Private Tales Friends of Old

[Bebin Theros]

"Keep to the bridge!" Syr Ranveer called out to the young knights under his command. "We will guard the rear, whilst the Aeraesarians break forward!"

His hands cut seals and signs with quick gestures. Twisted fingers and curled wrists until both palms slapped together.

A pulse expanded out from Ranveer's position, a blue ring of calm and clarity, similar to that bolt of delving sight with which Erën had pierced the fog of misdirection and madness. Only it was a softer feeling. Not a flash of clarity, but a pool of cleansing.

Within the ring, which stayed upon the cold stones of the bridge, the misdirecting effects diminished, their influence on the mind grew feinter.

Bebin slipped a rip from jagged claws. His own blade carved quick across a bulging limb, where bone and tendon should have met as he skate across the stones away from the toothed stag with the serpents neck.

Its head whipped about, fangs bared as it struck forward to sink its bight into the knight.

A shard of ice struck through its soft neck, and punched through to the other side. Its head fell to the despoiled earth, and Syr Ranveer stood with glittering mist pouring from his open palm.

A moment of knowing passed betwixt the two knights.

Bebin sprung from his spot much like a toad come threat. A scaley creature, like a crocodile shift to a forest cat snapped with its great maw where he had been but a moment ago.

Words of power poured from the young knight's lips, his eyes still aglow with the blue of loch's light. A whip-thrash of long and barbed tail swiped for him. Struck him hard and sent him bouncing across the floor with a cloud of dust.

Eren'thiel Xyrdithas Selene

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

Though Aidathin had been poised to defend the rear, he would heed Syr Ranveer's call. As Selene engaged the approaching enemies, Aidathin leapt back, allowing for Syr Bebin to fall into his place and engage their enemy there. He spun around and brandished his polearm as a creature similar to the lumbering bear-thing bore down on them from the fore.

Erën was occupied with another, more grotesque looking thing, just ahead near the mouth of the bridge. He'd leapt over the encroaching monsters to meet it there.

"Te'leis," Aidathin called, slamming his polearm down onto the bear-thing's skull with a crushing blow, bolstered with crackling magic, "what is that thing?"

It stood like a man, but where a neck and head should be there instead hovered a red, stormy orb, and where forearms should be there were instead limbs like sharpened blades. Its body seemed to be made of something like bone and steel, but it appeared as flesh, and yet bled not.

And through their connection they could feel - stalwart as he was, Erën could not best it alone. It was beyond these other beasts. The bear thing, and the dog thing, and those other monsters they met with were unlike this beast, and even Te'leis and Aidathin felt a fear at the sight of it.

"We must reach him," she replied, forming a great, sharpened light in her hand, then hurling it towards a leaping monster. It wounded it, and sent it into a sprawl, but it did not kill it. It rose to its feet to attack again...

 

[Selene]

A call from the front threw off the rhythm of battle. Skidding back on quiet feet, Selene retreated closer to the others. She hazarded a glance around to her companions. Bebin, hurled to the ground by a whip-tailed beast closing in on him. The woman Te'leis, fending another beast off with a flash of light. And the warped figure that loomed over the mouth of the bridge - the thing that had even the steely-eyed Aeraesarians waver.

She took another step back, unsure of who to help, unwilling to turn from the rear. The glowing eyes of more beasts could be seen in the distance, fast approaching...

"Selene!" Syr Ranveer called out to her. She felt the presence of the knight's anima, cool and grounding. "Give me a base."

Selene nod her head, and swallowed her hesitation. Stance wide, she swept her arms in an arc of movement. Water began to condense between the cracks in the stones and flowed at their feet. She pushed the water out, like the ebb of the ocean, towards the regrouping monsters at the rear.

Syr Ranveer was beside her, coalescing the cold at his fingertips. The water crackled as it crystalized, shooting upwards into spires of ice, forming a wall against the remaining beasts. Those that were unfortunate enough to be caught in the iceflow, frozen in place.

The weight of the spell was heavy, but she felt Syr Ranveer shoulder most of it. He gasped for air beside her, breath coming out frosty. "Go," he said in between breaths. And because of that connection that itched at the back of her mind, she knew where she was needed.

Selene gripped her staff tightly, and pushed forward, to where that burning orb of red hate lay.

 

[Bebin Theros]

When Bebin rose from the cloud of dust, his frame rose unbent and unbroken. The whiptailed beast descended upon him, its maws gnashed against his raised arm, and its teeth bit down with bone crushing force. But the spell of steel body held the young knight together, his feet rooted to the earth, he drew back his arm and drove the talon point of his curved blade into the beast's neck.

It thrashed and whined. Bit down harder upon the arm it held betwixt its teeth. Bebin growled in return, and plunged his blade further. Jerked the handle out. Felt the spoiled flesh give to its edge as strength worked through his chords.

A wash of ice crackled and hissed and crashed across the rear of the creature's mass. Like a wave come over it, the ice flowed, and sealed the thing's hind quarters in a thick coat of frost. The creature yelped in agony. Its senses overloaded. It let go of Bebin's arm, and he ripped his sword through its thickly muscled neck with both hands.

Blood sprayed black across the despoiled forest's floor.

A hard breath. A hungry pull of air into his lungs had his shoulders rise and fall as motes of frost swirled about the air. He turned and ran toward the others, toward Selene and Ranveer. Saw the new foe before them, saw the spear of light strike down one creature, that readied itself again.

Fast, his feet carried him forward with quick steps.

The creature that Te'leis had wounded bound forward once more. Had the magick fortified Bebin slam into it like a battering ram. His shoulder smashed into its ribs with a crack, and though it swiped and scratched and lashed at him, its attacks only tore at his leathers and robes.

"Forward!" he called to the others, and plunged his sword into the beast's neck. Ripped it free as it twitched the last of its life.

---

Selene Eren'thiel Xyrdithas

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

Erën's steel met with the twisted metal of his foe's limb. He moved forward. In a whirl he struck again, forcing even more ground.

The retaliation was just as aggressive, and it demanded all of him to withstand it.

For every advance he was pushed back, but he would surrender only so much, as also his enemy would suffer little defeat. But for each of them the struggle proved equal.

But as they would all soon be aware as Aidathin and Te'leis were aware, as mighty as Erën was his strength was in the killing blow. That mark had been missed, and by attrition he would fail.

But as the two remained locked in their single combat, to the others now did Erën's instinct become apparent in its clarity. The illusions of the monster's waned and faded, the focus of this one monster in particular having been their source. With it concentrated on Erën it became unable to persist in its attempts to fool their minds. There were now only a few monsters that remained...

---

As Bebin threw down their nearest foe, Aidathin moved quickly to his side, answering his beckoning call. Together, they began their push forward to aid Erën. Te'leis called desperately to Selene and Ranveer, and also took after the others.

Oddly, a pair of monsters moved passed the two fighting at the mouth of the bridge and instead moved to intercept Bebin and Aidathin. Te'leis hurled a bolt of magic at one, passing between Bebin and Aidathin. It struck one of the encroaching monsters and sent it into a sprawl, and the tall elf then lunged and engaged the other, leaving the way open for the Knights.

---

Selene | Bebin Theros ​

 

[Selene]

When there was an opening, Selene took it. Compelled by the calls of their allies, she ran for it. She found her path uninterrupted, the movements of the remaining monsters even more erratic than before.

She skidded to a stop when she reached that twisted figure which Erën clashed with. The thing's body looked hard, the places where its ropy flesh was cut did not bleed. Its visage was a burning mass of energy, angry and red, unreadable. Speed was not Selene's strong suit. She wouldn't be able to keep up with the monster's strikes, and knew she would only get in the way of the Sword if she tried to aid him with her own blade.

Instead, she summoned the crushing pressures of the Loch, the flowing force of the river and the depth of deep waters. Her staff raised in the air, almost too heavy to lift in her hands. She focused that invisible weight on one point, and waited for the monster to cross the threshold.

It did, as one of its slashing arms sought to cut Erën down. Selene slammed her staff against the cobblestone. At the same time, the creature's scythe-like arm crumpled and bent, as if struck with the force of a hammer. The rest of its body followed the impact, and it stumbled, if but for a moment.

Bebin Theros Eren'thiel Xyrdithas

 

[Bebin Theros]

Storm bolt surged forward. The air set to crackle and spark. Hiss and burn behind the wake of the gathered magicks Aerai, there in the crash of the lightning, did Bebin thunder forward.

Feet fast as he closed on the beast with bladed arms. A warp. A shift. The air about him seemed to pull inwards. Steal his breath, and the very blood and water from his veins. From all that space between bone and muscle. Then it plunged forward. Crashed into the creature that faced the proud Sword of Sharyrdaes, turned one of its arms to wretched mess.

With a low cut, Bebin's curved blade crashed into the changed being. The air still morphed by the warp of Loch's weight. He let out a long breath, felt a pulse ripple across his mind. Clear as rain's first drop. He felt the stores of his magick fill over. Felt the cool relief spread through limbs along the rivers of his being.

A breath that was torrent. A breath that was the calm ebb of sea.

Syr Ranveer's eyes kindled with Loch's blue light, his mouth ran over with words strung fast with monsoon's pour.

Selene, and Bebin both would feel the waters of their soul replenished. Their minds and bodies so linked through the channels dug through the Kingdom of Mud. Then too, would the children of the Shoraes, as the old Pursuant spread the shroud of his foci to encompass them in the communion.

Doubt. Fear. Fatigue. For one transcendent ripple across the surface of their collective minds, were gone.

Bebin drew the crushing power of Selene's spell into his lungs. Into his heart. Into the limbs that heldfast the sword in his hands. With wrathful cut, he brought down his blade with the wave-form-crush.

Eren'thiel Xyrdithas Selene

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

In battle, timing was everything. Even the most skillful a warrior is felled by the properly placed strike. Time had worked against him, and as Erën battled on it became apparent to him that he was losing. There was no grief in this, no loss of pride. Resolution only came into him then, steadfast against the growing shadow. He would stand. Faith in that even if he did fail here his efforts would propel the others onward to safety.

But the killing blow did not drop on him. His eye caught it, he did perceive - the twisting of time and matter, falling upon the creature as an unseen weight.

The creature stumbled, its feet falling precariously.

Bebin, empowered by the Knights' collective use of the Loch, struck down upon their foe. It relented, and lost its still ready limb to Bebin's blade.

With not a moment to spare, Erën dashed forward into the vulnerability and committed the final act against this monstrosity, and its body slid apart and it fell into a heap. The orb that had hovered over it as a head dropped to the ground and rolled away, settling on softer soil. The remaining monsters, discouraged by the defeat of this monster, fled in as quick a manner as they could.

With fatigue plain on his face, Erën turned to regard to the two Knights who had come to his aid. Had they not arrived when they had, he'd have likely been slain. He commended them, quite impressed.

"You fight like Aerai, that's not something I've ever seen from any others before," he said, sheathing his sword. And that was true - their use of the Loch was oh-so similar to how the Aerai wielded the Shoraes in battle. Their lifestyles remained quite different in many ways, but in this they were truly kindred.

They gathered around the remains of their unique foe, only to have it begin to dissolve into wisps of pale dust before they could properly examine it.

"Come," said Erën,"Sharyrdaes is just there," he nodded onward, through the fog.

As they left from there, Te'leis reached out with her hand, lifting the crystalline orb into the air with her magic, and pulled it toward her. She dared not touch it, and instead had it hover just over her shoulder as she walked.

---

Grand were the archways which led into the capital of Aeraesar, standing tens of meters high, and swung open and hung by some unseen force were great gates of steel and stone. Upon them were intricate carvings, and within each a blue light shimmered. On either side a great wall spanned, encompassing all the city. Entering through the gates, the way the city rose up the mountainside became more visible, and even from there could they see the great Temple, a truly vast and imposing structure even amidst all of this. Everything seemed to be made of white and grey stone, and the streets below them were intricately laid.

But for as grand as it was, it was a solemn sight. Much of the architecture around them was ruined. There was torchlight and a gathering of some Aerai nearby, some of whom were now approaching, but it was clear that this part of the city was quiet.

"Much of the city's lower levels are... empty, but we are safe here."

 

[Selene]

The compliment that the flaxen-haired Erën gave after the fight was not lost on Selene. Though the ache of her exertion was settling into her bones, she let the generous comparison bolster her. And fuel the curiosity she had for the trophy taken from their foe. Dangerous as it was, Selene had a personal interest in cursed objects, and she could feel the dark malaise emanating from the crystal orb.

Selene's eyes stayed on the hovering shape for longer than was polite, as they departed.

Her attention only strayed when they came to the walls of the city. Selene's head tilted upwards as they passed through the grand entrance.

"Have you ever seen arches so high, not crafted by the branches of ancients?" She mused to Bebin, knowing she ran the risk of sounding like someone poorly traveled. But, well, it was all very grand, even underneath the ruin of disaster, and the Valen Wilds had no mortal-made structures that compared. Human cities scabbed quickly over wounds, choosing to forget much in the process.

Not so, these stately walls. The city of Aeraesar mirrored its people. Tall, cold stone that showed the years of mastery that went into carving it. Once proudly holding the bustle of life, now empty.