Pathfinder

Shadows of the Gods

Anastasius was startled at the hand that lifted him to his feet, momentary panic flooded his system as the fear of spreading this horrid plague to another came to light. He tried to resists as strongly as his ravaged body could but found his strength overpowered by woman before him. Her strength stunned him, even with his wasted body Anastasius was a large man that would give two men a difficult time moving but to her it was as if he was a child. Instead of being flustered or angry, Anastasius could do little more than feel impressed. As he grabbed her spear the women's spear for support the woman's words came as mumbles until he gazed inside her own.

In one moment her words were clear and a great cough erupted from his chest. In a hurry Anastasius moved his head away as the cough painfully moved through his body, pain... a feeling he hadn't felt in a long time. With the first cough came another, than another, each more painful than the first as his insides felt like they were ablaze until it suddenly left. No pain, no sickness, in fact he felt stronger than he ever had. Standing straight and tall for the first time in a long time, Anastasius flexed his hands and after several pops was satisfied with their strength. He was worse for ware, but he was alive.

Suddenly he turned to face the woman who lent her hand and everything became clear. This was no mere woman, nay she was a god. HIS patron, Athena. Goddess of battle and wisdom, her steely eyes pierced Anastasius to the core and in such awe was he that he could do little but kneel before her.

"Athena! I-I-I...." He stopped trying to speak, his shock far too great. Instead the warrior knelled and listened for whatever she had to say.

From the Ashes shall be Woken

Jitharee was ill at ease. The feeling had been sticking with him for several days now and infected his dreams, bringing little much needed sleep. Tension was in the air, it was beyond his reasoning as to how they couldn't taste it like he could. Perhaps it was the way the overseers cracked their whips extra hard this past few days or maybe it was the fact that the normal stench of the pens were becoming far more oppressive then it usually did, either way a storm was on the horizon and it was going to crash upon their heads soon.

Since sleep evaded him Jitharee sat in his dark corner of the pen, the one he had spent little more than a week to earn. Several broken noses and a dozen lashes got him his spot and it has been his for years. Sure every once in awhile he had to put the newer slaves in their place, a shiv here and a fist fight there, but it was firmly his spot. It wasn't worth the trouble for most people. Others began to awake, some made noise, some spoke, most kept to themselves, but for the most part all was quiet. Until the Orc rattled the door, Kharrn had never been the subtle type.

Emitting a deep hiss, Jitharee voiced his displeasure but otherwise kept to himself. Kharrn wasn't as good a warrior as him but made up for it in savagery and strength. The playing ground was even and there was little to gain for the squabble, both would get the lash. With little else to do Jitharee began to fiddle with his shiv, making sure it was as good as it could get. It was a simple thing, just a piece of scrap metal wrapped in a shed of cloth that used to be his shirt, long ago abandoned as little more than a hood wrap for the heat. The shiv was as good as it was going to be and as such stuck it into a hidden pocket he had fashioned long ago, the guards would do far more than whip him should they find it.

Gazing upon the gate, Jitharee waited for the day to begin.

From the Ashes shall be Woken

I'll get a post later today, its been pretty busy on my end of things.

Shadows of the Gods

The shuffle of feet and the clack of a spear was only heralded by the wet cough of the sick soldier. Leprosy had destroyed not only his body but also his ability to fight off other disease, phlegm filled his throat and mucus filled his sinuses as he slowly died. Bystanders were far too scared to help the man, fear overriding their sense of honor. To them the soldier was a potential threat, someone to be avoided until his body died and even then he would be allowed to rot in the sun. This was not the way a soldier should die.

Anastasius traveled the path to the great Temple of Athena and walked the stairs. It was only until he was met with the statue of his patron did his body fail, falling to a knee as his leg gave out. Looking up to his patron, Anastasius began to prey. At first he wanted answers, why did was he afflicted with this curse? Why wasn't he allowed to die on the field like a warrior? Why must he wither away into nothingness as he chokes on his own vomit? Soon enough however his questions turned to accusations, cursing the name of every gods forsaken leper and Athena herself as he lost himself in his rage. After the rage was burned away, regret filled his heart and began to apologize profusely. In the end he had no words, only tears. They fell from his irritated eyes and through his ruined flesh, every once in awhile a great cough would erupt from his chest. Upon the last cough blood fallowed, a dire sign that his time was coming to a close.

With all his might Anastasius tried to stand upon his feet but the hours and hours he stayed still brought only stiffness and pain to his already broken body. With a snap his spear shattered in two and he was cast upon the floor like a sack of vegetables. This was the last straw, he had nothing left. His military career was stricken from him, his health was fading by the second, he was looked upon with pity and contempt, finally his spear lay in splinters. Dignity was no more and he began to crawl out of the temple, not wanting to defile it any more with his festering body.

Crystal Gems: Forgotten Shards (Full)

The orchestra of war was gone, in its place was terror and a grim truth. He was going to die here. He didn't know how nor when but it was going to happen. With stone-faced determination he blocked an incoming ball of energy his shield absorbing the power and returning it as a beam of concentrated energy that sweped across the battlefield, annihilating the caster and several other range oriented gems. Moving forward again he swatted any gem that came close, the great weight of his shield pulverizing bodies and shattering gems as he spearheaded a charge. With the large group of Homeworld Gems coherency shattered it became a bloodbath as the other Crystal Gems moved into the fray.

Bringing his shield down upon a gem he heard the unmistakable sound of a laser cutting through flesh. His heart filled with dread as he turned to face his destined foe, the world seemed to go into slow motion as their eyes met.

"No, not you." he thought to himself as his opponents eyes narrowed in anger.

There were no words exchanged by the two warriors, just an unspoken promise. One would stand, one would fall.

As if like lightning the staff she carried unleashed its power, barely punching through him as he brought his shield up to bare the brunt of it. The force pushed him back slightly, his heels digging into the earth as it did so. However he pushed through, advancing forward as the shield began to burn. The battery was filling and fast, all or nothing he charged full speed until the two were barely a breath away.

"In another life." she said solemnly. "In another." he replied.

They both knew what was going to happen, the shield was going to blow. She could have moved away from the fight, he could have struck her down, but they did not. Even in war they loved one another too much to harm the other, with a single tear she closed her eyes as the eruption overtook them. The explosion shook the field as the two powerful weapons detonated as one, their colors intermingling into a beautiful cloud.

---

As Agate slept the years passed by, the crater filling with dirt and grass. It's scar mended by mother nature until it was no more. What felt like an eternity but also an instant, Agate awoke to a suffocating darkness. Panic set in and he began digging his way up. A fist exploded from the earth, stained with dirt, grass, and berries. A second, frantic arm joined it and with their combined strength pulled the body of Agate out of his earthen prison. Long moments were dedicated to just breathing, the smell of wild berries filled his senses and it was welcome for awhile but soon his thoughts went towards his survival. Just how did he survive and why?

How was it that someone like him survived but not her, she was such a better person and she was swept aside while the monster remained. It just didn't make sense. Slowly, quietly, his hands held his head as he fell to his backside and cried soundless tears. The glowing orbs in a sea black releasing small drops of orange, staining the leaves and berries in their color as they connected. Agate stayed that way for a long time, letting the pain leave his body before even trying to move.

When the tears ran dry Agate shakily went to his feet and looked around him. There were others in varying distances from him and they all seemed to be in the same boat so to speak. He couldn't make any details from where he stood but he could hear the wails and sphere of petals that heralded the closest one. Wiping his face dry he suppressed his issues and began to move towards the gem, if someone needed help than he would was going to do his best to give it. Its what she would have wanted in the end.

Crystal Gems: Forgotten Shards (Full)

@Saarebas As durability goes I'll quote superman kinda, mundane things like a normal punch or sword stab wouldn't do much but add a little magic and he loses a lot of his durability. So like gem abilities would hurt him if it got past his shield and people stronger than he is would be able to hit with greater force than he can protect. Also fire or acid, while not highly damaging in and of themselves, are incredibly painful and would take him out of the fight for a bit.

As for the Rose Quartz and Homeworld Gem thing that's not a terrible idea, that wasn't what I was trying to imply. More like "I destroyed an important thing and/or person and really regret it." kinda deal.

[EDIT]
Upon further reading I can see how you thought that he fought Rose, I was thinking of someone else entirely. A character that I made up, sorry for any confusion.

Shadows Of The Gods

Plus who would want Zeus? The guy is a total dick, along with Poseidon. Hades has his moments but its a little muted compared to the other two.

Crystal Gems: Forgotten Shards (Full)

"Defense is the greatest offense!"

Agate:

Gem:
Fire Agate, the gems appears as a large rectangle on his right forearm.

Appearance:
Standing at 7 feet agate stands upon the larger spectrum of gems, along with the more masculine side in features. His shoulders are broad and his body strong, showing off powerful muscles that could grind steel. Agate's skin lies in the darker shades of orange, an aged brew really. Clothing wise he wears a sort of chest plate tank top, full metal covering his chest and abdomen while leaving his shoulders bare. The plate tank also has a slightly raised collar, coving most of his neck. A dark orange cloth peeks out underneath the plates to about midway of the bicep while also making up his pants, metal boots going to the knees. Due to a past shame Agate promised to never show his face again, to insure that he has changed his face to have a knightly helmet look. When the grate is raised all one will see are two glowing orbs of orange light with a surprising amount of animation to them.

Weapon:
An large shield several shades darker than he is. It weighs quite a lot, is about as tall as he is, and is very durable. Energy based attacks are absorbed and stored for later use as a concentrated laser however there is a limit to how much it can keep, when the limit goes over there is a chance that it will detonate with great power.

Unique Abilities:
Flesh of Iron- Even without his shield, Agate his hard to put down. Low power attacks are likely to go unnoticed if not a small annoyance. However strength to his level will bring the hurt.

Release the Beast- When Agate is pushed to his limits all of his durability is converted into pure strength, leaving him vulnerable to damage but allowing him to give more than he gets. In this state he can do little but yell, smash, and destroy. May hint at slight corruption.

Behavior:
Caring
empathetic
self-sacrificing
friendly
durable
and a nugget of self loathing and rage

Origin:
Mostly keeps to himself about his past, usually deflecting the question or dismissing it with "Nothing really special." but he has done a lot, made many mistakes, and done an atrocious deed. The only thing for certain is that the last thing he did was duel a very powerful gem, he one...she didn't.

Other:
If every porkchop was perfect we wouldn't have hotdogs

Due to heavy damage, both physical and spiritual, Agate has started on the path of corruption. Time will only tell if he falls to it or comes out stronger than ever.

Steven Universe/Crystal Gems RP

I'd like to join as well, this whole idea seems really fun.

Shadows Of The Gods

Aaaand done.