• Mature • [Moderated] Too High & Too Fast!

[Griffin]

G R I F F I N

27th Saun 716

The Volareon as he had been warned was a training mount and easily scared. Although the initial flight went well, Aeon soon realised that he was no longer in control. The creature rose up over the city before the arrows started to fly. Clipped on oneside the animal panicked and dropped. Barely scraping over the wall it careened into the broken stalls of the market. Posts driving into its chest it screamed and reared. The Volareon roared, the air wheezing from damaged lungs as it shuddered and collapsed. Large eyes rolling back as hot blood spurted. One wing bent back and broken, snapped in two.

[Aeon]

27th of Saun, arc 716

The flight quickly went bizzare, as Aeon completely lost control over the beast once it was noticed by the enemies. He struggled to hold on as the beast flew in all directions, before lowering down to the ground level, and completely decimating itself. It was hit badly, from the arrows, and the walls, and everything else it could've touched. Aeon, during that flight, only managed to destroy the back side of his tunic, as well as completely destroy his left sleeve. The adrenaline was the only thing stopping Aeon from actually screaming in pain from his previous injuries.

As the Volareon crashed on the ground, Aeon attempted to jump away from it, trying to land well enough for him to survive without many injuries, though failing. He scratched his open back, and bruised both his elbows and shoulders as he managed to roll across the filthy stone. Still, his adrenaline was pumping most of his pain away, and all he cared was to help out. He was beyond the point of fear from death. Just like Ryqos said many a time, death is inevitable, especially for the Iron Hand.

He walked a few steps towards the Volareon, the poor beast was crippled for life. Aeon was now feeling bad for leading it into his crazy battle, but he needed a way to get into it, one way or another. "I'm sorry, girl, I promise I will do what I can to help you, but right now I need to go help my city. I will be back" He talked as if the beast understood him, but he had no clue if it actually did, or what it thought about his words. He said them only so he could feel better, knowing he made a promise, and he wasn't going to break his promises.

Slowly, and barely, he walked across the looted streets, stepping on many things that would usually be happily sold out on this very marketplace. Aeon had no idea, nor did he care enough to check, what were the things on the ground, he just knew they weren't important, as the Qe'dreki had left them there to rot on the stones. On one hand, he was intrigued as to why there weren't any soldiers on the small streets in the marketplace, and on the other hand, he was glad, as he didn't know how he'd be able to fight them in this state.

After picking up the longsword, Aeon sheathed it and kept walking forward, only the Seven knowing what he was even looking for. At first, he thought he was looking for friends, hoping to help someone out, then he thought he was looking for enemies, hoping to find someone who he might defeat in a battle. Though it all mixed in his brain, and for some reason, he couldn't even know if there were any friends of his in this war, considering the ones he trusted wanted to lock him in a tower and forbid him from fighting for his city.

Soon, he heard screams and howls from a few streets down, and his full adrenaline was back. The pain was now lost deep in his thoughts, as his instincts told him to run from the horrifying sounds, and yet he ran towards them. There were people screaming, and he needed to help them. And the howls, they sent chills down Aeon's, and every sane man's spine, as every mortal's first instinct would've been to run from them. Aeon defied his instincts, knowing that fearing his enemy would get him nothing, but facing them would, in the worst possible scenario he would be a distraction so that some innocents may run away from whatever thing was causing those howls. As he closed the distance, Aeon started spotting more and more bodies piled on the ground, left with decimating bite marks, and blood all over them, as well as the walls and the floor. Never before did Aeon hear about a monster that could do such things.

He walked forwards, though slower now, and quickly picked up a bow and quiver from the ground, as the ear-crushing sounds echoed even louder through the air. He drew the shortbow slowly as he turned the corner, and at the first glance at the walking nightmare, Aeon shot. Then he quickdrew another arrow, and another, up to the point when the beast would actually charge at him. Those hits could've as well been horrible misses, but the arrow(s) that hit appeared to do nothing to the monster. It seemed unaffected.

The second the monster would start going towards Aeon, at any speed, he'd draw his sword, ready to slash the monster in half, though he had no idea about how invincible it actually was.

Narrative format | Aeon speaking | Others speaking | Aeon's thoughts

[Zvezdana Venora]

Insatiable hunger. No matter how many poor souls the beast devoured, it continued to be hungry. This hunger continued to fuel its rage. When would a beast born of fire and hate be satisfied? The sound of a last breath left its latest victim barely had an effect on the beast. Another person cried out in shock at the loss of their companion. The beast wagged its tail as it feasted upon the body, leaning down to fit the small morsel entirely into one mouth and swallowing it whole. A fresh plume of smoke pumped forward from the area between its shoulder blades as the body joined the ash that was being pumped into the air. The beast then turned on the stressed and petrified person that had been left to watch his friend die.

Despite having an everlasting hunger, there was something that occasionally permitted the demon to ‘play’ with its food. It crouched, slinking forward as its 3-foot tail whipped back and forth behind it. The cobblestones cracked beneath its massive weight, as most of the 700-pounds were focused on its shoulders. The sharp claws dug into the earth that sprang up from the cracks. One head lashed out a tongue, drops of boiling blood dropping to the ground as if it were saliva. The other head snapped its teeth hungrily at the person, goading it to run. The man remained right where he was, pinned against a stone slab.

Zzzzzzzztttt.

Something zipped past one of the beasts four ears. It paused, the tail arched in an alpha position. Another arrow landed in the neck of one of the beasts, flames licking and charring the shaft of the arrow. The arrow fell as that particular head turned to face Aeon. The other head remained focused on the man. An arrow sank into the burning eye of the distracted head.

The bloodcurdling howl that came next forced the petrified to jump up and run for his life. The beast shook its heads back and forth. It pawed at its eyes, the arrow beginning to smoke as it caught fire. Soon the entire shaft was lit by flames as its body purged the foreign material. What appeared to be blood – be it the blood of mortals or the beast’s blood was questionable – dripped from the injured eye.

Both heads turned on the assailant as another arrow wizzed through the air. The injured eye dropped out of the face of the beast. It would take several ticks before it grew back, but it was possible. The eye would start small, a blip of orange as it grew. When it was replaced, it would burn with the same smoldering hate that was reflected in its other eyes. While this was occurring, the beast barreled forward towards the brave soldier.

The soldier drew its sword, but this did not phase the beast. Metal would do very little with its healing capabilities. Suddenly that same compulsion from before came over it. The beast wanted to play. With too much momentum already, the demon lowered its heads to form a rather firm ram. Although the goal was to beat the Aeon’s chest, it did not expect that the human would be dumb fodder. If he jumped out of the way, the best would take out the corner of the building, brick and wood crumbling to the ground. Its backside and tail would be vulnerable to attack.

If he didn’t jump, Aeon would be pushed up and thrown backwards over the beasts shoulders. Flying threw the air and crashing on the ground like a kitten’s play toy was the demon’s idea of playing with its food. A portion of the building would probably still take a beating, but houses were meant to fall.

[Aeon]

27th of Saun, arc 716

As the first arrow missed, Aeon cursed, not so loud, but his words still being audible to anyone that listened. He kept rapid-firing though, and after the next two shots had hit, one directly in the eye, the squire noticed the monster was coming for him. He grabbed the wooden handle of his weapon while it was still away, and as the distance between them closed, Aeon drew his longsword in a heroic fashion, ready to strike the beast. It was only after the beast came to two or three meters of distance away from him that Aeon actually saw the size of it. He wouldn't beat it by brute-forcing an attack with his sword. In the last few moments he had to think, Aeon jumped as far away from the beast's path as he could, rolling on the ground. His plan had worked.

The demonic monster had kept on charging and hit a wall. Not that it slowed it down at all. The beast just rampaged through the building, taking the entire corner out, and Aeon even had to dodge some of the falling rocks as he struggled to get up. As he ran towards the beast's tail with his sword ready by his side, Aeon felt the slightest bits of blood dripping from his left arm. His landing was rather rough, and it was no surprise that he managed to cut his skin on the small pieces of rocks and even metal laying on the ground.

In a quick succession, Aeon slashed downwards straight at the beast's tail, and if he was to be successful with cutting it, he's just keep going by thrusting straight into the monster's back. It had to fall once, didn't it? If he had failed his slashing attempt, Aeon would remain calm, and keep the sword as a defense, as a means to keep the beast away from him. Even though he saw how the arrows did nothing against the monster, Aeon still believed it could be cut down by a longsword. He still needed to remain hopeful. One man had already managed to escape the jaws of the thing, surely Aeon could help others too.

No way would he give up to this demon beast-like thing. It's two heads and fiery tongues didn't scare him. Not to the point where he would give up, at least. Everyone got afraid, from time to time, and he was told so constantly by Ryqos. The real thing was to not run when afraid, but to fight your fears. That's the only way to beat them. Aeon hoped with all of his heart that it was true. Because if it wasn't, everything he did up until that point was meaningless, and easily forgotten. No. He wouldn't allow this fear to beat him. He was afraid before, and that never stopped him.

If his cut failed, and this beast came at him again, Aeon would attempt to pierce it straight through one of the heads with his sword, but if he was successful, and damaged it, then he'd just keep going, and try to remain behind it, while still poking it both in the legs, and it's back. Agility was the key in both scenarios. Managing to pierce it before he was eaten, or managing to dance around it, remaining at it's tail. There was no other way to beat it than with agility. No mortal could defeat a beast of 1000 pounds of force in a fair match of strength. Not even some Immortals, Aeon thought.

Narrative format | Aeon speaking | Others speaking | Aeon's thoughts

[Zvezdana Venora]

The beast cried out again, although it was difficult to determine if it was in pain or filled with more rage. One head shook the dirt and rubble of the building off of its forehead while the other turned around to look at Aeon shoving his toothpick at its backside. The beast’s tail slashed back and forth and spurts of blood came from its quadriceps where the soldier was jabbing at it. It was a mere annoyance mostly, but the blood did symbolize that this beast was killable. The question became how to kill it. This was a new kind of enemy Rynmere had not seen before. It would take quite a bit of knowledge to bring it to its knees. Then again, poking toothpicks at it was worth a shot.

With a snort of irritation, the beast raised its 3-foot, whip-like tail straight into the air in a very dominant fashion. With a crack it brought the appendage down across the soldier’s face. Surprisingly, the damage could be pretty severe. It contained no hair or fur and was made of sharp bone and sinew. It could split skin when used correctly, and potentially leave marks in wood. As the tail came down upon the unsuspecting soldier, the beast lowered its weight onto its back legs and jumped forward. It did not even care if it made contact upon the soldier. Blood glittered the cobblestone where it had stood. Now it was 10 feet ahead of Aeon, blood dripping from its backside. The beast took a moment, sitting down with its right hind leg pushed out to inspect itself. The far head inspect the leg while the near head sniffed at the inguinal region. It licked between its legs, tasting its own blood. The beast smacked its lips in disgust. Its own blood was foul and rotten. It was not as tasty as fresh blood in these human meatbags. This made it compelled to eat more.

One might notice that the beast was asexual. Unlike other mammals, it did not sport much between its legs or backside. It did not require normal organs as a hellion since it would never feel satiation. As the beast licked its wounds, steam slipped up from where the fire tongue cleansed the injuries. The bleeding stopped as the injuries were cauterized. Once the beast was satisfied, it stood back up, refocusing on its prey. This little ant had spirit, the beast would give it that. Spirit probably tasted a wee bit better than fear.

The beast would have to try it. Again it lunged forward, closing the distance in a couple of strides. It would attempt to latch on to the toothpick that it was using, fastening its bone teeth around the metal. If it was lucky and managed to get ahold of the blade between its teeth, it would begin to shake its head aggressively. The poor man could elect to keep holding on and be shaken like a ragdoll or let go and lose its weapon. Of course, there was a possibility that it would be shaken off its toothpick and thrown through window of a nearby shop.

If the beast didn’t get the sword, it would sail by the soldier, far enough away to come up with another plan.

[Aeon]

27th of Saun, arc 716

For the first time in his life, seeing blood gave Aeon hope. Hope that the monster wasn't invincible, that it could, and would, die. He just needed to keep going, keep pushing forward, and he'd kill it eventually. No matter if it took bits, breaks, or even trials, he wouldn't stop slashing at the thing, not for anything in the world. It needed to die.

Just as the young one was about to pierce it once more, the tail came cracking through the air, going straight for Aeon's face, and stopping at nothing. It was a horrifying view, seeing the giant thing coming for him, Aeon had no time to react, and it's blade-like tail slashed across the left side of his face. As much as he wanted to scream in pain, no sound came out of the soldier's mouth. He tried to touch the bleeding skin, but every time he did, it burned even hotter, to the point where it was unbearable. His vision was also blurred, and the young man had no way to see through his left eye. Fear started pumping through his blood, even more than before, and he panicked for several seconds, just as the beast cleaned it's wound.

There was no giving up. People get wounded in war, and he was lucky to be alive after such a strike. While disregarding all of the pain and blood that came through his face, Aeon readied his sword for the upcoming attack. The monster came, with the agility of a cat, and yet the strength of an elephant, grabbing his longsword. It was the last means of defense Aeon had, so he wasn't just going to let it go. With the first wave of shaking it's head, the monster shook Aeon off, as the poor kid didn't have nearly enough strength to keep holding his blade's handle at that moment.

He flew straight at a wooden door of a building, knocking it down. As he was sitting there, bleeding from both his face and his back now, Aeon thought of ways to defeat the thing. There weren't many, even with his sword, and without it, he was starting to lose hope. He got up, and without much movement, awaited the monser's next move.

All he could do was stand there and hope it was gone, because he had no weapon, he was seriously wounded, and without much armor. If he survived the situation it'd be a miracle, and defeating the thing was more likely impossible. Nothing is impossible.. Aeon reminded himself, again, and again, to the point where he couldn't stand his own inner voice, but he needed to do it. He needed to believe, to hope, and to never give up. If he gave up, everything he did since leaving Warrick was for nothing, he may have as well remained a horse farmer.

Narrative format | Aeon speaking | Others speaking | Aeon's thoughts

[Zvezdana Venora]

The sword lay there between the teeth of one of the heads. It chewed thoughtfully on it, the blood red saliva dripping down onto the ground as the blade cut the gums between its canines. It spat the blade out, dissatisfied with the taste and that its plaything was no longer clinging to his weapon. The other head kept an eye on its prey the entire time as he was flung through the door to the wooden house. With blood popping and boiling in one mouth and saliva dripping out of the other, the beast squared its shoulders on the house, stalking forward with anticipation of its meal.

There was nowhere he could run.

There was nowhere he could hide.

Finally, the predator was going to have its feast.

At least, so it thought. As the demon approached the house, it began to release that the door was far too small for it. One head lowered to try and shove itself into the door. Of course, the other head did not find this fair and began growling at its counterpart. The heads began to fight, wanting at the same prey. They both tried to shove themselves in, but the beast was far too big. One head was successful in shoving part of its face into the door and catching the soldier by the hand. It's jaws clamped down, the fire cauterizing the injury as it swallowed the hand whole. It would have gone for more, but the other head shoved it out of the way.

It laid in prayer position, shoving its front leg and scratching at the wooden floor. The carpet that was there caught in its claws and it dragged it forward. Desperately, the beast tried to reach the soldier, driven made with frustration and hunger. It began to get inpatient, shove its shoulders up against the wall. Dust drifted down from the rafters as the wall teetered with the weight of the creature. The less it appeared to work, the more aggressive the beast got. It reared up, revealing its soft abdomen only briefly to put its front legs on the front wall of the house.

Then it pushed.

Seven hundred pounds of demon pushed on the old worn out wood of the house. One of the beams cracked and threatened to give way. Again the beast pushed, digging its claws into the wood. It growled, pressing its heads against the wood to provide more pressure points. Finally the beam snapped and things began to happen all at once. This beam had been holding the corner at its right angle. The corner began to shift, the roof teetered dangerously on shifting walls. One more good push and things began to fall inward. The small house began to collapse on itself.

Once the dust had settled, the beast began to sniff. Blood from previous kills distorted the smell of a fresh kill. It could not tell if the soldier was dead or not. Broken beams reached out like spikes, preventing the beast from going digging through the rubble. The pieces were large enough that something could have conveniently fallen, creating a pocket to protect the man on the inside. Yet, the beast was not going to wait around to find out. Dissatisfied, it move its attention to its next meal.

In the distance, the sound of men cheering drew the beasts attention. As it stared off into the distance, it felt the pull it had felt initially. There was something beyond the walls it was staring at, potentially a meal worth fueling the fires deep within its belly. No longer entertained with the soldier, the beast bounded away, heading for Midtown.

It was several bits for the beast to arrive at the gate. It did not really care about the ants climbing up the stone walls or those that hammered a giant ram against the large door. It howled when it arrived on the scene, sensing that this door had to go for it to move forward. The walls were too high for it to jump and the stone would not be easy to find purchase on for climbing. The howl drew the attention of the Qe’Dreki soldiers that were manning the battering ram. It did not take long for their fear to send them running. The battering ram was left behind. The hammering on the wooden gates stocked for a mere trills, potentially giving hope to those behind it.

Then came the shrill sound of claws on steel. The beast had closed the distance between it and the gate. It had reared up and dragged its weight down the reinforced wood. Curls of wood fell to the cobblestone beneath it as it began to ram itself against the door, barking with a viciousness that had never been heard of in Rynmere before. Even with the damage that had been done by the ram – several of the hinges were already bent from the displaced weight – it did not fathom how it could bring down the door.

It was the unsatisfied hunger that stirred up a new rage. The fires that had been engulfing human flesh began to spill from its clenched jaws. The demon arched its necks back, sucking in deeply. A red glow seemed to split the muscles of its chest as it prepared to spit. What poured out of the mouth was searing fire. Two large fireballs were spat at the door, catching the splinters where the ram had been dealing its damage. How long the gates had stood was difficult to say, but the wood was old and dry. The fire seeped into the cracks, racing deeper into the wood and upwards towards the stone. Black smoke slipped through the cracks of the door, allowing those on the other side to sense something was wrong.

Again the beast threw its weight at the weakened door. A sick crack sounded as one of hole it had been driving itself against gave way. The demon fell through the gates between Lowtown and Midtown. It came to a sliding halt as it regained its senses. The Qe’Dreki that had fled before saw this as a sign. They believed the demon was on their side and rallied when the gates continued to fuel its hate-fire. With swords drawn, several squads leapt to action storming the gates behind the demon. What they did not expect was the demon to turn on them the moment they entered Midtown.

One poor bastard found himself caught by his armor as the beast grabbed him up. He had run to close and the animal was far too hungry to be picky. It would have liked a fatter meal, but any fast food was adequate at this time. The beast placed a paw on the human’s abdomen, ripping him a part as it devoured the man. Qe’Dreki and Iron Hand gave wide berth as this happened. The entrails hung like noodles from the beast’s teeth as it continued to chew and fight over select portions of the now dead soldier. Clearly, it did not have a preference in this war.

All it cared about was eating.

► Show Spoiler

Thanks Aeon for the thread! I certainly hope you enjoyed it. Griffin will be sending someone your way to give you a hand I believe. Let me know if you have any issues with how this ended. We'll thread again soon! On to Midtown!

[Rita Fenyo]

Saun 27 ,716

Andaris

Something was deeply wrong. Smoke bellowed from the gates and at first Rita suspected that the Iron hand had set it on fire to prevent the enemy coming through. The vicious barking suggested otherwise, soldiers rushing to reinforce. She knew of a few beasts that could breathe fire from her hunter friend Esha, none of which were particularly nice. Even if the enemy had managed to somehow gain a tamed beast of that nature she suspected the “truce” with the beast would not last. With the chaos down the street, it came as no surprise when a group of soldiers arrived to evacuate the wounded.
“The Qe’Derik are through the gates, everyone needs to leave immediately!” Slowly the message spread, from one person to the next, bringing fear into the hearts of those that rested here. Rita packed her things in her bandolier, taking a quick look around. The other healers were being given a talking to by a man very shiny armor. Being Ithecal you pick up a thing or two about arms and armor, this set was purely decorative and the man looked as if he had never seen a battle in his life. She was beckoned over but had things to do. Stopping a squad leader, her patients came before some stuck up officer.
“There won’t be enough stretchers to go around. What you’ll have to do is prioritize those with back and neck injuries, over in that corner. Unfortunately, those with leg injuries will have to hobble with the help of those less wounded. Good luck.”
“Same to you medic, you need it more than I” He nodded and barked orders as per her advice.
The Sev’ryn surgeon came up to her, he looked quite pale. Nervously he met her eyes, this scared Rita more than the distant roar.
“We are to retreat back, the Qe’Derik have broken through the gates and we are at risk” She nodded and went to leave.
“Already working on that I’ve organized-”He cleared his throat to catch her attention, she turned to see the surgeon holding out an officer's pin in his hand.
“Not you Rita” Placing the pin in one of her pouches. “You are to make your way to lowtown and find that flyer. The one that we saw go down remember? If able, he is to regroup with the other flyers to the north of Andaris, you will go with him and stay at their camp and heal the wounded there. If not patch him up and get both of you clear of the city.” Slowly she looked up to him.
”Why me? Of all the medics you can send why me? I’m no coward” This caused him to hesitate, Rita guessing that he had been asked to pick someone rather than being ordered to pick her. Why would a human officer trust an Ithecal with such an important task
”Well you’re the youngest here and that beast the Qe’Derik have tamed can wipe out the city. So in all honestly, you are the first to be evacuated.” Something big crashed against the wall.
”Come on everyone fall back!” The soldiers rushing and getting everyone away. Forming a shield wall across the street continuing from the wooden one.
”Rita, there is no time to argue. Go run” Screams from behind them, tearing flesh. “Two streets over, take the rainwater drains under the walls to lowtown. Run!” She wasn’t going to argue anymore, taking off as fast as she could slither. The crashing of wood from in behind. Finding the right drain cover, lifting it free with the base of her stave and down into the dark dry tunnels.
There was actually two ways out to lowtown, the other being the sewers. Using the sewers was a terrible idea, especially this time of arc. Rain water drains, however, were a good idea, clean and less likely to kill her. The problem was once in lowtown she could no longer get out. Keeping low Rita rushed through the backstreets. Most of this area had burnt out or collapsed by now. It was a sorry sight but then the Qe’Derik was beyond any sort of order or goal so outright raising would be expected. It was very quiet, disturbingly so, gripping her stave tight and moving slow around each corner and fast across open ground. Sighting a large clump of white and dull yellows. There was the beast but no sign of the rider.
Gently she approached the creature, curious to see one up close. She pitied the state it was in, broken wings, arrow wounds and impaled on a post. The creature squawked startling Rita and causing her to stumble. She was surprised the creature was still breathing with such injuries, let alone able to give a loud squawk. Blood dripped from its beak, whining and squirming trying to be free of the spike that held it down.
“Shhhh it’s okay I’m going to help you” holding out her hand she gently approached, the beast nipped at her at first but soon accepted the hand. Petting its head and holding it against her chest.
“It’s okay, let’s make the pain go away shall we” It was so soft and gentle, nuzzling against her with a gentle caw as she readied a syringe of anesthetic. Only one dose left, hopefully, she wouldn’t have to use it. The beast watched her as if knowing what had to be done. It was well beyond saving. Gently she kissed it’s head pushing the needle into its vein.
“I am so sorry I can’t do more” It was a magnificent creature, it felt so wrong to have to do this to it. Its breathing slowed, resting against her chest and giving one last call before going still forever. She wished to stay but had a rider to find.
A trail of blood lead away from the crash site. It didn’t take any skill to follow the drops of blood, the street was clear besides the occasional scattering of ash. She suspected that most of the people here had managed to evacuate before the battle began. The smell of fresh blood told her otherwise, rounding the corner the market was littered with bodies, ripped apart and eaten. Leaning against a wall and dry heaving at the site of such gore. Flies had already started to gather, bodies rotting in the hot suns, the stench overpowering. She fled the worst of it, what she saw next was something unusual. There had evidently been some sort of skirmish here, judging by the blood, however, there was only one sword to be seen and said sword was chewed. The paving stones were cracked and splintered, rubble was strewn across the street. Whatever had been through her would easily weigh a quarter of a ton and fiery. As far as she knew of the local army longswords weren’t issued to flyers. There was someone here, though, whoever had decided to fight the beast if they were alive. Tracing the blood splatters she moved over to a stone building and peered inside the rubble looking for survivors
“Hello, hello, can you hear me?!” cupping her hands to amplify her shout. Little did she know that the fighter was trapped in the building behind her. Whether he could hear or not was another question entirely.

Template made by Aelius for Rita

[Aeon]

27th of Saun, arc 716

The pain was unbearable, completely impossible and something out of this world. Aeon couldn't deal with the quick fire burning off the meat from his bitten off hand, as he fell on his knees. There was no blood pouring from it, there was no real sign the bite had happened only a few seconds ago, only that the hand was brutally taken off. The scars would remain.

The young squire's vision blurred as the impossible beast came crashing into the door frame of the building. It couldn't pass. He wouldn't die. Not yet at least. Then, only moments later, Aeon could hear the entire thing crashing down on the beast, as well as him. Most huge rocks fell around the man kneeling on the floor, yet one of them hit him in the right shoulder, making him fall down and crash his head into the floor. The world was spinning. Aeon could hear the sounds of death and destruction from a far away like they were just besides him. The red liquid covered the stone which crashed into his right side, and the boy could feel everything slowly fading to darkness. He was dead.

For several moments, he was dead. Death was nothing like he pictured it. There weren't ethereal beings which guided him to the heavens, there wasn't an Immortal which showed him the way. There weren't even the dark fires of the underground. There was nothing. Pure black. Aeon couldn't move, he couldn't hear, he couldn't see, and he couldn't say anything. It was like he didn't even exist. Everything that existed was the black. There was no light at the end of the tunnel. Not for the time being at least. And that time felt like lifetimes. Aeon felt like all he knew on Idalos had passed away and was rotting in the cold ground, as new mortals had risen to take the places of the old. He felt meaningless.

Suddenly, he could feel the pain once more. It was killing him. His back, his left arm, both the elbow and the missing hand, his shoulder. It was all so terrifying to the young one, and he couldn't even scream for help. He didn't even want to. He failed. The beast was out there, killing, and yet he survived. He didn't deserve this life. And he surely didn't deserve the light which came from multiple sources. Most of all, he didn't deserve the voice which came calling from a few meters away.

Aeon couldn't see the person that was at the other destroyed building, nor could he hear the words it was saying, but he knew that any person was better than no person. With constant effort, Aeon tried shouting, Aeon tried at least saying something, and yet the words locked themselves in his throat, not leaving under any conditions.

Barely, Aeon moved around in the small space he had between the two big rocks over him, not knowing if there was anything bigger over them that might kill him if he caused an avalanche. Barely a few little pieces fell from the top of the rubble, and it was something the squire couldn't even hear, so his hope started fading. If the person on the other side of the deathtrap payed attention to the other building, they might have realized that the falling of several smaller rocks must have been caused by something on the inside. If not, however, then death would be even closer to permanently grabbing the blond squire's spirit.

Narrative format | Aeon speaking | Others speaking | Aeon's thoughts

[Rita Fenyo]

Silence. Tapping her thigh in impatience and frustration, stepping back to reassess. The sounds of battle had died away, which more than likely meant the Qe’Derik were deep into the city. With a heavy sigh, she took off the bandana letting her hair down. It’s too damn hot. Okay, Rita, let’s look again There was a lot of blood scattered around the area, beast or human she could not tell. Cracks in the ground, two demolished buildings and one badly damaged. Picturing the battle in her head and following where she thought they would have been and what happened.
Something bumped against her tail. Looking down a child's toy had rolled to a stop against her. She retraced the blood splatters, only then noticing the wooden doorframe was clawed and buckled with a bloodstain from where something had hit it. The rubble shifted again, outwards not in. A thought crept in from the back of her mind, something she had yet to address. What if it’s the beast under there. Fear gently crept up her spine, sending a shiver through her body. Breathing hastened, gripping her stave tight and slowly moving closer. There were few gaps in among the shattered rocks and splintered wood, dust covering any sort of colour. Three quick taps with her stave on the rocks as she carefully moved through the rubble.
“If you can hear me stay still till I find you. If you can make a noise do so.” Aeon would have heard the tapping getting away from him, Rita using her stave like a blind man uses a cane listening out for echoes. Finding one she crouched down and began removing debris to see inside. Nothing. Moving back along, tap, tap tap. Three more hollows, by now Rita was starting to lose hope of finding anyone alive. Scratched and bruised, dripping with sweat and breathing heavily. Just keep going, only so many hollows Slowly bringing herself down and pulling away wood and rock, illuminating the space and shining a bright light onto the body of a man. He was breathing
With a relieved sigh, Rita coiled her tail around a post and dangled herself into the gap. Looking over the man's injuries. A lot of breaks and bleeds. Blood was the killer, practically every limb was bleeding out.
“Hello, can you hear me?” looking for life in his eyes. “My name is Rita and I’m here to help” Twisting herself around, gaining access to the pouches on her chest and removing her five tourniquets and painkiller, the non-lethal dose, which was, unfortunately, empty.
”Well cuss” Twisting back around and close to her patient “So what I’m going to do is tie these real tight around your limbs, that’s to stop the bleeding. Then I’m gonna give you a little something for that pain” Not that she was gonna tell him what it was till after. Gently and carefully she cut away what was left of his shirt. Lowering herself slightly to get the band around his arm. Pulling tight till he stopped bleeding, now the other arm. Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t his arm that was cut, but his whole hand had been bitten free. It was mostly cauterised but still needed tying off.
“Okay that’s everything. Now this is going to hurt a little.” she went as if to grab something, getting in close to his neck. Gently she bit down plunging her fangs into a vein and giving him a small dose of her paralysing venom.
“Peh, sorry about that.” Spitting dust and cleaning the bite area, “Now let’s get you out so I can operate”
That was easier said than done with a tonne of rubble over them. With a grunt Rita dropped into the small space, scratching herself on the way. Pressing her back to the rock that blocked their exit and tail against a solid spot. She pushed back using all her strength to shift the rock, screaming in exertion. It shifted a little, but not much. Breathing restricted by the dust she was kicking up. With another push it shifted more, something snapped somewhere. Gasping for air and yelling out as she gave one final push, a loud crash as the rock gave way and shifted, kicking up dust and winding herself as she fell free. With a groan, she dragged herself along, gripped the young soldier securely and gently dragged him free of the rubble. Collapsing in the open ground, gasping for air and coughing up dust. Part of Rita wanted to lay down and sleep, she lost track of how long she had been working and she was hungry. If she did that, however, Aeon would surely die.
”Okay…. Give me a moment…. To catch my breath” Drinking heavily from her water skin, washing her face clean. She did the same for the young soldier, making sure to wash out the deep cut across his face. Then dragging him, again, to shade.
Lacerations to the face, back mostly skinned, left arm broken and hand severed, right shoulder dislocated and a lower back injury that meant one of his legs was at a bad angle. Cursing under her breath slightly, her venom being a two-edged sword numbing pain but also stiffening muscles, making setting bones much harder.
“Just have to make do won’t I. Now my friend, are you able to speak? I can try and clean up this uh…. Amputation and make it neater but that might require losing a little bit more of your arm. Once I stop the bleeding I can remove the tourniquet and I might be able to save your eye, I’ll set your bones last.” She leant closer holding his head up with her rolled up cloak, offering a smile to the blond squire.

[centre]Template made by Aelius for Rita[/center]