Lugubrious

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

Neat

@HereComesTheSnow

Fire Emblem - The Reclaimers of Peace

Hugh – Westroad

After a moment spent looking over the hill at the occupied village, and another studying the map sketched in the dirt, Hugh breathed out a sigh and stepped into the limelight. He raised a hand for attention over the general mumbling and clatter of weapons, gear, and animals. “Looks like our techie's a bit of a rookie. Hope you don't mind, Gaius, but considering this is your first time and all, I'm going to shift some stuff around a little. Your basic plan of attack sounds pretty good, all things considered, but your pairings could use some work. Listen up, folks.”

He gestured to each individual as he mentioned them. “Takes one good fireball to set thatch on fire, so we'll only be needing one mage for that job. The little incident back in the Basilmeron Castle courtyard has convinced me that Syrena would be best for that job. Franky will watch her back. Arkhant and Ronin will be near, but together, and will make sure the civilians get out okay. The plan is simple and efficient: fighter draws the aggression and the mage throws spells from a distance. It's a combination I saw a lot of in the Basileus' annual Doubles tournament. Lilith and Sanguin should lead the assault against the axemen; front-line combat isn't Jeanne's thing. You also forgot about the thieves. The trouble here is where to put our armor, which is me and Jakobe; we best resist the archers, but we'd also have the advantage against swordsmen. I say we employ Habeen and Kuur to harass them until Jakobe, Nick, and I deal with the archers. Timmy will accompany us to make sure we get through intact. Once we break the archer's line, they'll flee to try and get back the range. By positioning Gaius and Jeanne behind them, we'll ensure that there's nowhere to run. Then Jakobe and Nick will finish the thieves. During this time, I want Kel performing more reconnaissance on the leaders to determine their capabilities, perhaps trying to separate them if you feel confident, and roaming the perimeter away from the archers to bring down any who try to escape. Afterward, he and I will move toward the enemy leaders, joined by whoever else is done with their tasks. They may outnumber us slightly, but we've got skill, unity, and above all, purpose.”

Pulling his weapons from the convoy, he placed two javelins in holders on his back and hefted his spear. He raised an eyebrow at Nickolas but addressed everyone, “Does that work a little bit better?”

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay (Rebooted)

-=-=Invidia, the Liaison=-=-

In a solemn silence, the band of monks walked through the forest. The only path they followed was once worn into the grass by the passing of feet, for no true road connected the lands of mankind and the dominion of the Cimex. It had not been human toes and shoes that trod on this grass, however; these robed but sleeveless men, most of their faces obscured by masks of wood, were the first people to walk this path in a long time, and the first ever to walk it brazenly. They strode softly, as if ghosts, only faintly rustling the dull green blades beneath their feet. Beneath the night sky their bodies were shrouded in darkness despite the starry vault of heaven. In fact, their most betraying aspect, and the one that caused woodland animals to shy away from them in muted fear, was their scent...a sickly sweet smell, enough to make a man sick.

That aroma wafted through the trees, causing mandibles to gnash, chitinous claws to grind together, and telepathic signals to fly through the branches. Though the creatures of Vowzra and Escre shrank back from the grim parade, the wrathful presences gathering now in the shadows around the traveled path were no children of the gods of creation. They knew not the value of life, only that this land belonged to them and them alone. Their fury mounted as the strangely-garbed intruders delved further into their territory until, all at once, the Cimex burst from the treeline.

Their hateful, brutal cries signaled that it was time for the Sanguine Communion to go to work.

From their backs, beneath their cloaks, the monks removed axes. They were crafted of fire-tempered Cimex chitin, of sharpened Dyun bone, and of the teeth of a Devourer Fish washed up from the sea. As the Cimex approached, the monks calmly assembled their weapons, plugging in additional sticks, bones, or blades to make hatchets, battleaxes, war-axes, and poleaxes. The two sides met, and the slaughter began.

No matter how hard the Cimex fought, their foes just wouldn't die. Though their claws raked across the humans' bodies and drew from them vast amounts of blood, they never seemed to run out. A human seemingly mortally wounded and gushing blood would fall back, remove a reddened sponge from a pocket or bag, and crush it against their his or her upper arm. After that, the wound repaired itself, and the monk was fighting once again. The tide turned against the Cimex quickly, especially when one human consumed a larger-than-usual sponge and swelled to twice his original height. The insectoid warriors turned to flea, content in the knowledge at least that they'd be able to pass on their knowledge, and that their species would eventually evolve to overcome this new threat.

Invidia, garbed and masked, pulled his own hatchet from the husk of a Cimex and pointed it at the fleeing bugs. ”No survivors.”

Immediately, two of the monks doubled over, in apparent agony. A moment later they exploded in showers of blood, and in their place stood beings not quite human. Their arms and legs were longer, and tipped with huge claws of keratin that could splinter a tree. Their heads were larger, and with elongated jaws, crushing fangs, and fishy eyes. Patches of scales had grown on parts of their skin, and they were much taller, though hunched over. With a blood-curdling cry, they dashed off in pursuit. There would be no record of this encounter among the Cimex, just as there hadn't been for all the other times.

The monks of the Sanguine Communion cleaned their weapons and dissembled them. Some minutes later, when two more returned from the woods in human shape once more, the entire group started back the way they'd come.

-=-=-

An hour later, they had returned to the Tabernacle, where the Sanguine Communion was based. Its spacious ground floor, whose tiles were decorated with images of creatures, whether real or nightmare, and were littered with people seeking shelter and care. Small doses of the lifeblood upon which the Sanguine Communion thrived were sufficient to heal the wounds of humans without any additional effects. Pushing through the huge doors, the monks entered with Invidia at their head. Many bowed as the squadron of the Communion's nameless army moved past, but they monks coveted no hero worship, for they knew they weren't heroes. Blood, though thicker than water and not as easily tainted, needed to be kept free of such corruptions as pride and vanity, else it would become corrupt, and Invidia had worked hard to make sure no corruptions took weed in the garden he'd made. This was only one of the reasons why in the past years the Sanguine Communion had flourished.

The ordinary men and women moved to the side as the final monk, the one whose size had doubled in the fight, made his way in. Though treated with terror some time ago, these ' giants' weren't a terribly uncommon sight in the Sanguine Communion. Despite their size and strength, they maintained their humanity well, though the few who had families and homes prior to becoming monks seldom returned. Invidia always regarded them with pride, for they, having grown giant from overdose of lifeblood, best embodied fidelity to the Sanguine Communion. The disguised outsider led the monks up the stairs to the second level, where they'd put away their weapons and robes for mending and cleaning.

Leaving them behind, he ventured alone onto an outside balcony, closed the adjoining door, and waited beneath the moon. In short order, the darkness moved, and a black shape appeared beside him, one with a huge orange eye. ”Grave news and great news, Liaison. The Uri have indeed bloomed, their civilization strong. A counsel of seven leads them, and between them one is King. They surround their cities in metal, and their sovereignty is a glorious one. Their lack of care, however, has proven mightily bad. The Cimex have emulated them, growing more powerful, and last I saw their scattered forces are beginning to unite into one...an invasion army. They have a dozen soldiers for every one of the Sanguine Communion.”

Invidia stiffened. ”Each of our monks is worth more than a dozen of those insects. But we cannot be everywhere at once, it is true. We may not be able to singlehandedly defeat them...but we can serve as a rallying point for those who will. I will send emissaries to the kings of Man and Uri, and inform them of the coming threat. The armies of two races, with the monks of the Sanguine Communion to lead them and heal them, will crush the Cimex like the insects they are. I will make contact with the Great Spirit to ensure that none of the High Ones interfere. Go, brother, and spread word through the outsiders in every village, hamlet, and city. Tell them to embrace the blood of the Great Spirit and prepare for the coming fight.”

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

http://roosterteeth.com/news/entry.php?id=6083995

@harinezumikouken

The Horde of Evil - Tresspassing through treacherous tribes' territory! (RP closed)

Why does everyone seem to think that she is charging up some sort of magical nuke?

@KabenSaal

Because she's all about fire, and is clearly casting some sort of enormous spell?

The Horde of Evil - Tresspassing through treacherous tribes' territory! (RP closed)

Clotho smirked as she spectated Umbra's fascination with the old man's death. She held the shadowy creature in low regard, a being swaddled in apathy and too fixated upon his own wants to ever grow into something more significant. If a being couldn't rouse itself to care about anything, it could never rise farther than the lowliest peon. Not sharing his lustful enthusiasm for killing, the swarm queen began to leave, her bugs already having robbed the house of most of its valuables. “I thought I'd let one of the Master's lesser servants have a kill. Don't let it go to your head, eidolon.” By the time Umbra vacated the armor to let it tumble noisily to the floor, Clotho had already bugged out.

Leaving through the same window by which she'd entered, Clotho shot upward to a vantage point in order to scope out the hamlet's current status. She found it almost wiped out already, many bodies laying dead in the streets, structures bombed, and a plume of unnaturally hot air coming from the blacksmith. A bunch of surviving villagers holed up in the windmill had been transported to the woods and bound in shackles by one of her demonic allies. Already it seemed that the local temple had been sacked by dark forces seeking to prey on the priests' piety, so there was little to do there. Other various monsters were pursuing and easily taking down the few villagers remaining that had fled. Furthermore, an ill feeling was gathering throughout the place, one that Clotho could dimly trace to the young Emily. Judging by the arcane rune inscribed before her, the sorceress planned to unleash some sort of spell. If it didn't level every building, Clotho decided, she'd be surprised. Emily was a lot of power crammed into a deceptively small and unassuming body, and with her array of Sung Spirits and prowess with fire, she was one of the stronger members of the Master's horde. Not wanting to stick around and risk immolation, Clotho scanned the village's perimeter and beheld a twitching patch of grass within a foxhole, where no wind should have been able to reach it.

In a flash, Clotho dove from her vantage point and alighted on the lip of the foxhole. She placed her palm onto the ground, transmitting instruction, and a moment later a mass of earthworms jammed together into a single, huge amalgamation burst from the ground beneath the patch of grass. As it climbed into the air, it carried with it an old man. His face was wrinkled with laugh lines and adorned with bushy gray eyebrows, but it held less fear than Clotho might expect. The swarm queen tilted her head. “You're a clever one. By fleeing on your own, slowly and hidden, you escaped the sight of the brutes and the senses of the spirits, who chased down more tumultuous targets.” She looked at his getup, believing that she recognized it. “You are the village alchemist, no? I have been searching for a human who'd be able to aid me. I am always seeking to expand my knowledge of toxins, chitin, and magical substances, you see. Judging from your collected composition, you are not a coward...merely a man who wishes to live, as all do. I can offer you protection if you can offer me your complete compliance. Of course, this is not optional.” So saying, Clotho sheathed her rapier and grabbed the man beneath his shoulders. She flew with him to where Azavarn's captives stood, and deposited him among the others. She landed next to the scarlet-haired demon. “Greetings. This man will serve me. Pick him a younger assistant and send both to my hive when we return to the Dungeon, or find a subordinate to do it if you are not so inclined. Must I offer you something in return for this service?” Clotho meant the question more as a jape than anything, given Azavarn's nature, but there was always the chance that he'd demand something of her for even something as small as this.

Fire Emblem - The Reclaimers of Peace

I rather wish that there'd be more posting IC and less OOC. It's hard to tell which is the least constructive--no conversations, or these confrontational conversations.

Phoenix Wing (A Fairy Tail RP-Always Open, Open)

<Snipped quote by Lugubrious>

Huh, just read about Nero. I would like to say that they are pretty similar in their own super messed up ways. Dark magic! Isn't it the best with the mentally unstable!? Hehe, I think it would be the humanities best interest if these two never met each other as I would feel that something terrible would happen.

@Invisible Man

Actually, since they're not really evil, just seriously screwed up, their meeting would probably be a good thing. Eve's came from a curse that led to her village's demise and her subsequent possessiveness, Nero was basically tortured and indoctrinated into the life of a Phlegethon Dark Mage. Maybe they'd fall in love and help each other get over their insecurities and fears. In one another's company, they'd both be able to drop their constant masks of happiness, and in doing so maybe become actually happy.

Plus, Nero can modify Eve's zombies, so there's that.

Phoenix Wing (A Fairy Tail RP-Always Open, Open)

<Snipped quote by Oblivion666>

Well, my cat is one!

I shall be updating the quick easy things on the site tonight, any cs's will have to wait until tomorrow night and Sunday.

I need a good night sleep. And my mind focused on my exam.

<Snipped quote by Invisible Man>

Seems okay. Wait for zarkun or expolar

@Caits

This character's personality is so much like Nero in principle it's scary. Though I'm having a hard time telling if she's more or less insane than he is.

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay (Rebooted)

Kho, Jet, and I might have a collab in progress if the three of us can ever get into the titanpad at the same time.