[color=E0D6C0] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/wFqApY1.png[/img][/center][color=E0D6C0][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/fXzi00H.gif[/img][h1][b][color=30A4D9]Bastion[/color][/b][/h1][/center][center][/center] [center] [color=30A4D9][b]Race:[/b][/color] Warforged [color=30A4D9][b]Class:[/b][/color] Warrior [color=30A4D9][b]Location:[/b][/color] Airship; Top Deck - Bar [color=30A4D9][b]Interactions/Mentions:[/b][/color] Wendel [@FunnyGuy], Arya [@Potter], Phia [@princess], Scratch / Val [@Apex Sunburn] Menzai [@samreaper], Meiyu [@Tae], Ezekiel [@Helo] [color=30A4D9][b]Equipment:[/b][/color] [hider=equipment][color=F9D972]☼[/color] Tower Shield [color=F9D972]☼[/color] Greatsword made of Glacium (A material as hard as steel, yet formed from eternally frozen ice.) [color=F9D972]☼[/color] Titan Chain – A reinforced tow chain housed in his left palm, functioning as a powerful grappling hook. [color=F9D972]☼[/color] Aged Leather Satchel [color=F9D972]☼[/color] Worn but cherished scarf [color=F9D972]☼[/color] Maintenance Kit . [color=F9D972]☼[/color] Heavy-duty rations (for companions, not himself). [color=F9D972]☼[/color] A delicate glass figurine of a bird—an old keepsake. [color=F9D972]☼[/color] A locked, timeworn journal—contents unknown. [/hider] [color=30A4D9][b]Attire:[/b][/color] [color=F9D972]☼[/color] Etched and weathered plating with bronze accents. [color=F9D972]☼[/color] Fitted harness for carrying supplies. [color=F9D972]☼[/color] Worn scarf [color=30A4D9][b]Gold Balance:[/b][/color] 49 gold [color=30A4D9][b]Injuries:[/b][/color] [color=F9D972]☼[/color] Left shoulder was injured in the battle and is still leaking fluid. [/center] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/wFqApY1.png[/img][/center][/color] [hr] Smoke drifted, screams echoed…the scent of fire and blood clung thick in the air like a memory that refused to fade. Bastion stood amid it all, the fluid leaking from his shoulder a faint rhythm against the deck as his sword emanated an aura of blood soaked frost that curled at its edges. Around him, the last moments of the battle unfolded. He turned just in time to see Arya fend off her attacker with trembling strength, her bow raised like a shield of willpower alone. The girl was hurt, that much was clear, but she hadn’t run. She had stood her ground, and her eagle… her beautiful, fierce bird… defended her without question. Bastion stepped forward to shield them both, just as she looked up at him with gratitude and pain etched into her features. Her words came gently. [color=77ADFF]“Thank you, Bastion, as will I. Once we finish here, we can check on the other ladies.”[/color] He nodded, holding her gaze. [color=30A4D9]“Yes,”[/color] he said quietly. [color=30A4D9]“We will.”[/color] His optics scanned beyond her, across the deck, where Menzai fought like a spirit of vengeance wreathed in blood and fire. The wolf’s movements were fierce, but they slowed with every blow. Bastion saw the pain in his limbs, the shake in his stance. He saw him fight through it and win…But he also saw him fall. And when Menzai collapsed, Bastion moved. He walked quickly, sword still drawn, optics flickering with urgency. The moment he reached the shifter’s side, he dropped to one knee. The wolf was unconscious, blood slicking the deck beneath him. He would live, but medical attention would be necessary once this chaos was over. [color=30A4D9]“You did well. You protected them, and once this battle concludes, we will do the same for you.”[/color] Then his head snapped up as he perceived movement at the edge of the deck. Shadows shifting. He had been correct in assumption…Reinforcements. More of the masked assassins stepped through the smoke, weapons drawn, their presence like a second wave crashing toward what remained of the ship’s defenders. Bastion rose, placing himself between them and the wounded, his fingers tightening on the hilt of his sword. Gears remained ready as well, flamethrower still smoking from her last brutal attack. The airship was still holding together, but the Stormrider’s damage could be felt by all…especially beneath the weight of the moment. For a breath, no one moved. Then...something changed. The newcomers froze mid-step, one flickering like a mirage. Another staggered, clutching their mask. The air around them rippled, and without warning, the assassins began to vanish. Not retreating… [i]teleporting[/i]. Bastion’s sword remained raised until the last of them disappeared into smoke. And then… silence. The wind returned. The creak of the ship’s frame resumed. The warforged turned slowly, eyes scanning for danger. There was none left, only the wounded and the aftermath of it all. Only the survivors. Bastion sheathed his blade on his back once more. Gears had slumped back behind the bar, her body twitching gently, caught between the programming and memories of both past and present. The Necromancer immediately moved in the direction where the assassins teleported from, going on the offensive as he searched for more victims. The others were injured, but still on their feet. Bastion wanted to help them all, but someone else needed him now. His head turned toward the hallway… toward the bathroom where Phia, Talis, and Meiyu had gone before the attack. [color=30A4D9]“You two…”[/color] He requested to both Arya and Wendel. [color=30A4D9]“Please make sure this warrior receives medical attention, and do what you can for the other passengers. Thank you for your bravery today. I’ll be back, hopefully with the girls.”[/color] He moved quickly but with purpose, one hand still pressed to his wounded shoulder. His footfalls echoed hollowly down the corridor, the remnants of battle trailing behind him like dust in the wind. The door to the bathroom had been closed but thankfully was unlocked. He stepped inside, and froze at the sight of it all. Blood, water, shattered glass and porcelain, burn marks, and the unmoving…blood soaked body of Talis. And there… at the center of it all… were Meiyu & Phia, worse for ware, the former was looking up at a strange crystalline artifact that was floating above them. It was pulsing and thrumming with some kind of ancient energy. But his eyes were not drawn to the artifact, they were drawn to the sweet girl that was collapsed on the floor unconscious, injured and eyes stained with tears, breathing. Seeing the sight of Phia's chest rising and falling with each breath brought a faint sense of reassurance to Bastion amidst the chaos. Beside her, the other small woman, Meiyu, reached toward the artifact. Bastion didn’t know what it was, but something about the way her fingers reached for it set off feelings of dread within him. Then she touched it, and everything changed. The artifact pulsed once with light so blinding it swallowed the room. Bastion lifted an arm to shield his eyes, but it passed through him, through [i]everything[/i]. The air around them tore open, and cracks erupted across the smooth crystalline surface of the floating object. Then it shattered. The fragments moved like living things, glimmering shards of pure energy, and in that infinite moment, one of them found him…straight to the sun painted on his chest. It struck like a hammer to the soul. Bastion convulsed. Light flared through his joints and down his limbs, the warmth of it was too much, too sharp. His systems overloaded for the briefest of seconds. Then something… [i]settled[/i]. A new presence... He could feel it now. Whatever this artifact was, it had chosen him. Bastion moved forward, his hand reaching out, trembling, and gently cradled Phia’s unconscious form. He wasn’t sure what was happening, that wasn’t his job. His job was to protect those that could not protect themselves, and right now…Phia was all that mattered.[/color] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/gQHUw6O.png[/img] [h3][color=gold] Each of you have been chosen by the Artifact. As the crystal shatters, and pieces of it begin to scatter like living shrapnel, one of the shards finds each and every one of you. It doesn’t matter where on the ship you are, or whether you are conscious or not. You are now chosen. Just like we saw with Bastion, where the crystalline piece embedded itself into the sun painted on his chest, each one of you will be bonded to a fragment of this Artifact. Please choose where the fragment embeds itself, and make sure you react to all of this in your next post. This is the moment where everything changes for our group if weary travelers. [/color][/h3][/center]