[center][h3][color=C0392B]Rudolf Shilage[/color][/h3][/center]

A flood of vitality surged into Rudolf down the arm as he made contact with the black greave, buffering his ringing skull with stability— at least, enough to restore proper response in his extremities even as his ears still rang. He allowed himself two breaths— the first to steel himself, flooding his lungs with the raw, ozone-scented air that the wake of Izayoi's [i]raijingeki[/i] had left. It didn't seem like it had troubled him much after all... but there were many ways to kill an armored man besides a bolt from the heavens. He grit his teeth.

The second propelled him, to wrestle up on the leg, to test the [i]ringen[/i] of thi—

As he surged up onto his legs to drive forth through the Garland's base, to wrench the leg against its' joint at the hip and ground the bigger man, he was met with a blossom of flame and brace of concussive force, shredding through the purple of his quarry's cape. Entangled like this, he had no time to even identify the report of the cannon— let alone evade the explosion as it tore into black steel.[sup]1[/sup] His grip faltered for an instant—

And the vertigo, as the Valheimr general flung him away, growling in pain. Rudolf tumbled end over end, rolling to a stop some indeterminate distance away, and thought to himself that things were [i]probably[/i] going in the wrong direction. It was too much. The strength, the skill, even the natural command over aether... Maybe this was how his brother felt, when a third of his company were trying to contain the rampage of that warrior from afar. Certainly, anyone that could casually toss Izayoi aside like that had to be in the running, if not even that figure's superior. Cold, imperious, implacable... it felt like staring at a summit from the base.[sup]2[/sup]

A deep throated bark sounded from Garland's direction, prompting Rudolf to drag himself upward once more. Garuda's form fading before them, and the dark knight holding a pistol of unfamiliar make. He dully stared behind the eye slits of his visor, the closing remarks of their foe all but bouncing off his scuffed-up helm. So the question of Garuda was a wash... better than Valheim turning her against them, sure, but not by much if the winds would rage without her guiding hand. Skael's blizzards were famously terrible even in the age where winds [i]didn't[/i] go rogue. He'd hate to see them exceed those stories now.

As for the "draw"...

Rudolf hauled an arm upward, black emberlight dancing from his fingertips to his palm... and with a snap of the fingers, Garland was on the retreating airship. The completed form of shadowstepping? Maybe.[sup]3[/sup]

His arm sagged and the flames dimmed as the airship took to the skies, just a little too quickly for Rudolf to think he'd get lucky by lobbing a ball of fire into something important— the most he would do is singe at the outer edges of the hull— and potentially give the enemy more insight into the nature of the blackflame they surely already knew he wielded. The abrasion. The source. The edge of how far he could fling it. All cards that smart men would keep close to their chests.

He'd rather not burn down luck on a futile effort like that, either. In the wake of this, they needed all they could get.

He stepped forward, catching himself on the first few strides before he steadied, and walked to collect his scattered arms, silent save for slow, controlled breathing until he heard Miina's idle musing.

[color=c0392b]"They manifest of their own accord everywhere else,"[/color] he noted, prying his rondel from the frozen earth. [color=c0392b]"I suppose Valheim would be no different, even with Etro's blessings gone. Wouldn't be the first time magic and faith have had worse than zero intersection, I don't think."[/color]

His head hurt.

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[*][sub]1. Damn it all. That will [i]not[/i] buff out.[/sub]
[*][sub]2. Oh. I know how you work by now. That one's sticking.[/sub]
[*][sub]3. Let's just assume "yes". Even if it isn't, aiming for that and aiming for [i]him[/i] will help you out in the long run and buy me at least a hundred more hours of drilling you. Rejoice, boy. You have now a clear picture of what you need to make yourself. Find him within you.[/sub]
[/list]