VitaVitaAR

The Storm Cycle: Reclamation

"If you could introduce us to him once we arrived, we would greatly appreciate it," Fio said, as she approached the jarred fairy with the honey bread. Certainly, there was quite lucky. The first giant they meet was the apprentice of a blacksmith capable of working dragonscale? It was almost too good to be true.

But sometimes coincidences, both good and bad, happened in the real world. Thinking them impossible, or overthinking them, was an exercise in foolishness.

When there was no other explanation, sometimes it really was just how things worked out.

Delivering the honey bread to the unseelie, Fio considered what the fairy had told her. While she knew that unseelie magic was strange in many ways... While she had one on hand like this, it only made sense to see just how that worked.

"If you demonstrate your magic on this stick, I'll give you another piece."

She held up the stick in question, carefully inserting it into the jar after the first piece of honey bread.

@Rune_Alchemist@Pyromania99

Bible of Ichor: Septet for the Dead

"Tch..."

The maid was already gone. There was no use chasing after her.

Now they had to do all they could to free Kordelia and put and end to the beastly threat.

The hand sweeping towards her was immediately met by an ice barrier, hastily materialized as swiftly as possible by gathering but that wasn't enough to completely arrest its motion. In a split second, Aleksiya felt her own barrier slam into her, the impact rocking through her arms, all through her small frame. The world around her blurred, fire tore its way up her limbs, and she was sent to the ground in an instant with an unbidden cry.

Now the hot sensation explodes through her back, instead, the small girl's eyes shut tightly, her teeth clenched.

And yet, her lips parted in a grin.

Her ice barrier hadn't followed her. Immediately, spikes erupted from its surface, aiming to skewer the hand that had slapped her down.

@Rune_Alchemist@Click This

The Lion's Banner: A Fire Emblem-Inspired Anime Fantasy RP

The Witch stepped forward, smiling pleasantly. The creature beside her was unmoving. It was disconcertingly still, unlike the Witch who moved much as one would expect from a living being in spite of the fact she was clearly a doll.

"My my, a Nem, I see?" she said, tilting her head as she spoke, "Seeing you reminds me I should make a nem doll~"

Placing her doll-jointed fingers to her mouth, the Witch giggled. If that was meant to be a compliment or a threat, it was impossible to tell.

Velvetica took a deep breath. Kayliss was correct, of course. There was absolutely no reason to start something here, even if they were facing a Witch. The doll girl, no matter how harmless she looked, was an incredibly powerful and unnatural practitioner of arts poorly understood even by the most learned of magi.

The Steel Princess had to confess she disliked even being near her. But, she was no fool.

Fighting her wasn't necessary. She wouldn't hesitate, even knowing her power was undoubtedly enormous, if it became so.

But striking without reason was foolish.

Still, Sir Roger was right. The absence of any of the prisoners was disconcerting to say the least.

"... You're right, Witch, this is only what we intended," she said, finally, "But this cult took prisoners. Where are they?"

"You don't have to refer to me as 'Witch' you know," responded the doll girl, steepling her fingers and winking, her tongue protruding playfully, "I do have a name."

Velvetica sighed heavily. It was clear the Witch would rather play games then give clear answers from the outset, but it was unlikely they had any other options at the moment.

"Then, what is your name?"

The Doll girl curtsied, eyes shut, head bowed.

"Tabitha. It's very nice to meet you~"

Tabitha.

The Doll Witch.

Some said that when the Doll Witch took an interest in someone, she stole them away. She kept them. She made them into dolls themselves. Even her own body was a doll, no longer flesh and blood but an imitation, pale, jointed, unliving. And yet she moved like a leaving thing. Beyond the paleness of her skin and the joints, Velvetica supposed it would be impossible to tell the difference. Even her skin appeared, aside from an unnatural shine, to be more far more like human skin then she would have expected from a doll.

"... If you took-"

"I know what you're going to ask," replied the Doll Witch, "And I had nothing to do with it. There were no prisoners when I arrived. Not even their bodies. Curious, isn't it?"

She sighed.

"Perhaps they discovered something more valuable they could do with the still-living? Maybe someone left something behind here that would let you know? Alas, I haven't the faintest idea where they may have gone..."

Valuable?

They weren't among the dead. If it was something more valuable... had the cultists sold them?

Or was she rushing to conclusions when the answer was already looking them in the face?

"In any case, as long as you don't plan on disturbing this tomb any further I have no intention of fighting you," the Witch continued, eyeing the demon briefly as she did, "There are simply some things that are better left alone, and you're far more likely to discover the clues you seek in the camp."

Velvetica's hand had not left Starshine's hilt, but she relaxed ever-so-slightly. There was little reason for the Witch to bother hinting at possible evidence for the location of the prisoners if she was the one who took them in the first place. Someone that powerful had no reason to mislead them.

"... However... I wonder if you truly believe yourselves capable? Can you really defend the land and its people from whatever may threaten it?"

What?

"Of course. I am sworn to Velt, and so are my Lions," Velvetica responded, narrowing her eyes. The tone of the Witch's voice...

"Shall we test that?"

She stepped back.

The twisted doll beside her surged forward.

@Raineh Daze@Rin@AzureKnight@Psyker Landshark@The Otter@VKAllen@Eisenhorn@Crimson Paladin@Conscripts@HereComesTheSnow@Octo@PigeonOfAstora

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

So rather then letting her shield be forced away, Serenity took the blow and answered with a swing of her shield.

There wasn't any time to evade. The distance simply didn't permit it, no matter how agile she might be. But it was no time to panic.

Not only was it simply a sparring duel, but panicking in battle was how one lost.

Fanilly released her sword with her right hand, keeping the hilt gripped in her left. While she took the blow to her right arm, wincing slightly as she felt it a little even through the padding, it wouldn't disarm her when the sword was no longer there in the first place.

A short, shallow swing, simply to maintain the threat as best she could, though she was aware it would hardly be likely to hit, coincided with the rest of her motion. She moved with the impact, leaving the ground entirely for a moment-

-And skidding across the training yard, landing on her feet. Swiftly the knight caught herself, and as soon as she was able to resume movement she was, sprinting to her opponent's left this time and returning her right hand to the training sword's hilt.

This time, she started with a swing from her right, similar to the blow she had attempted before... only to abruptly transition to a swing from the left just as the wooden blade would have become a threat.

@ERode

---

"Erk..."

The purple-haired maid swiftly rushed into the closet, first reaching up to take the box supported in the hundi knight's hand, and placing it out of the way on the floor, before reaching up to quickly slam both hands on either side of the box balanced on the broom to prevent it from toppling to a disastrous end.

Removing it from its precarious position, she bent down and placed it beside the first box, grabbing the broom now. Given it had the least potential to end in catastrophic consequences, it had been the last item she chose to remove from Lein's person. Now, at least, there was nothing stopping the hundi from just releasing the shelf and landing on the floor, with both boxes and the broom no longer proving a hindrance.

Still, the maid had been greeted with an incredibly surreal, unexplainable image, one that she couldn't place any possible explanation to.

"I don't mean any disrespect, Sir Lein, but what was that?!"

@PigeonOfAstora@VahkiDane

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Even as Serenity moved out of her range, Fanilly was already moving. The upwards thrust had failed to reach her target, but that was no reason to stop for even an instant.

Pressure.

She had to put on pressure. She had to make every movement a potential threat. She had to constantly apply herself from every potential angle, every potential point of aggression.

It was a sparring match, but that didn't meant there was any reason not to fight to her fullest.

This time she was tilted forward, darting over the grounds towards Serenity's side once more. Obviously she would pivot, just as she had done in response to every attack prior, but this time Fanilly twisted her body as soon as she reached the shield's side, on her opponent's right.

She had to get around the shield.

With both hands firmly gripping the hilt of the wooden sword, she used the momentum of her body to put as much power into her swing as she could. The angle and positioning wasn't the best for striking Serenity herself, and trying to position herself properly to achieve that would likely have lead to more time for another pivot.

The goal was, instead, to push the shield out of the way. Even for an instant, if she could succeed, it would at least force a different response and open new avenues of attack for her.

Even if she managed to catch her, from this angle, her blade would assuredly strike the shield from the side, from a difficult position.

It was a matter of how much that would matter that would determine her next actions.

@ERode

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

While using the shield side to evade was the wider option for just an escape, in terms of actually claiming victory it was less so. The size of the shield made it quite easy to simply pivot into a block. Against a smaller shield, perhaps it would be easier to slip around the edge with a thrust.

But in this case, Fanilly couldn't rely on such a tactic.

And so she would lean into her mobility instead. Not only was she lighter, but the school of swordplay she had been educated it was one that emphasized that mobility.

This time, she went to her left, and Serenity's right. But instead of simply side stepping and rushing in, the knight-girl threw herself, hitting the ground and rolling once before catching herself at the end of the motion and thrusting upwards towards her opponent's flank.

Low to the ground, it would quite simply take longer for the blade to reach her, and her opponent's momentum meant that turning to fully face her would be a much more difficult task. There was no guarantee it would succeed, of course, but it made for a much more potent threat then a blow to the left would have.

@ERode

---

It was a this incredibly inopportune moment that the door opened.

"Ah-hah!" declared a purple-haired girl in a maid's outfit. She was perhaps the same age as the Knight-Captain, hair cut to the base of her neck and sharp eyes the same shade as it was. She thrust a finger accusingly.

"I knew it was you, Alaree! You won't be pranking Miss Tessa any... more..."

Her finger wilted like an overheated flower as she trailed off, staring blanking in confusion. She had certainly not expected to see a hundi here.

Let alone one she recognized as one of the knights.

"... E-er..." she shifted uncertainly for a moment, "Sir... Lein, I believe... what are you doing exactly?"

She'd even put out the damaged stool and waited for the right time... why was one of the knights here?! She'd set her trap for that little brat perfectly...!

@PigeonOfAstora

The Maids Guide to Demon Hunting

While her attitude towards Tiki could best be described as seething, at the very least Elizstrazia was not particularly resistant to being measured. Nor did she avoid being dressed, as she was quite certain that she would unquestionably be the most gorgeous and beautiful of all the maids in their full uniform and was as a result quite eager to demonstrate that fact.

"Serviceable?" she nearly snapped. Polina's comment on her chest... well, clearly she'd never seen something truly refined and beautiful before! Clearly her taste was awful, if that's what she thought of her wonderful and beautiful and perfect breasts! Clearly! There was no other possible explanation!

With a huff, the scale demon folded her arms, her tail swishing angrily from side to side.

"... Hmph. You just don't know quality when you see it," she added, looking away.

"... Anyway, humans kill humans all the time, so there isn't anything odd about a demon killing demons," Elizstrazia gestured idly with one clawed hand, "Anyway, now I'm sure you can all admire my new-"

That sharp impact.

It didn't hurt.

But she felt the maid's hand collide with her backside.

She never gave her permission she never said it was okay to touch she never said any of that and she just slapped her rear end like that she touched her and she touched her hard she didn't even think about it she just did it...!

Cheeks burning, the scale demon immediately spun on her heel.

"I-I-I'll give you a taste of your own medicine, you... you... you...!"

@AzureKnight@Rune_Alchemist@Pyromania99@Click This

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Of course. The shield was a weapon as well as a defense.

While Fanilly had anticipated a sword strike, that didn't mean she was entirely unaware of the possibility of a blow from the shield instead. Blocking was impractical at best and self-harming at worst against such a charge.

And thus the best response was not to be in the path of the shield at all.

Fanilly's feet shifted, and she threw her body sideways. While the shield was hardly safe, it would be easier to turn and swing a sword then it would be to turn and swing a shield.

Get around to her opponent's side. Capitalize on even an instant of exposure.

A swift thrust, and then move on. If it landed, then her blow was a success. If it didn't, then she could hardly afford to remain and try again when the shield remained a threat.

@ERode

The Storm Cycle: Reclamation

"You do realize that twisted glass would shatter," Fio sighed as she channeled magical energy down through her fingertips. It wouldn't take very much to disrupt and ultimately entirely erase the unseelie's efforts, but there mere fact she was attempting it in the first place was unfortunate. Perhaps a light ward placed on the jar to avoid such attempts in the first place would be for the best.

"In any case, fine, I'll get you some honey bread," added the Sword Witch, rising to her feet to go to her pack. The fact she quite enjoyed it herself meant there was no real problem with carrying it around, and magic preservation techniques meant that it was unlikely to go stale. Indeed, all of their rations would have no problem surviving the trip as long as her sigils remained intact, no matter how perishable they might be.

"I wonder if you're familiar with the concept of 'release on good behavior'?" she questioned the jarred unseelie as she opened her pack, head tilted, before her attention shifted to the giant.

"I have no doubt in your talents, but we've been asked to speak to a smith who can work with dragon scale," Fio responded, "While it would certainly be a stroke of luck if the first giant smith with came across possessed such a skillset, I hope you understand why I don't want to make that assumption."

She didn't intend any rudeness, of course. It was simply the fact that it would be far too convenient, especially given that even a highly skilled smith would hardly be guaranteed know how to work with such a material as dragonscale.

It wasn't exactly a common skillset.

@Rune_Alchemist@Pyromania99

Bible of Ichor: Septet for the Dead

It didn't appear that the blow had been sufficient to put the poor creature out of its misery, nor end what she could only assume was the twisted shrine's influence on the monsters and Kordelia itself.

But...

Even as Kordelia's transformation into something monstrous began, Aleksiya noticed something distinctly wrong. Not the transformation in and of itself, though it was rare that her fellow lord pushed any of the beastly alterations to this point. Rather the strained manner of speech, the way her head had jerked unnaturally, and the faint crimson thread that drifted from behind her.

The sudden arrival of the maid only prompted further doubt in the nature of the situation.

But Aleksiya's attention now turned from the twisted altar to that glint of thread behind what was now an enormous monstrosity.

"Dear me, Kordelia," she said with a sigh, "What an unpleasant makeover. Might I suggest you return to your previous look?"

Her words fell on deaf ears, naturally, as she took a step back, manifesting a razor-edged length of ice beside her right arm.

"I'm glad to see you find this amusing, observer," she added, addressing the maid, "I certainly do not."

She pointed the ice-blade forward.

"Giselle. The thread, you saw it as well? I don't think I need to say anything more about what we should do."

And then she was off and running. Either cut the thread herself, or maintain the monstrous Kordelia's attention. Either way, she had to ensure it was severed.

@Rune_Alchemist@Click This