[IC] The Eye of the Needle (where Fantasy and Sci-fi collide)

[13org]

There was little to no time for the first archer, a female glen, to react to Nellara's attack. Cloaked by the wall of fire made by J'eon's fireball, the very impact as Nellara's claws plunged into the female Glen's throat was enough to make her lose balance, forcing her to drop their bow in surprise as Nellara. For a brief moment, her hands went towards Nellara's arm, trying to free herself, gasping for air in a final, desperate attempt to save her own life. Unfortunately, the final efforts of the archer were short lived as Nellara immediately plunged her other hand on the archer's side, her claws sliding between the archer's ribs and piercing her heart.

From the moment the first archer's body went limp, Nellara's soldiers came soon after, their spear and blades breaking the fire wall, skewering and ripping those who were unfortunate enough to be caught by surprise. Together with them, surprisingly enough, Nellara saw Seeker Kareet.

"It seems seekers are quite a bit tougher than I had initially thought they were. Good to see you well and in combat, Seeker Kareet." Nellara said with a satisfied expression and a nod as she dashed past her.

With the first line of archers being quickly decimated by Nellara's soldiers, who charged together with Kareet, the element of surprise was soon gone and after the initial shock, the remaining enemies finally regained their composure and started to react. Or at least they would, until a number of fireballs fell in an arch, behind the remaining enemies, trapping them together with Nellara's soldiers.

Just as Nellara was about to go for the next one, a sudden wind opened the fire wall that was trapping the remaining enemies. The very second Nellara saw that happening, she immediately started seeking for the mage responsible for it through the opening in the wall of fire. It didn't take long until she spotted a suspicious figure. An elder Glen, draped in tattered clothes.

"We have an enemy mage! Capture at least one of the archers alive!" Nellara shouted as she immediately began dashing towards the mage, ignoring the other enemies that were running away from her forces. At the same time she dashed towards the mage, Nellara grabbed the pouch she used to store the metal spheres and the iron sand, immediately throwing them up as both the spheres and the iron sand began swirling around her as she ran with arcs of electricity crackling between them, both to block projectiles or attacks the remaining enemies might throw at her and using one of them as a projectile to hit the mage.

[Expendable]

J'eon the Blacksmith

---

"What's this? What's this?" J'eon demanded, stamping his front hooves on the ground. The archers were other Glen, like himself! And one of them dared to part his flames with wind to give the assassins a chance to escape!

Ice would make them slip and fall, helpless, but the flames had removed any trace of moisture from the air - all he would do was make the air chill! Nor could he call down flames from the skies to strike his enemy like Shirik did!

"I do not know how I can stop them," he growls, tightening his grip on his hammer.

---

Jack Mallory

---

Mallory ground his teeth in frustration. There was no way out of this - either they jump into the water where whatever was down there ate them, or they get crushed between these massive stone arms. They just brought what they could carry - being what the ship could afford to lose. Which included them. Why did that idiot rush into the trap?

He wondered what the camera in his eye would transmit just before his death?

[EliteCommander]

Kareet of Arcaeda

---

Kareet acknowledged Nellara, but said nothing to her. In the midst of battle, she allowed herself no distraction and kept her sole focus on the enemy before her. Her training had focused mostly on preserving her own life, but in this case, allowing a full retreat was not an acceptable outcome. These hostiles, comprised of a mix of Glen, Tekeri, and S’tor, were a perplexing and unknown foe. They appeared as normal hunters, but planned an ambush with military precision. They commanded creatures that Kareet had never seen nor heard of before, and had affected the river in ways that seemed impossible. They needed answers, by whatever means necessary.

For just a brief moment, Kareet assessed the situation. The Humans’ weapons had nullified the enemy’s primary advantage in the form of those creatures. Nellara’s soldiers outnumbered them,and the enemy only seemed to have a Force mage available. There were more allied mages available to overpower them, especially now that the archers were routed.

Kareet glanced back at J’eon. He, or any of the rest of them, alone may not have been able to stop them, but they were not alone. “We outmatch them!” Kareet’s hammer had already been charged with power, so with her magnetic link to it, she launched the weapon forward into the middle of the chokepoint that had been opened between J’eon’s flames. When it struck the back of a fleeing Tekeri archer, it discharged all of the lightning Kareet had imbued into it. At the moment of impact, she pushed both of her arms out horizontally. Rather than discharging the lightning solely into the Tekeri, it arced between several of his allies in close proximity. Its power was reduced, but it only took a bit of lightning coursing through their bodies to have the desired effect. It was not lethal, but the shocks caused pain and involuntary muscle spasms that naturally caused some to collapse. In the middle of a chokepoint, that meant falling bodies tripping up others around them, creating obstacles, and slowing their retreat. “Push through, overpower them, and take prisoners!” Kareet shouted. She advanced forward, intent on following them through. She saw the Force mage just on the other side. There was no meaningful resistance between them, though she would not rush into a fight against him alone.

[EliteCommander]

The arms raised from the water, looming over those unfortunate enough to be caught underneath. However, amid the chaos, not all were unable to act. The thump of heavy metal footsteps sounded out behind Mallory. Recently freed from the clutches of some of the other creatures, Eva’s mech was now back in action, and being a suit intended for hostile environments, a bit of water was no deterrent.

The sheer weight of the mech landing on the bridge cracked the stone underneath. The metal hands dug into the huge stone arms, crushing the rock into gravel under the mech’s iron grip. Eva stopped her feet into the bridge to become an immovable wall against the arms...then pushed back. Whatever power was animating this stone, it was entirely insufficient to resist her. As the arms were being pushed back into the water, the whole bridge seemed to start to go with it. Unless they intended to go for a swim, anyone still on it needed to be quick.

As this was happening, a sharp eye might notice movement among the trees on the far side of the river. It was hard to see through the thick foliage, but there were at least two indistinct silhouettes that may have been moving closer.

[Blizz]

Wasting no time, Namsterra flexed their grip, and the glowing shields reacted to her magic. But something was wrong… They were solid steel, there should’ve been no hesitation, but her lightning magic was sluggish, they flew slowly as if thrown by a mundane individual. Namsterra didn’t understand why, but Shirik’s ball of fire had disrupted the magnetic attraction of the metal, softening it and allowing every particle of steel to lose alignment.

One of the shields curved into the ground, and the other whistled past Shirik’s left shoulder, engulfed by the inferno behind them.

Salaketh slammed his halberd into the dirt, and Dra’Kell shot forth, carried along by a trail of frost. They withdrew a sword in the half-second of time spent closing the distance to Shirik, before Salaketh’s magic sharply redirected him towards Shirik’s left. They received a blisteringly quick slice to the chest, which erupted in cerulean blue sparks.

Hold your fire.

Shirik was thrown off guard in an instant, but responded by swinging their staff in Dra’Kell’s direction. He came to a screeching halt thanks to Salaketh, but his armor suddenly wailed and hissed as it was overtaken by subzero cold. Steam exploded outwards, and Shirik ran towards Namsterra, who had withdrawn a pair of rods several inches longer than a dagger.

They use a channeling object like Salaketh, Duuli observed.

Namsterra crossed the rods, and swung them outwards. Lightning arced outwards in a curve, connecting them at the ends. One left her hand and swung overhead as if tethered by a rope. She swung it at Shirik like a whip, who ducked under it and aimed a jab at her in the chest with their staff.

A fireball erupted at the point of contact, intended to liquify Namsterra’s center mass. But the metal rod came back around, landing solidly against Shirik’s face with the force of heavy iron. The fireball flickered out, and Shirik crumpled to the ground. Namsterra kept up the pressure, and swung her weapon upwards against their face, knocking them over completely.

Now.

Duuli fired her crossbow, aiming the shot at Shirik’s shoulder to pierce their core. A sharp snap filled the air as the bolt made contact with their bark, only to be reduced to ash in an explosion of blue fire that spewed out of the wound. Bits of ruined bark sprayed out, and Shirik let off a burst of flame. They leapt up to their feet faster than Namsterra had expected, and swung the staff at her face like a hammer.

Namsterra barely ducked, and Shirik swung again. She threw her body to one side, and the staff hit the ground, causing a circle of light to appear. Seeing this, Namsterra swung her lightning rods at them once again, but Shirik set their arm ablaze, and blocked it. Something cracked, and Shirik could hear brittle bark crunching under the weight, but flecks of molten metal fell to the ground.

Salaketh had not moved once yet. He kept one eye on the open sky above. Bright markings were appearing like constellations, growing more elaborate by the second. If the stories were true, then this being was a genuine match for his squad.

He made a motion with his left hand, and held his halberd overhead.

Duuli readied another bolt.

Hold.

Shirik swung their staff upwards, carrying the ring of glowing blue light with it, and Dra’Kell appeared again with thin trails of steam following behind him. The ground crackled as ice formed across it, and Shirik’s left eye was gouged open, knocking them clean off their feet.

Their circle flew off into the burning trees, and exploded.

Detaining! Dra’Kell put a hand out in Shirik’s direction and stomped his left foot. Fog erupted in a circle around Shirik’s stunned body. It crept inwards, and once it made physical contact with their bark, they felt pain for the first time in centuries. It was not quite like burning, but more as if the very life was being ripped from their soul.

The pain was withering, gnawing at them. They felt the will to stand and fight slip away to the cold of all possible things. Shirik clawed at the dirt, clinging to the ground as if there were answers beneath the soil. Everything was going numb, but maybe there was still a chance.

Their grip on the staff finally relaxed, they were going numb. But still, they scratched at the dirt for something.

Dra’Kell’s goal was to let the temperature do the work, but most people simply gave out immediately. Most people weren’t made of fire like Shirik. So Dra’Kell kept at it, while Namsterra pulled back towards Salaketh’s direction.

What are they doing to the sky? Duuli asked.

Old legends tell of an Iriad, so in harmony with the element of fire that their methods of spell casting exceed anything we have ever known, Salaketh answered. He tilted his halberd downwards.

They are powerful, but they are outmatched.

Frost crept up across Shirik’s bark. Dra’Kell’s magic was merciless. They couldn’t win like this, but if they could just reach their staff…

Shirik felt heavy, as if they were holding the weight of every star in the night sky. It showed in the patterns that began to flicker in and out of view overhead. Dra’Kell was blowing air on a fragile candle.

You have walked the throne rooms of gods unnamed. You have seen the birth of universes. You are creation incarnate.mYou will not die here, not before you avenge your son.

The flames diminished. Shirik’s brittle, mortal shell darkened until there were only thick trails of smoke. The last embers had escaped from sight. The constellations of fire continued to flicker, and the forest was doomed to burn away even after Shirik had stopped moving.

Dra’Kell stopped his spell, and nudged Shirik with their sword. Nothing. The fog began to fade away, slowly.

Duuli closed in with her crossbow, keeping it aimed at the mage’s core. Salaketh still refused to move a single step, even as Namsterra raised her rods to strike them down again

My tremorsense tells me they are unresponsive.

Tural flew in, landing on Dra’Kell’s shoulders as a bird.

It is a shame, Tural thought. They could've taught the world so much. Their physiology fascinates me.

We will bring the body, then. Dra’Kell.

On it. Dra’Kell reached down to lift the Iriad’s body, when he felt something move.

Their hand had shot outwards towards their staff, clutching it like the cold grasp of death.

Duuli didn’t hesitate. She shot the hand right through the wrist. The bolt stuck, but the staff was not dropped.

Namsterra and Dra’Kell raised their weapons to swing, but the night sky had become day, faster than they could attack. Blue fire exploded back outwards, filling Shirik’s hollow body again. Shirik’s face turned and faced the murderers as thunder cracked across the sky.

A pillar of blue light fell from above, burning away the remains of the trees around them. engulfing Shirik, and all of the Inquisitors.

All of them except for Salaketh, who simply pointed his halberd in the direction of his squad.

”DIE!!!”

---

Shirik managed to find stability on their feet, and watched as Eva’s mechanical suit tumbled off the bridge. They could feel the weight of the bridge beginning to give out beneath everyone’s feet. The arms were rocky, perhaps a Stone or Force mage was behind this? There were many things the world had yet to fathom, and the arrival of these “humans” was but a raindrop in a storm of unknowns. These mimic beasts would kill them all if they didn’t get out ahead of this, and gravity would drown them all if they didn’t get out ahead of the bridge.

Shirk was not a fool. They were far removed from the troubles of the world, more versed in its lore than the wisest scholars, and knew when to be humble before anything else. They could win this fight, but not from a crumbling battlefield. ”We must move, jump from piece to piece if you must, but the bridge will collapse soon!” They shouted, just in time to see the vague shapes moving on the horizon.

It could have been reinforcements from the Ascendancy. It could have been bandits. It could have been the instigators of this nonsense. Anything was possible right now, including their demise.

Shirik made a circular motion with their staff, forming a sphere of burning hot flame inside the circle. They waiting for one of the stone arms to lift up, before thrusting the sphere towards it, firing out a stream of withering heat to melt the damned thing from stone to a puddle on the spot. They could do this all day, but time was running out. Shirik didn’t even bother to see if the arm would reshape like the mimic beasts, before running to the furthest end of the bridge.

”All of you, move! NOW!” Shirik kept one eye to the trees where they saw the shapes moving. If anything stepped out with a weapon, or a tendril of black liquid, they’d blast it back into oblivion ”Silbermine! Now would be the opportunity to reveal any mages in your warband!”

Shirik leapt, and an explosion of heat forced downwards carried them from one piece of the tattered bridge to another. They landed, and performed the spell again to just barely make it across the remains and onto the side with the mysterious figures. Doing this too much was risky, but Shirik could manage. They twisted one foot roughly ninety degrees outwards, and raised their staff overhead. Fog formed in thick trails along the ground, followed by ice. Shirik’s body began to glow faintly as they absorbed ambient heat to regain the lost strength.

A small thing in the grand scheme of the situation, but they wanted to be ready.

”Reveal yourself!”

[Expendable]

J'eon the Blacksmith

---

"I follow!" J'eon cried out. The force mage was in the middle of this, using his wind to part the blacksmith's flames. He needed to do something to break his concentration - and smiled. Maybe a human tactic would work, here? Focusing his attention on the mage's hooves, he called forth the flame, setting the ground beneath him aflame.

---

Jack Mallory

---

And then Eva arrived, her suit shoving the nearest threatening rocky arm - but it was dragging the bridge with it.

”We must move, jump from piece to piece if you must, but the bridge will collapse soon!” Shirik yelled.

"Go!" Jack said, waving towards the end of the bridge, feeling the Glen tense his body as it lept forward, bounding to the next bit as a wave of heat from Shirik washed over them as the mage did something.

"Next time, bring more suits!" Jack muttered to himself as the Glen made the next jump, hampered no doubt by the executive officer clinging to his back. As they landed, he spared a glance backward, wanting to see what Shirik and Eva was doing even as the Glen was already tensing up for the next leap and possible escape.

A part of him, detatched, wondered who or what was behind this - this was a coordinated attack, but was it aimed at Silbermine, or them?