imagine the loss was to think about the pain of losing her wings. But he had lost so much more, a connection with kin, of feeling never alone. Now...

 

[Anur'Ephal]

"You could not possibly imagine the extent of the Conclave's lies."

Beneath them, the enormous circle stirred, and began to slowly turn. But nothing of it sought to harm, or even be felt. Only to be seen - for now. Anur too began to move. He stepped around, keeping his distance and looking to her as he spoke.

"As the humans say, even a devil can appear as an angel of light," he scoffed, "their lust for power would have brought unspeakable evil if not for I!"

He displayed his fist triumphantly.

"It is I who cast the night across their land, and squelched their greed - robed in false righteousness."

Around them, more acolytes appeared, joining their brethren in their casting, and so began a dreary chant.

"But he, foolish as he is, can be redeemed.

He can be truly free.

Help me show him the truth, as his father once tried and failed: silenced and slain by his own son's hand."

Caliane Ruinë ​

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

The snow crunched under her feet as they moved with him, turning her so that she always had him directly in her eye line. She would not be left on the defensive from any further attacks. As he spoke it began to snow again. It added an extra layer of hush to the area like a soft blanket. But such purity made his words even uglier and her brows pulled further and further into a frown. She had sensed no evil in the Soul Forge when she had been there, neither had she sensed anything from Erën about him not liking it there. He would not have shared it with her if he had thought it what he described, would he?

Her head turned slightly so she could look over her shoulder at the shadows joining the circle. A prickling sensation ran down her spine and her eyes moved from them to him slowly.

"That death was not done lightly," Cali's voice was soft and sad. If this man had been something close to Erën once he should know that too. She had no intentions of helping him, but she would help Erën and to do that she needed him to keep talking.

Let's play this game then.

Her body relaxed a fraction as if she were considering his words truly and she gazed up at the snow falling from the skies with a troubled look.

"If what you say is true..." she turned her emerald eyes to him again now and she said the rest with conviction and love. "How can I help save him?"

 

[Lazule]

We should regroup.

Lazule nodded. "Then so shall we."

And Lazule followed Erën out of the Church. The light. The lights, as it were. Different sources. Caliane almost certainly, given the intensity of the firelight, but she was also fighting something that was not a wyvern. Proof, likely, of Erën's aforementioned belief of Anur'Ephal's allies. Mayhap the Foe himself.

All would be destroyed. Lazule gathered some of the light coming their way from the distant battle, coalesced it along the meager cloud-choked light of day into his palms. Prepared. Ready for another ambush--

Erën stopped. Turned to look at something. Lazule followed his gaze with his own visor's tracking of its movement.

You there!

A robed and hooded woman. Silver-haired. Curved blades in her hand.

She flashed a grin. Then turned and ran away from them.

Lazule wasted no time. He held up his right hand and manifested a powerful Javelin of Light and threw it.

Caliane Ruinë Eren'thiel Xyrdithas

 

[VigiloConfido]

Anima saw him then. Him. Erën. The one Mother had spoken of. The prospect. Now she recognized him.

She flashed a grin to him. Enticing, perhaps, in one manner or another. And then she did the best thing she could do: run.

Yes. Run away from the town center. Away from Anur'Ephal. She was not exceptionally fast, no; the Masquerade did not allow her to inherit abilities. Only emotions. Vague associations. She was no faster as the assassin than she was otherwise.

But if they chased her, it would allow for more time for Anur'Ephal and the others to continue their work. They might also split up. If the armored man came after her alone, then there would be an embracing of euphoric pain. And if Erën came after her alone...

It would be a delight, wouldn't it? A joy. To allow for his further descent. Each kill made the next ever so much...easier. She could join in the welcoming company of scars upon his heart, the long line of them, each having removed Erën degree by degree from the innocence he once knew, the boy who at one time had never taken a life, that further encroachment of the dark, whispering: It is okay...they were wicked...they deserved it...you are righteous...you had no choice...you are not forever marred...

Anima hopped off of the edge of a terrace and dropped down to a lower level of the city just as Lazule's Javelin struck a crumbling wall and blew it apart, dust and debris and scattered snow like a cloud of smoke left in her wake.

And she kept running.

 

[Anur'Ephal]

Anur continued forward a few more paces, nodding to her response. If he could sway the winged one to his side, then this could perhaps be made all to easy. But still, he did not so wholly believe her sold - not by a long shot.

He turned to her, spread his arms wide passively and let the sword disappear.

Beneath them, the rune still slowly turned. But distantly, all throughout the city's remains, strange lights began to take shape. No bigger than a mans fist the began to appear dotted all throughout. In some places there were large collections of them, shining brightly. In others, there were lonesome, dim lights. They radiated no heat, or impeded any travel - as though they existed half here, half somewhere else.

"His mind is now frail.

Without my guidence he will surely descend into madness - the foundation of his construct is as a pillar of sand, waiting for only the gentlest tide to undo it...

It is only a matter of time."

A half truth. One that could quite possibly come true... should Anur have his way.

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

Erën follows 1 -3 Erën goes to the square 4-6

@Jerën Xyrdithas: 1d6 = (4) = 4

You'll have to wait...

For now...

​

Erën took a hurried step, but quickly stopped - stifling the compulsion to give chase. He could not abandon Caliane to Anur on her own, or leave it to Lazule alone to aid her.

This was his problem, one they now had been roped into - once again a product of his inadequacy. But though feelings of doubt pried at his focus, he strengthened himself and turned away from the dread. There was a purpose here. A duty. There had been chaos brought to this place.

He would bring about the return of Order. Such was his duty. His purpose. As it has always been.

Hadn't it?

He turned back to the square, and began on his way in a sprint. He reserved any remaining magic he could still dispense, despite the additional time needed to arrive. If he arrived quickly with nothing to give, then what good would it be? Hopefully she could hold out a bit longer on her own.

"Come! There is no time!"

Caliane Ruinë | Lazule​

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

He didn't answer the question!

Her wings began to blaze again and Caliane fought to keep a handle on the rising anger of the Soulfire swirling about inside of her mind. It was like a loosed animal now set free from a small cage to find itself in a bigger one. More space to grow and stretch its power, but its only exit was through her body. The snow still fell but now when it touched her wings it gave a soft hiss as it melted and steam rose. Near where her wings brushed the ground it melted, giving her a unique circle of truly clear ground to stand on.

"Nothing of what you just said necessarily means I need you to help me," there was scorn dripping from the word you and though his own blade had disappeared and he had begun to approach she didn't relinquish her own blade. She did, however, lower it so that it pointed down the length of her long legs and its point just grazed the cobbles of the square.

"The loss of the Forge is regrettable but Erën is strong enough to not need it, I have seen it, felt the truth," she knew it in her bones. That wasn't to say it was going to be easy for him but she would be there for every step he needed her. "You do not know your old apprentice very well anymore," her wings stretched and retracted in an irritated motion much like a cats swipe of its tail.

 

[Anur'Ephal]

Anur came to a halt. He raised his hand out before him, and the image of a blue crystal appeared just above his palm.

"Imbedded in his spine - and mine, and all who are joined... is this. The Forge Stone, emmeshed with bone to forever be a part. Though I have severed him from the cage, the demons will always call to him."

The image of the gemstone became grey, then black, then it faded.

"His most precious Soul Forge has been made corrupt, by the very thing the Order brought into being. Even his closest friends could not resist its evils...

... did he not tell you?

He killed them - what they sought to viciously do to him."

Caliane Ruinë ​

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Caliane's face had always been an open book and the shock was clearly written there now as he spoke about Erën's murder of his own people. But no, there had to be an explanation.

"I was..." too weak, near death, trapped. Her gaze faltered from his for a moment but she stopped the tide of shame before it could take a hold. "I was about to speak with him after a separation when we were interrupted by your little pets," she knew this anger was more the Soulfires constant rage than her own, but it still felt right in her heart. She was angry at everything that had transpired in the past few weeks that had conspired so that she couldn't be there when her... when he had needed her the most.

It mattered not. She shook her head, they were getting off topic.

"So you seek to destroy... this Forge Stone in him? To severe the link completely?" was this the key, was this how she could rejoin him with his people? "Why not just destroy this Evil together?" now it was her time to take a step forward. As each foot rose the snow ahead of it melted and steamed. "Why not ask for help to take it back, why destroy it?" She came to a halt only two paces away from him.

 

[Anur'Ephal]

As she drew near, he did not flee. Instead he stepped forward to meet her, his arms folding behind his back.

In one hand, he charged his dark magics once again.​

"Even I am but a child in the vastness of the evil there now," he said, a seemingly sincere tone coming over him, "for years I endeavoured to bring an end to this before it began. But the Conclave would not heed me, and now they are no more.

Only the Ancient Dweller can stand against Arethil's Answer.

And only Erën's pure blood can summon it. There is no other way."

Another lie. But one that did fit. Erën was a champion of light, and his spirit along with all these others which had appeared around them and all throughout the city's ruin would do quite well to feed the dark monster. And leave himself, very much alive.

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Calm pools of green stared into his own eyes as he spoke. This close it was easier to take note of his features, any subtle scars or hints at weaknesses. She would exploit them all. Ignoring the growing need to get rid of the man in front of her she struggled to listen and take note of what he said. Another Evil in this world; Lazule would reveal in it. The Soulfire felt a swell of pride for the Life Fire as it agreed with Caliane's thoughts.

He is too weak, he has admitted as much.

He is useless.

And he was threatening Erën. Nothing that involved blood was ever a little drop. He meant to spill it not save him and that was unacceptable. Her hand tightened on her blade in resolve.

"That," she said softly, her voice a sad song of a mourning bird. She even gave him a small sympathetic smile as the reflections of flames began to flicker in her eyes. "I cannot let you do."

With that final exchange of words she swung her blade that was now alight up towards him in one swift movement, aiming for his chest.

 

[Lazule]

Lazule had taken two more steps than Erën had. Fully intent on running down the kin of the Foe and slaying her wherever she tried to run. No monster shall be suffered to live.

But Erën stopped himself. Turned. Sprinted. This caused Lazule to stop, and brought on a measure of confusion. What was he doing? Was there not an enemy here to be slain? Would they allow her to escape? Anur'Ephal had escaped, yes, but he left them with all of his bidden wyverns and this was fine. They were to be destroyed, and they were. Anur'Ephal was to be destroyed, and he would be. The wyverns had merely been closer in proximity.

Come! There is no time!

Lazule turned his helm from Erën to where last he had seen the hooded woman jump down from the edge of the terrace and then back to Erën. He was holding firm to his initial plan: to regroup. And Lazule relented, following after him instead of relentlessly pursuing the hooded woman to ends of Arethil if need be. Had Lazule not been Broken and reforged, had still been operating strictly under Father's Mantras, he would have. Chased after the woman until he either caught her, or another monster opportunistically came close and thus would compel Lazule to slay it instead (only to resume the chase after).

Lazule sprinted after Erën, the streamers of his armor fluttering behind him, hands wreathed with gathered light pumping up and down systemically as his swung in their powerful motions. No errors in running. Yet.

This could be the better tactic. The nuanced tactic. For Lazule, Erën, and Caliane together had all (along with the warrior Jirou) worked in tandem to slay the Great Amalgamation, where none of them would have been able to do so alone. A smaller monster ignored, such that a larger one--the Foe--could be slain. A more efficient use of a Slayer's time.

Lazule followed after Erën. Said, "I shall engage the Foe as soon as I see him."

Eren'thiel Xyrdithas Caliane Ruinë

 

[VigiloConfido]

Neither one of them. And you are disappointed, aren't you?

Now then.

A choice.

Shall you allow for Anur'Ephal's ruin?

Or shall you taste the sharp citrus of fear when these assassin's blades sink into an unsuspecting back?

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

"I shall engage the Foe as soon as I see him."

And strike true, Lazule...

As he moved, he whirled the sword around in his hand, holding the blade alongside his arm out ahead of him with his other arm stretched behind. He leapt over a pile of rubble, slid across snow and then continued on his stride. Ahead he could see the lights flash, and he could begin to make out shadows cast by figures propped up around the center of the town.

The square was somewhat elevated, and was ringed with an assortment of structures in various states of decay - not allowing for a clear view of what transpired within. But Erën could feel it. The magic Anur conjured, it was the same cold anger that had devastated his home. He would use his evil to conjure this ancient beast to unleash all hell on Arethil - regardless of whatever Anur said. He was a liar. He was a murderer. A willing host of the darkness - like he had oh so terribly come close to allowing on himself.

And understanding then... the desperation he may have felt in his heart, to lead him to such extremes as to slay your own kind.

But this was a situation beyond any kind of reconciliation now. Anur was to die. Whatever he was doing was to be stopped. Blood was all there was to be had, no words. No peace.

Silence.

And the crested the hill, and Erën leapt atop the wall of a ruin and promptly ended the life of an unfortunate acolyte with a swift swing of his sword - severing their head. He leapt down again, landing into the square on both feet. He looked. He was speaking to Caliane. Close to her.

Too close.
​

And she attacked him!

Anur would seemingly withstand the attack, the sword plunging deep into his chest. At first, it seemed as though he truly did feel pain, fear, but then a smirk came across his face, and blackness overtook him. And then a sound erupted from three of his acolytes that tore at any empathy, and then they dropped dead. Anur faded into black smoke, which moved away from Caliane and took shape again atop the same grand arch he had first appeared over the square onto.

Erën all the while continued forward.

The ground shook beneath them.

The center of the circle split, and cracked.

And the lights from all around the ruin began to collect overhead into a brightly shining ball.

Shining ever so brightly. Almost, like the Sun.

And Erën leapt high into the air, coming to meet with Anur in but a moment after he had regained his shape. Their swords clashed. Erën was deflected and swung around, slamming hard into the arch and sliding partway down, before tumbling off its edge. He regained his composure mid-air, firing off a bolt of light toward Anur that he leapt out of the way to avoid - leaving him hanging in the air above them.

Caliane Ruinë | Lazule ​