GambolMuse

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

"It isn't as simple as just teaching Sight kid. Sight's something special, it ain't like most magic that we can do. There's no tricks or training that can prepare you for that kind of thing, not that we can give you." If they had someone then fine, Taliya would gladly send the runt on her way to be trained. But they didn't, and far as she was aware no one in Mutebo shared Amuné's special little gift. Finding someone with Sight wasn't impossible but considering how useful it could be she wouldn't be surprised if they were all owned by the Church already... Or dead by their hand. The girl prattled on a bit more about how she'd met that Ethan boy and her parents and Taliya found herself growing more annoyed by the girl's presence with each passing second. What in the world gave the impression she wanted to hear all of this shit? Everyone here had a story and had lost someone or something, that was a given in the day and age they lived in. She didn't have time for everyone's sap stories, she was here to make sure none of them went to waste and made some difference.

"If they can prove they won't just be free loaders then sure. But you should know they're probably not around anymore kid, you should realize that by now." Who knew if Amuné's parents were alive or not, if they had a halfway capable Seer among them then perhaps they could tell. The only way the runt would ever know is if she kept on traveling and looking, sooner or later someone would have a straight answer for her. Before Taliya could give her a definitive answer on whether the girl's parents could even stay or not the Ydran was out the door and off to Saints know where now. Hyperactive little git, must be one hell of a headache for them to have someone like that around.

"A town of mages... We wouldn't have to worry about the Church or anything here."

Taliya smiled at that though, though her smile was one of disgust and held no happiness to it. As if Mutebo was free from the Church, did the girl really believe that? Did Amuné truly believe that a place of their size and with so many Magi was just going to be ignored? Sure the Church hadn't attacked yet but that didn't mean they were safe, to attack Mutebo would be the equivalent of declaring war on one of its own cities. It didn't take a genius to figure out the sort of problems and questions that would raise should the Church ever go that route. They were safe because the Church had put itself into a fix where they couldn't openly attack anyone for fear of causing panic. But really... How long was that going to keep them from acting?

---

"Machina like you are... Well, different from your usual sort. Most are made for simple housework or to act as assistants, not as tools of war. Sure you could give any Machina a weapon and make it fight I guess but they wouldn't be very good at it, not like your type." There was more to it than that though, there were other things which made Cecil unique from so many others. His capacity for experiencing emotion was unheard of in Machina and his ability to think freely was highly unusual too. They hadn't made that great of strides since his departure so what was the explanation for it? How did they manage such a marvel? Naturally if Cecil had been developed then that meant they had blueprints for his type elsewhere too and he could be replicated, but to what end? Why make a combat model appear alive like Cecil did?

Scratching at his head Norman considered any number of possibilities, some of which made his gut churn uncomfortably. Machina had been developed to act as aides to those who could afford them and were meant to be harmless and subservient. Combat models undid that idea and made war a very frightening prospect; sending men and women to fight wars had the toll of lives, of torn families and lost loved ones, but what toll was there when machines were sent in their stead? Just what in the world were the Church and the corporations planning?

"No, no that's not magic. You're just discharging electricity from your body, from your power cell. I suppose that was a feature built into you, and you have the conduits for it as well so it makes sense." There was no electrical aspected magic known to them so that ruled out magic entirely, so still no explanation for the Demacite Cecil possessed. "Simply put you're built for combat. That being said you're far more complex than any model before you, you have abilities that no other Machina do and to put it bluntly I have no idea why you do. The crystal though... Perhaps..."

Norman's trail of thought petered off when the doors to the shop were thrown open and an exhausted Amuné rushed back in. Blinking as she rushed to Cecil's bedside and all but threw herself at him in a hug she only stopped when the Machina insisted she refrain, sighing himself as he rubbed at his neck. "It should be fine to hug him Amuné, but let's be safe and hold off for a minute, okay?" Norman suggested as he leaned back over the table and began to inspect Cecil's wiring yet again. "Cecil's going to be just fine Amuné once we finish closing up these gaps in his shell. And I want you to let him relax when we're done too so he doesn't put strain on any of the repairs, we want everything to cool and settle."

As the casts for Cecil's body were cooled down the hissing of the metal cooling was music to Norman's ears, they were nearly finished. Smiling as he gave Cecil an approving nod he took a moment to roll up his sleeves and slipped his goggles over his eyes, gesturing for the engineers to bring over the piece. "We'll just go ahead and fit these pieces to your body Cecil and then repaint them once they've completely cooled, make sure you're as good as new. While we're at it though, and while it's easy to access," he continued, reaching across and sealing Cecil's chest cavity again, "Are there any kinks you'd like me to look at? Anything that's not working as it should? Now's a good a time as any to fix them."

---

Slaying the Rökorm had been far more trouble than she had bargained for but it was dead at last, and for all their bumps and bruises they were alive and well. There was some semblance of pride that Nymira felt for felling a beast she had never encountered before and Ethan looked to share in that as he lay upon the ground, barely awake but smiling like a buffoon. To hear Kensen's appraisal of their work however one would think they had done little more than dress themselves successfully for all the good it did them. She wasn't looking for praise or to be celebrated but at least a little acknowledgement of their success rather than snide remarks would be appreciated. Rolling her eyes at his comment of their dress as well she looked back to Ethan and instead helped him to his feet, mindful of the arm which hung limply from his side. It would be back to the healers for them, something which had become almost a laughable routine at this point. Fight, slink off to be fixed up, fight and end up hurt again. Injury was part of combat but their knack for ending up almost bedridden was embarrassing.

"No shit, I'm glad Taliya had the sense to have us kill it outside the city," Gage commented as he appraised the ruined forest, "Aye, sounds good. Come on you runts, time to pack it up and leave!" What a mess this little test of theirs had turned into. He and Kensen were fine but the two kids were battered and useless, they would probably have to be carried down if they used any more energy. Slinging his weapon over his shoulder Gage took point and started back down the hill, which now thanks to the sparse trees their path back home was much more clear. The mayor would probably have an absolute mental breakdown seeing all the lumber that was wasted in their trial but Taliya would have a chat and he'd just fume silently, happened every time they went through this thing.

"Be honest, you think those kids even have a chance? They're about as well trained as toddlers," Gage pointed out as he glanced back over his shoulder at the hobbling pair. Shaking his head he adjusted the sling and wiped his face free of grime and sweat, wiping it off on his shirt. "Isn't that little lady supposed to be some Princess too? She sounded like she was your Princess at one point, how's a leader like that so useless? Then again..." The man trailed off for a second as he let out a barking laugh, grinning tauntingly at Kensen as he jabbed the Dimuran in the side. "Your clan lost to them didn't they? Some fighters you lot are if that's what your best look like. Either that or she's just awfully weak for royalty."

Caught somewhere between jubilation and depression Ethan just wanted to go lie down somewhere and rest for the remainder of the day. His broken arm wasn't helping matters any either nor was the absolute exhaustion that came with fighting like they did. That trial had been to earn the trust of Taliya and her people, that much had been explained to them. But why did they need that? What were they trying to accomplish by earning their trust? Taliya had mentioned in passing their joining her ranks but he couldn't see himself doing such a thing, there was no way he could live his life constantly fighting even if the Church was in the wrong. For all his sadness and heartbreak over knowing Cedric's death he still found it almost impossible to wish death upon anyone else, even if it might be deserved. Was that wrong of him to not want those responsible to pay the price? Retribution would be great but he knew it wasn't going to bring back Cedric, nor would imprisoning those who did it. But at least the latter was some kind of punishment he could get behind, lock away the killers and let them think over it for the rest of their lives. Was it so wrong of him to be content with just that?

"This woman had better give us straight answers when we return. I am through feeling like I am being toyed with," Nymira muttered aloud, her eyes boring into Kensen's back as they walked. The way he carried himself now, his indifference towards her and the clan, had it really meant so little? Whether wrongful or not he should be thrilled to be allowed back and among his kin so why did he reject her offer? What had these people told him to make him forget where his loyalties should lie? Once you were a part of the clan then that was that, you adapted and you fought for a common cause. Kensen staying here wasn't just an insult to her clan then but their people as a whole, over generations of tradition that demanded tribes to work together to survive and thrive. What gave him the right to turn his back on all of that?

"Yeah... It just kind of feels like we were doing an errand for them," Ethan admitted with a rueful smile, "I mean I guess its good we killed that thing and protected the city but why did we have to do it? Kensen and Gage could probably have killed it way quicker by themselves even with those Vazra, so what gives?" Taliya had spoken about trust but they had nearly been sent to their deaths, why should they trust her after a stunt like that? It wasn't like they were asking for much to begin with either, just a place to stay and rest for a little while. Or did they owe her and her people now after being saved?

"I need to speak with Kensen too. Even if he hates my clan he's still leaving behind his family, his kin, those in his own clan. He can fight but he should fight in service to them, not for some woman and her band of misfits. He claims he's doing this for the greater good but to me he's just shirking his duties. I can't stand for that." Clearly she and Ethan were preoccupied with different things here but they ultimately could agree on one sentiment: Taliya was after something through all of this and neither was absolutely clear as to what that was. Was she really just trying to gain their trust and fight the Church? Did she want something more from them than this? "When we get back I'm leaving you in the medical ward, I'm going to speak with Taliya. I need to know where we stand in all of this."

---

It had been much too long since he'd been able to enjoy fried fish like this! He never was allowed to have it back home and Taliya's compound didn't really make special dishes, they cooked for bulk and you ate what you got. No doubt the other healers were going to be sour at his slipping away again but Lionel found it hard to care right now. Not as he bit into the flaky fish and laughed as a pair of dogs raced across the road, the smaller of two chasing the larger who had its toy in its jaw. He understood he had responsibilities but there had to be time for fun too, working all day burned you out and made you a miserable sod. Besides their patients had been seen to and no one was in any real critical condition, they could manage without him for a while!

Mutebo was an interesting city for one reason and one reason alone: Magi could live and practice indiscriminately here. So many cities across Adelon had begun to persecute and admonish them for simply existing but Mutebo allowed them to flourish and live in peace. The Church's presence wasn't felt so far out as the provinces on the edges of the Kingdom but there was always the chance someone might turn you in, that the town might send you away for simply being a Magi. Not here, not where Magi were celebrated and treated just like anyone else, as they should be. Magi here were able to live as they pleased and that freedom made all kinds of wonderful things happen here. Some took up arms and defended the city from the Void beasts that roamed around, some helped by simply working in Mutebo's many shops and her bustling docks, and others still took on more unorthodox professions. Street performers were not uncommon in Mutebo and the city could boast a wholly unique brand of them: Magi performers. Some people took to entertainment as a living and used their magic to perform and the people here adored it. It was not uncommon to see someone casting minor spells for a spectacle and every time Lionel found himself enamored by it.

Finding himself absentmindedly in a crowd Lionel was treated to a display of magic as a man weaved and manipulated tree roots, building a sculpture that would take any normal man months to create. The lifelike dragon which was formed was breathtaking and the crowd applauded the man's efforts, Lionel included as his fish hung from his mouth and dripped over his shoes. Glancing down at the stained boots with a pout he hastily finished the rest and wiped his mouth clean, eager to applaud the man further only to find the man had wandered off at some point. Another was still present, his apparent twin, but he wasn't the one who had created such a splendid sculpture. Somewhat disappointed Lionel nearly left on his way before he stopped himself and looked back as he caught sight of the woman the twin had been speaking with, her face sparking a memory in his mind and a grin spread across his face. Who would have thought he'd see a familiar face out here?

Weaving his way through the dispersing crowd he was prompt in cutting off Adrianna's path, greeting her with a bow as his face remained one of elation. "Well hello there! Fancy running into you here, I was thinking I might be alone in Mutebo!" She wasn't anyone especially important as he recalled but at least it was someone he knew! Realizing he was a bit of a mess he wiped away any remaining grease and straightened out his clothes, offering a hand to shake. "Nice to see you again! I'm Lionel, and you're Adrianna right? One of the healers from the Church!" So she was a defector then? She had to be if she was here, how interesting! "Do uh... Do you know the man who made that?" the boy continued suddenly as he pointed to the sculpture of wood, "I want to meet them! They're amazing!"

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

"I AM having fun! I'm having a great time with this, don't know what you're talking about!" Why wasn't he able to hit this damn woman? She couldn't be that fast, Shu was fast and he would occasionally catch his brother and this lady had nothing on him. Trying again for a headon attack he smashed a fist into the flooring and tried to kick Jura while she was still within distance, growling when he completely whiffed yet again. Coming full circle and flipping back onto his feet he gasped as the woman came down upon him with a kick, throwing his arms up and blocking it but nearly being knocked clear off his feet, sliding across the stone floor. Coming perilously close to the edge he slammed down a foot and broke the tile to stop himself, glancing back before grinning. "Hah! Like that was going to work!" Seriously though what gives? He should be trouncing this lady like it was nothing and she'd nearly just won there. Kicking away the broken stone he frowned and walked towards Jura again, staring at her intently as he folded his arms across his chest.

"Look lady, you're not going to win, so why don't you just give up already?" Takeshi pressed, grinning as he tried to 'reason' with Jura. Around them the crowd began to boo to which he turned around and shouted something best drowned out by their noise, rolling his eyes before turning back to her. "Alright, alright, screw it! Let's have fun!" Giving his knuckles a crack he shook his arms before putting up his fists and dashing in after Jura, throwing a simple jab at her head. Assuming she dodged it, he wasn't striking all that fast, he'd use his free hand to grab a hold of her and attempt to spin her around and throw her out of the arena. Like hell he was going to be shown up by some Uuonian lady!

"Oh... Fatty things, sugary things, a little bit is okay but you're only supposed to eat so much. Otherwise you can get sick, or so my mom always said. But these things are fruit right, so that makes them healthy!" Sasha was probably giving Shu some awfully conflicting messages there but he was young anyways, it wasn't like he had to worry about what he ate. And with how active they were too anything they did eat was burned off within hours so what was the point of worrying? Curious as the crowd around them gave a cry of dissent she looked back briefly at the stage and rolled her eyes seeing Takeshi chatting away instead of fighting, and though it was impossible to hear him she could only guess he was running his mouth. Shaking her head in disbelief she turned to Shu instead, finding him to be far more pleasant as she asked about their mother. She'd brought her own up so what did they think of theirs?

"You don't know your own mom? That's... Weird," Sasha muttered as she knit her brow. How did someone not know their own mom? She guessed the King must have taken them away or, even worse, killed her. She wouldn't put it past the man who tore worlds apart and thought himself justified in doing so. "Well maybe once you finish up here you should go find her? I bet she'd love to see how her boys grew up," she added with a smile, "And I bet she'll be happy to see what a good boy you've grown up to be. And what a pain in the neck your brother is..."

Legend of Zelda: Templar Ascension

Was the direct route better? Should they still try to somehow sneak around? Even with the disguises Caelan wasn't abundantly certain they would go unnoticed, the only certainty was if Fiona found them they were as good as dead. Falling in line with a man like Regol only did so much to calm his nerves as they moved through the halls and he expected for Fiona to be around every bend, yet she never appeared. Glancing back over his shoulder a handful of times he'd occasionally catch a glimpse of a Templar patrol passing along but nothing struck him as alarming, so far they were safe. Maybe they really would make it to the Princess without any trouble, and really that was the hardest part right? Getting out was still a whole different matter but he just had to trust that Regol, or Demoko, somebody had a plan in mind.

Everything was going just fine until they arrived at a central staircase leading up to the topmost reaches of the castle. Stood at the stairs were four armed Templars diligently minding their posts. Was Regol going to try and dispatch them like he had the others before? Or were they going to be found out? Caelan's skin grew clammy as they approached the guards and his heart all but stopped when they were told to halt and state their business. Then the confusion set in as some of the men recognized Regol which only served to further Caelan's confusion on the matter: just who exactly was Regol again? Stiff as a board his eyes slid to the corners as he watched the man for any signs of what they would do, preparing to cast a spell at a moment's notice. When a gesture was made he was almost ready to cast something when it clicked in his mind what Regol was asking of him, his jaw going slack before hastily composing himself again. Why was he getting left to sort this out?!

"Brother Regol... Wanted to be certain they were dealt with. He's been working alone trying to bring down the heathens and he's been doing so in secrecy. As far as people are aware he is dead, its part of his cover. So long as the pirates believe he's dead they won't be on the lookout for him, its a perfect cover." What were they even talking about? What pirates? For all he knew he'd just declared that Link and the others were dead but he'd already opened his mouth and he had to commit at this point, otherwise everything was going to go south very quickly.

"We happened to run into him out on patrol today and he's asked us to bring him along. He explained he needs to speak to the Princess and that its supposed to be a private meeting, so his arrival wasn't announced. In fact the only one who probably knows he's here is Fiona." That should save their skins if he claimed that right? No one was going to go causing trouble if they thought they would get in trouble with her. Unless they went to confirm this with her, then his story would fall to pieces in a second. Caelan could only hope that they wouldn't question it considering Regol seemed to be a pretty big name around here and with luck they'd take his word for it. If not... Well, they could probably grab the Princess and run at this point!

Legend of Zelda: Templar Ascension

Ignore the previous derpness here, I'll reply shortly!

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

"Woah there Cecil, you're going a mile a minute there. Everyone's fine, you're fine... Mostly. We're in a place called Mutebo, your friends are off doing some work while I fix you up here. Considering everyone is alive I'd say yeah, you helped. Don't ask me what happened though because I'm just as confused as you are." Amuné's frantic explanation aside Norman hadn't a clue at all what had gone on or how Cecil had ended up in the state he'd been in. He'd ask the Machina himself but he was in an oddly panicked state. Which was yet another oddity about Cecil: he was panicking. Machina generally didn't have the capacity for genuine emotion like that, programmed responses to simulate emotion sure, but actual emotion? Unless Cecil was a combat Machina fashioned to show panic there was something odd here. Right now he had to calm down Cecil before he went crazy with fright and tried to run off.

"Look, Cecil, I really can't tell you what's happened but Amuné didn't mention anyone else being hurt so I'm guessing everyone's fine. And these people here are engineers who work in Mutebo, fixing up Machina like you." Or they fixed up Machina, saying they were anything like Cecil was an absolute fallacy. So just what precisely was that Demacite crystal for? Cecil had asked and yet Norman found himself unable to offer a concrete answer. There were suspicions though especially if it was aspected Luminous as he suspected. Was it right to make a hypothesis and assumption off of what little information he had?

The other engineers signaled that the metals were ready for casting and they could begin repairs on Cecil's outer shell. Signaling for them to pour it into the casing he'd modeled earlier he stood at Cecil's tarnished arm again and made certain the wires were securely in place. "Having a Demacite crystal inside of a Machina isn't unheard of, and its fairly common in many prototype combat Machina. The idea is that, like Demacite Weaponry, the magic can be used by the Machina as if they were casting magic themselves. That is what I'm assuming your crystal is for. There's something strange about it though..." The engineers had finished pouring the cast and had begun to cool it in a cauldron, and at Norman's direction they began to gather the materials for paint, one of them coming over to judge the color of his current "skin" against the materials they had. Waiting until they were alone again Norman lowered his tone, staring intently at the crystal inside Cecil's chest.

"Cecil, are you able to use any magic? Any at all? Have you ever tried?" If Cecil was incapable of using magic then that ruled out the Demacite serving as a conduit for magic. But then what else would it be for? Norman had seen plenty of prototypes and variations of Machina to be familiar with most any model but Cecil was something new entirely. A Luminous Demacite crystal was typically used as a means to heal people, or for a way to cleanse tainted water sources or as means to fend off beasts. But what could a Machina possibly use it for?

-----

"Yeah I was a bandit. You know, big scary bandits, they're going to rape your family and burn the village! Those scary bandits!" Taliya laughed before rolling her eyes, "Except I wasn't one of those types. I stole shit, sure, and I'd kill a person or two if they got in our way, but we weren't into the real bad stuff. We just did what we had to in order to get by and make a bit of gold on the side, that's all. Compared to some of the bastards out there... Hell, some of the guys in my old crew, I'm a fucking Saint." Was the world really so black and white with Amuné? Typical of a little kid she supposed, they only saw things one of two ways and there was no in between. There were awful guards who abused their power and were killers even and then there were bandits who only took what they needed to survive, and were even known to help from time to time. Just saying someone was a bandit didn't mean shit, that told you nothing about what a person was really like. Just like how everyone heard "Magi" nowadays and associated it with being a criminal.

Amuné's desire to help was admirable and it was good to see the kid finally recognize she had to do something to pull her own weight. There was nothing worse than a freeloader, and even worse still was someone who had to be saved constantly like some damsel in distress. If you couldn't carry your own part of the burden in some way then you were just dead weight, and it was useless people like that which got others killed. That being said what did a girl with powers like her hope to accomplish?

"Not in Mutebo there ain't, at least not as far as I know. Seers a mighty rare ability and most go into hiding. Don't want to turn into someone's bitch I guess," Taliya mused with a shrug, "I'm sure you could find a teacher but it won't be here kiddo. If you really want to help the best option is to grow up by tomorrow, learn to fight and start helping your friends. Then again I'm not even sure why a brat like you is traveling with them... Ah right, you wanted to see mommy and daddy again." Pinesgrove... Did that name ring any bells? None that she could think of, then again she was about two canteens in at this point and little was easy to recall right now. "Listen, look around here in Mutebo, ask around, find yourself a teacher. I'm not doing it for you and you shouldn't make your friends do it either," Taliya said, leaning forward and prodding a finger into Amuné's chest, "You want to make yourself useful? Fine, so go do it."

-----

"Ethan? Can you move? Can you still lure it?" Nymira had hoped in part that she could be bought enough time to come up with a plan to take out the Rökorm. Ethan was clearly in no state to be dashing about right now as he pointed out however, his arm was out of its socket and he labored to even breathe were he stood. Kensen and Gage had both since slain the final of the Vazra yet made no move to help, they were truly on their own. Six seconds was their window in between phasing which meant she would have to somehow strike in that brief window, yet how? What could she possibly do that would kill the beast where a direct hit hadn't before?

"Keep thinking, I'll keep it busy!" Ethan shouted, smiling as Nymira stared at him incredulously. "You'll come up with a plan right? Leave it to me, just be quick okay?" He was really going to regret this later but they needed some kind of plan and he hadn't the slightest clue what to do right now. Grabbing a rock from the ground he threw it at the Rökorm's head and waited nervously for it to come after him again, inhaling deeply before releasing the final reserves of magic and boosting his speed once again. Waiting for the creature to be nearly upon him he dashed aside when it tried to lunge at him and raced past it, dashing again when it turned and threw a hastily made blast his way, wincing as the howling wind struck his ears. He had just enough to perhaps go another minute like this before he was out of energy, then it would be completely up to Nymira.

They had to take advantage of the brief period where the Rökorm couldn't phase out. How would they do that though? If phased out to avoid any and all attacks and it could deflect any projectiles when it came back in. Wait... It could deflect projectiles! If Nymira had been able to stand on one foot then she'd kick herself for her idiocy and not seeing it sooner. Spells had in large been ineffective since the Rökorm could simply counter them with its own, but her dagger had nearly managed to pierce it every time. She could see where it traveled when when turned to mist and could try and get close enough to strike it, and pray to Ralthor it didn't just release a burst and kill her. It was incredibly risky but she had to try it, there was no way they could keep this going for much longer.

Retrieving her daggers from the ground nearby she watched keenly as Ethan darted to and fro, doing a superb job of keeping the Rökorm distracted from her. Raising her dagger and taking aim she waited until Ethan had just passed beyond it before throwing her weapon at its side and watching as it turned to mist, slithering away from both the weapon and Ethan.

Perfect. Eyes locked on the fleeing form Nymira dashed after it, ignoring the burning of her ankle and the dampness of the blood as she ran. She had to kill it now, if this failed then she had no other ideas and Ethan was about to collapse, they would be as good as finished. As she expected the Rökorm had reemerged from its ethereal form and quickly had its sights on her, but by then the Dimuran was already upon it. Leaping into the air and onto the Rökorm's side she grabbed a hold of one of its fins and flipped her dagger over before driving it into its flesh, struggling to remain on as the beast thrashed about. Pulling her blade back she cut open the creature's side just enough before she had to release the weapon and grab its side simply to hold on, her weapon falling away and clattering to the ground.

The air around her and the Rökorm began to vibrate and she could feel the body beneath her swelling, an air burst was inevitable. But she'd done what she needed to and she'd won, even if the Rökorm didn't know it yet. Punching her hand into the wound she grimaced as she felt its innards, driving her arm up to its elbow before channeling her magic. Every last drop she could muster without passing out was poured into her spell, a flame that swirled violently within the beast and licked at its organs as it grew. The beast swelled and was about to release its own attack but Nymira was faster, unleashing her spell and letting the flames erupt within the creature, and its effects were immediate. The howl from the Rökorm was unlike anything she had ever heard before and it made her desperately try to cover her ears, cringing and gritting her teeth as its screech assaulted her eardrums. Writhing about even more violently than before she kept the spell channeled as flames began to seep out from its already weakened flesh, smoke billowing from its vents before flames spit forth from there too. Within seconds the Rökorm was on the ground and fighting like a fish out of its element, haplessly writhing about with no means of escape. Pulling her arm free at last Nymira fell back and barely kept herself sitting, watching as the flames she'd released erupted from the Rökorm's eyes and mouth, its entire body beginning to glow as the flame consumed it from the inside out. With one final screech it seemed to attempt to turn to her and attack but only a guttural noise escaped before it fell to the ground, unmoving as the fire continued to eat away at its flesh.

Had they actually killed it? Her eyes told her that the beast was very dead but it almost seemed too optimistic to think so. For a moment Nymira simply stared at the Rökorm as if believing it might spring back to life, or that another beast would appear any moment. Yet nothing greeted them besides silence, an odd yet welcoming silence that washed over the battlefield. It was dead, the Vazra had been slain and by some miracle she and Ethan had actually managed to kill the serpent. Looking to her companion she smiled slightly as he managed to give her a thumbs up from his prone position on the ground, returning the gesture before letting out a curt laugh.

"Your beast is dead... And good riddance to it..." Nymira called, shaking a bit of the blood from her arm and wrinkling her nose at the smell. Hardly the most graceful battle she had ever taken part of but they had decidedly come away victorious, no casualties while their enemies lay at their feet dead. Wiping her face off on her clean sleeve she looked to Kensen, her smile thinning as she lifted her head and slowly rose to her feet. "I trust we've proven ourselves... And that this silly trial of yours is over."

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

Just what was it Amuné was hoping to achieve? Taliya had already told her that her efforts were moot, her visions unreliable and finicky at best. Why was the child so damned insistent on ignoring her and trying anyways? Far be it from her to keep the Ydran from doing her thing but if Amuné passed out from using her magic too much it wouldn't be on her. She had assumed that they were looking for more insight on a Rökorm and how they were supposed to kill one. If that was all Amuné wanted though then she could have just asked, Taliya knew more herself than what was written on those few pages. The girl's expression took a decidedly grim turn however which was obviously not supposed to happen, was it another vision of her friends? No, whatever she had seen was something else entirely and scared the girl enough to go utterly pale and nearly land her on her ass. The first words she uttered hadn't been lost on Taliya either, she had clearly seen something other than what she had intended.

"You're asking the wrong person kiddo, I haven't got a fucking clue honestly," Taliya admitted with a scowl, "One day we're saviors and the next we're burned alive for just being Magi. Like I said whatever is going on in the Church has shit all upside down now, they're in bed with those fuckers in the companies and they're leaving us in the dust like broken tools. And the Church paints anyone who ain't with them as scum too, we're basically criminals and violent people who just want to watch the world burn."

"And they're not completely wrong there, place would be better off with less people," Taliya added with a curt laugh. All this fighting was because Adelon had grown so large, there was no form of cohesion anymore. It was a lot like how her brigade of bandits had been at one point until it split in half, the less people there were the easier it was to manage. Probably the same with Magi, there were just too many of them now and they had outlived their usefulness. An axe whose edge had dulled or a sword blade snapped in two, even if not really broken they were cast aside. "If you even have a shred of smarts in that head of yours girl then you know why you don't see Magi everywhere anymore. You know why entire towns are raided and people are taken away. I've never exactly been on the right side of the law but there's a fucking line you never cross, there are just some things you don't do. Taking away children, killing entire villages, imprisoning folks just because of what they are, the Church has done all this shit and then some to people like us."

Her voice grew steadily louder the more she spoke and it was all that Taliya could do was to keep from shouting. She was visibly angry though as her jaw was taut, a vein popping in her neck and her fist clenched hard around her flask, denting the container. "When a bandit's got more honor and conduct than the people running this fucking kingdom that's when you know the world's gone to shit. Suddenly the people who were criminals are the lot trying to save it, and the people who are supposed to lead us are trying to kill us." Slamming her flask on the table she broke through the table and crushed her container, spilling its contents all over her hand and the floor beneath as she threw the ruined item aside. "So to answer your question runt, you're right, Non-Magi are bad, and Magi. Don't matter what walk of life you're from, bad people are everywhere," Taliya said with a grin, "But there's thieving bad and then there's massacres, the shit the Church does. And that's what we're here for, to keep those bastards in line and remind them they can't just do whatever they fucking want with this place, this kingdom. If you're really planning on looking for your folks then buckle in for one hell of a ride because shit's only going to get worse from hereon out for you. Hell..." she paused, leaning back and wiping her hand off on a stray shirt, "It's probably going to get worse for all of us."

-----

Ethan didn't know which way was up or down for a good moment as he lay on the ground, clutching at his shoulder and biting back shouts of pain. Was it broken or just dislocated? Whatever he'd done it hurt like hell and the pain was making him lightheaded, or maybe that was the fatigue from using so much magic so soon. Matters were only worse as he heard the Rökorm nearby inhaling air and preparing another blast, lifting himself up to see it aiming yet again at him. Crap, what was he supposed to do now? He didn't have much magic left in him and his arm was pretty much useless, should he just try and run again? Extending a hand and trying to muster up magic in defense he let it patter out when a heated dagger embedded itself in the Rökorm's side and caused it to stop, howling and writhing as the weapon clearly burned against its flesh. Nymira was quick to follow up her own attack and launch another fireball at it that was again evaded, the beast again turned to mist to avoid the attack. They were never going to actually kill this thing were they?

"Six seconds! There's a six second window!" Six or five seconds, it was hard to count exactly when she was so focused on attacking. But that seemed to be roughly the window in between when the Rökorm could turn into mist and avoid attacks. So if they could just time their attacks right, or rather, if she could time her attacks right then they would be victorious. Ethan looked to be utterly out of it now which left her to fight it on her own, assuming Kensen and Gage were still above actually fighting the Rökorm. By this time the Vazra were nearly wiped out and they had made it look easy yet she doubted that meant anything for their fight. She needed her daggers back, one of which was goodness knows where and the other on the ground near the Rökorm which had now since materialized and was preparing an attack. She'd have to take a chance and get her dagger back, otherwise she was stuck casting magic until she ran out of energy.

The Rökorm's body swelled up as air was gathered and compressed and Nymira began to run towards it as it did so, headlong into what was perhaps certain death. A loud hissing sound signaled it was releasing its attack and she waited until she saw it begin to deflate, jumping into the air and twisting her body around. With less than a few centimeters of margin she managed to jump over and avoid the blast entirely, landing as it shattered a rock behind her and sprinting ahead. Two seconds. Gathering a fireball in her hand she threw it as quickly as she could, hardly worried about its potency as she simply tried to drive the Rökorm back. One second. The fireball hit the beast and caused it to writhe and try to distance itself, giving Nymira plenty of opportunity to retrieve her weapon and prepare another attack. Flipping the dagger over in her hand she saw the Rökorm's tail swing around to try and knock her off guard but she was quick enough to react, heating her blade and slicing through the tail, taking off a good length of it and splattering the ground with a thick purple blood. Hissing furiously the Rökorm turned to mist and began to move away again, doing everything it possibly could to keep away from them.

-----

Should he have gone after Amuné? Taliya probably wouldn't do anything to her, rough as the woman could be even she wouldn't hurt a kid. But what had Amuné so riled up in the first place? She was acting like something bad had happened but how could she possibly know anything? Norman chalked it up to another Magi quirk and let it rest seeing as he was too busy to even consider chasing after the girl anyways. Cecil was far from destroyed but there was a lot of delicate work that needed to be done for repairs and he didn't quite trust anyone else here to handle it. Combat Machina were a bit more intricate than your typical types, their machinery had to be more durable and well made to endure the rigors they were exposed to. As such everything down to the simplest of wiring was of a higher quality than most, and while simple copper wasn't terribly good on its own he had just enough scrap in the shop to create an alloy for his uses.

Forming the wires and soldering them together took mere minutes, and with the wires formed that meant the conduits throughout Cecil's body were now repaired. The shell itself would take a bit longer as he had to cast the pieces, let them cool and probably paint them to make it look like Cecil was as good as new. Making certain the wires would hold Norman found the power cell in the Machina again and activated it, watching as it came to life and power began to cycle through his body again. Satisfied that the most complicated part was finished he stepped back for a moment and gathered everything he'd need to form the shell, directing two engineers present to begin setting up everything for a cast. Just in time too as he could hear the scraping of metal against a wooden table, Cecil was coming to.

"Easy there friend, I wouldn't move just yet if I were you," Norman warned as he gathered a measuring tape together and a pencil, placing the latter behind his ear as he returned to the table. A benefit of being a Machina he supposed, even while wide open there was no pain, its what made operating on them so much easier. "Looks like you took quite a beating wherever you kids were, did a number on your body. Melted shell, frayed wires, compromised conduits in a couple of spaces, not to mention you'd more or less fallen apart completely. Putting you back together was like a puzzle, I'm actually surprised these people did it right." Using the table measure around Cecil's intact arm he took rough estimates of the sizes they would need for the replacement parts and called them out to the other engineers. Clearly none of them had ever worked on a combat Machina before as they seemed clueless, so with some curt directions from Norman they were sent on their way to get to work.

"You've caused one heck of a stir being here, there aren't many of your model around this area," Norman chuckled, scratching down measurements on the table where Cecil was propped, "How are your memory banks? Do you know what happened that put you in this mess?" They would need some idea for the future, maybe so he could work on a fix to prevent similar damage in the future. Leaning a bit closer he spoke in a lower tone this time, enough so that no one else in the shop would hear. "Also... We're going to need to talk about that crystal in your chest, but we'll wait. For now just sit tight and let me fix you up."

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

Mog never has a say >:D Helplessly along for the ride, mwahahahaha!

Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

"Yeah, well our mother always used to say too much sugar was a bad thing," Sasha laughed, placing a finger in Shu's face and taking on a stern expression, "Too much sugar and you'll get fat you two! Eat healthy!" Changing her voice to try and sound stern she ended up making herself laugh again, though laughter quickly subsided and a more somber smile took hold as she watched the fighting with half-interest. Her mother, she wondered if she and the rest of their family were watching them from Otherworld? Were they proud of what she and Ricken were doing? Smiling thoughtfully she shook her head and reminded herself dwelling on it wasn't going to help her any, all it ever did was make her sad and leave her still without answers. She was curious though to know more about Shu and whether he thought his parents... Or maybe his mother, what he thought about her. "Hey Shu... Can I ask you something personal?" Sasha whispered, turning away and ignoring the fight as Takeshi stumbled about, "We all know your dad is kind of... Well a complete jerk, but what about your mom? What's she like? Do you miss her?" Hopefully it wasn't too personal of a question but she was curious to know, did Shu and Takeshi have at least one decent parent among them?

Okay so he'd underestimated the fact Jura could even swing that hard, that was on him. The fact she'd dodged his attack too either meant he was slower than he thought or she was faster. Should he speed it up a little? If he used any Ki even for something so simple there'd be no end of complaints and he really didn't want to have to listen to them. "Hey no one likes pain! Let me give you a good whack and you'll see what I mean!" Takeshi shot back, grinning as he landed and began to turn around after his kick. Off-balance as he was it was child's play for Jura to knock into him and nearly topple him over and only by quickly extending his hands out was he able to catch himself, springing back up and flipping over before landing back on his feet. "If the shoe fits, lady! I can call you a dude if you want me to!" Takeshi joked as he kicked off and dashed back in again, trying a change of tactic as he cocked back a fist and threw it down. Again he missed by a fairly wide margin and only managed to shatter the stone he struck, flattening his hand out and jumping up with his arm as support then, spinning his body around and trying to kick out at Jura.

Legend of Zelda: Templar Ascension

Poooooost! \o/ No rush Caboose, can't rush perfection :P

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

"Oh so your ability is really useless then! You can't even fucking control what time you see! What good does any of that do?" Taliya snorted as she rolled her eyes. "No one needs to know the past, the present is obvious and the future can change. I never got what the big deal was about Sight and Seers anyways, I see shit all the time too," she grumbled before adding, "Although that's usually after a few bottles of ale..." That was interesting though and might provide some answers to questions she'd had about these kids. Amuné herself had been told by her own father to be wary of other Magi and the man was right to warn her; trained properly and culminated Sight was a very useful skill, albeit a skill which took quite a long while to master. There was a reason most seers, or oracles, were so old. Very few managed to master their skill early on in life and fewer still enjoyed any kind of freedom, the Church saw to that. If this kid's special ability was already known then there was a good chance she was never going to live a peaceful life as long as the Church had their grubby little fingers in everything.

It was high time that they put Amuné's hysteria to rest before Taliya got a migraine listening to her. One more peep out of the girl's mouth and she'd go mental. Rökorm was the prey for the brats and it could be a nasty beast if you didn't have a clue what you were doing. Kensen and Gage were present though and would tell them if they were royally fucking up, no reason to worry. It's not like they tried getting potential recruits killed on their first trial mission.

"Ones in suits? You mean those stiff dicks from the companies? You've seen them around too? Bunch of bastards, they're just as bad as the Church's dogs," Taliya spat, wrinkling her nose in disgust as she slammed a hand down on top of the table, "Listen kid, they're going to be fine! Vazra are pack animals, they're dangerous but they're as low as you get, they're the Void equivalent of rats. Gage could kill a pack on his own and he ain't even a fucking Magi, and with Kensen there those mutts are as good as dead. If there was any reason to worry I'd have sent more people out there but there isn't, so chill. Take a deep breath and fucking relax before you make me want to bash my own skull in." Shit she wanted to just drown herself in liquor right now so she wouldn't have to listen to her whining. She hated kids so fricken much...

"Hate to break it to you kid but those stories of Magi being these noble saviors are just that, stories. Even back in Adelon's earliest days there were Magi who were criminals, was that way then and its that way now. Whoever told you all Magi are these glorious fucking heroes spoon fed you a bunch of crap." Sitting back on her chair Taliya again took her flask out and took a long, much needed sip, sighing and wiping her mouth. Now what did Amuné want to do? "Sure, do whatever vague crap you have in mind. If you go running off after them though I'm not chasing you. I'm not babysitting some crazy kid either, so do your thing and get out of here."

The success or failure of her plan entirely hinged on Ethan's ability to evade death long enough. Why wasn't she exactly filled with confidence? The imbecile couldn't find his way around an inn let alone in a forest, and she had to wonder if he was even remotely aware of where he was going now, or if he knew where the trees were. Nymira watched in mild amazement as Ethan did in fact head in the proper direction and much to their fortune the Vazra were now more concerned with Kensen and Gage. If her plan should succeed it would cripple and prevent the Rökorm from moving perhaps long enough for them to land a fatal blow. Her magic was wearing dangerously thin because of yesterdays trials and Ethan had to be getting close to his limits as well, they would have one shot to get this right or everything would fail. And perhaps it was pride but she refused to have to rely on Kensen to save them from this creature. She was the daughter of Hákon and in line for the head of her clan, she'd be damned if she couldn't do something as simple as slay a single beast on her own.

Though he wasn't meant to help them it appeared like Kensen had some suggestion for them to try. Impressive as his display might be there wasn't a chance in the world they could replicate what he had done; magic for both Ethan and Nymira was scarce and they had never tried to really fight in tandem before, much less cast a spell together.

"Of course, just distract it while we learn how to cast such a spell, won't you?" What an absurd suggestion in the middle of a fight, why expend the last of their magic on something that could very well not work? At least her plan wouldn't require such a large amount and they could quickly react if it did fail. "Ethan stick to the plan, I'm ready as soon as you are!"

Right, the plan. Draw it to the trees and then... What exactly? Nymira had fire and he couldn't imagine what she might plan on doing aside from burning a tree down. Hardly fit to ask questions as he was busy just trying to breath he continued dash along, glancing back over his shoulder and ducking in a panic as a blast of air soared over his shoulders. "R-Right, you got it!" His job was easy, just run in circles until he got to a tree and then avoid getting killed, easy! The trees were coming up awfully quickly and he still wasn't certain of what to do when he reached them or what Nymira had in mind. But he trusted her and figured it was their best shot at killing this thing so he'd do whatever he had to for it to work. As soon as he reached the trees he skidded to a halt and waited for the Rökorm to catch up to him, dashing around it and back the way he had come, waiting for instructions as he circled the tree.

"Ethan, duck!" There! Releasing her fireball as a white-hot flame she hurled it as hard and as quickly as she could towards the tree, aiming for the lower section of its trunk just above the roots. As if the timing was perfect the flame passed well over Ethan and smashed into the tree several meters ahead of the Rökorm which still pursed Ethan vehemently. As she'd hoped her fire hit the tree trunk and due to its high heat its simply bore right into the wood and nearly out the other side before the wood ever caught flame, the tree creaking loudly as it began to collapse in on the impact point. In an almost perfect fashion the tree began to topple down just as the Rökorm passed beneath it, and in less than a second it should be smothered beneath the trees immense weight. Until it passed beneath harmlessly, turning into mist in the process. Of course it would have done that, why had she expected it would not.

That probably wasn't the plan. In fact Ethan was positive that hadn't even remotely been supposed to happen. Because he had since stopped to watch the trap ultimately fail the Rökorm was now extremely close to him, much too close for him to even consider trying anything other than darting away again. Turning on his heel and promptly casting his speed spell and trying to dash off into safer spaces. At his back he could hear the wind suddenly pick up and the Rökorm inhale, trying to cut to the right in a hasty effort to avoid its attack. He narrowly escaped the blast but in cutting like he did the Rökorm caught up and simply used its body this time, knocking its head into Ethan's side and throwing him up into the air. All but helpless he flailed and tried to right himself, managing to do so in time to see the Rökorm mustering up another blast to try and blow him away right out of the sky. Gathering magic again he cast a burst just a second before the beast could and knocked himself well off course, falling away helplessly and crashing into the ground with a pained yelped as his shoulder rolled uncomfortably.