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Part 24a: War without end (Jack/Cyan/Kia) =========================================================== JACK DANIEL'S
old time
Old No7
Brand
Quality
TENNESSEE
sour mash
WHISKEY
Whatever that means...=========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Jack ----------------------------------------------------------- OOC: I'm Describing the Carnage , I’ll post Jack's actions in a bit. Each of Jacks strikes was somehow both quiet and oddly disturbing. No pyrotechnics or vast explosions, no ripping, shredding or tearing. One second the world had looked fine in the target areas, in the blink of an eye the world was turned on it’s ear. Once second everything in an are was whole and pristine then next they seemed to be cut into a pieces jumping separated by anywhere from inches to yards. There was no movement, everything was just dismembered in not so neat parts. It was like an alien explosion with no flame or concussion and no expanding movement. Parts of it jumped outwards up to thirty yards without seeming to cross the corresponding distances. In fact it all was pulled apart and jumped in every direction through the miro breaks. On whole the initial burst of separation and destruction was quiet. It was the aftermath that became less then quite as chunks of things rained down after suddenly appearing in the sky. Though the worst part of it all were those pieces of matter that seemed to suddenly occupy the same space. The most gruesome of the worst was when it living matter involved. The front quarter of a spider sticking out of a large chunk of rubble was not a heart warming sight for anyone except some one with a bad case of arachnophobia. Every time Jacks fingers twisted and splayed in their odd movement echoes of power radiated out from him along the tendril and another massive swath of land, buildings and beings were consumed in the alien destruction that came from within Jack. Yet those in the gestalt could feel something as strangely graceful about it as Cyan or Kalika dancing the blade. Jacks attacks took out untold numbers and left it’s mark on a world, instead of individual foes and cuts on a body. There was as much precision in these massive mental attacks as there was for the sword strokes from the warriors. The targets were utterly destroyed , yet leaving the buildings next to them untouched. It was like seeing the jumping path of destruction from a tornado, One house left as splinters with the two beside it left whole and perfect. The worst part of it all Jack was unemotional even on seeing the destruction, burning with that cold fire from inside himself. Reaching out with a mental finger and touching part of a world, leaving death and destruction in his wake. Cold and calculating. . . . The fifth taget was left in ruins. =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Cyan ----------------------------------------------------------- Cyan watches the devastation. Part of her recoils in shock, horror, at the sight of so many deaths. She recalls the hellish power that Berd once levied upon an entire army. This...is much worse. Could Berd do the same? Would he? She believes she knows the answer to the question. That same part of her holds close to Jack, stunned by his emotionless calm. She expected rage, fury. This...razor coldness puds fear in her, fear for Jack, not of him. At the same time, another part of her, buried deeply, watches and approves. Functional. Efficient. Ruthless. All good things, in this war. It surveys the damage, and is pleased by the power and accuracy of the weapon and its wielder. Berd will deal with the attacking enemy, Jack - do not turn from your work. Instead, turn your attention here, and here. With that, Cyan picks out more targets for the fury of Jack's power. Locations where the Archons hold strongly, with cohesion, where they remain capable of putting up an organized defense against Prime's Warriors. A meeting place for them. Their industrial plants. Destroy their infrastructure. Shatter their unity. Ruin their efficiency. Fragment them, and keep them fragmented. Let the jackels take the remains. Cyan's eyes, hard orbs of obsidian with sparkling, diamond pupils, stare into nothingness, looking through Jack's Lens to see the results, even as she continues to compute the next targets for his cold wrath. She avoids the places where the Archons hold their captives, completely. Then her eyes widen. Wait! Redirect - HERE! The target is an oddly twisting tower, and through the lens of the Broken Pattern, one can see power building up, beneath the tower. Now, Jack, hit there, NOW! It may be that the destruction of the tower will unleash devastation upon the world. But they do not have time to check - the power has been growing in reaction to the attack, and must be stopped. ...and pray that it is not a leech.... =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Berd ----------------------------------------------------------- Berd hums to himself, observing in his own, odd way, as the power looms, sweeping towards the gestalt. The glittering in his eyes begins to spiral like mad whirlpools, and he slowly spreads his awareness over the 'front' of their unit, preparing. His alien, enigmatic mind thinks alien, enigmatic thoughts as the Enemy approaches, spiritually close, seeking them. The drake knows that if they 'find' Jack, they will be able to home in on him. They will not find him, though. Berd's lips peel back from his teeth in an expression that is not a smile and, for an instant, out of the vision of the others, a shadow falls on the wall behind him, reaching up to the ceiling like a giant cobra of smoke.... Just a little closer. Closer, now. Private to Kia: {Prepare/ready}, (Rainsprite/formdancer). Now. Private to Dworkin: Silently, Berd thinks to himself, not wishing to give anything away, but finding a certain...satisfaction in his preparations. Fire and brimstone await. Come, Archons. Berd's psychic cloak shifts, suddenly, and echoes infinity, mirrors into endlessness. Face me...and yourselves. =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Jack ----------------------------------------------------------- “Kia, continue assisting Berd please” Jack sent out cool and levelly as Cyan pointed out the next targets. It was a testament to something how well the little band worked together. No holding back, no hesitation, each fulfilling their part. No Jack could not have done this alone, he would have probably died in the biggest blaze of glory the worlds had seen. It took friends and family you could trust to do it right. In the linking gestalt he can feel Cyan recoil in fear, be it of him or for him. It weighs as heavy on his soul as any blow then enemy could have landed. He has no time for it though already targeting the next location Cyan pointed out to him, when she called out to his mind. Warning him of the new sight. Cyan typed:Wait! Redirect - HERE! The target is an oddly twisting tower, and through the lens of the Broken Pattern, one can see power building up, beneath the tower. Now, Jack, hit there, NOW! Quick as lightning he strikes the tower, but this time different “NOGTZ!” Jack says, followed by the gesture and ends up by simply opening the flood gates to all of the energy he can, pouring it into that area to finnish the job. Three strikes in one area, one after the other. With the power word said it becomes quite clear that the hand gesture is the same kind of energy. Something so small as a power word fueled by such vast power from the tempest of breaks, has become something used as a almost unimaginable source of destruction. On par or greater than even the Gatherer. Quickly Jack shift targets not waiting to see if it worked or not and struck the first place that Cyan had pointed him to. His words had either done ther job or they hadn't, he could not give these things time to recover. The meeting place where there were the most of the Archons gathered. Striking only once there with the same hand gesture and odd teleporting attack. Trying to decapitate the enemy infrastructure as Cyan had though. Again he does not stop to check the damage looking back to the place he had hit three times, the tower where the energy had been building up. Checking to ensure that it was no more, from there he would check his last target as well before moving on to their industrial areas. If not he would deal with that then. Cyan are there any places well protected that they could be hiding the leaders, or any sites that THX’s Warriors need help with? I think I could pull off some surgical strikes if need be. Also have some other tricks up my sleeve if needed. I can boost the power of our allies for a short time, or fry the minds of everything in a given area as examples. =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Dworkin (GM) ----------------------------------------------------------- The energy fades from the tower and... Blink Before all of the fragments have even fallen to the ground, fire lashes down from the heavens... a beam of incandescent energy that lasts only a fraction of a second and leaves a bubbling pool of molten glass and metal in its wake. Jack doesn't see it, two more targets are already gone. The flow of Prime's warriors into the battle seems to be slowing. Hardly surprising, there can't be that many left in their rest chambers. THX 1138 estimates the number deployed as four point seven three times eight to the power nine, whatever that means. Cyan just knows that there are a lot of them. The fighting is intensifying, as the Archons bring their bladed wheels into action. Blink Blink Blink Jack continues to sow destruction across the city, with pin-point accuracy... =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Cyan ----------------------------------------------------------- The danger is broken - they move through the worlds for a physical attack, but we are warded by Berd. Jack - strike at the Wheels, now - their infrastructure is damaged, they are disoriented - begin obliterating the pockets of resistance. She quails at the sight of the bladed Wheels beginning to savage the Soldiers - Jack may not be able deal with so many of the enemy in time to win the war. They may yet lose, even if it would be a pyrrhic victory for the Archons. If you can, force them back into their other form...I know not if that is possible! There is one benefit - by concentrating their forces in several pockets of resistance, the Archons have made themselves vulnerable to bombardment, by Jack. A lash of thought from Berd and she nods, her vision flicking to the entrance to Prime's chamber, where a desperate, last stand is being fought. For an instant, communication between Cyan and Berd is a dull buzz in the back of the Gestalt, plans formulated, exchanged, and prepared with dizzying speed. Jack, continue with the strikes against the Wheels themselves. Berd will continue to guide you if necessary. I may be occupied. Diamond centers begin to grow amidst the obsidian surrounding them. Cyan's free hand finds her sketchbook.... =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Berd ----------------------------------------------------------- Berd's laughter rings through the Gestalt like a roll of thunder as Jack's sudden whiplash of power eliminates the threat of psychic reprisal. He withdrawls his defenses somewhat, opening a brief line of communication directly with Cyan. Then his attention focuses upon the world. First, it falls on the passage that leads to Prime's chamber. Rock begins to bleed, forming a blockage halfway up the passage, behind where the warriors battle the wheels, leaving only Prime, alone, in her chamber as Cyan begins to contact her. Then he turns to the soldiers themselves. He cannot affect the Wheels. The Archons are too strong. But their opponents.... Berd's eyes begin to shine like stars as, aside from his sensing of danger, he sets aside all other priorities and focuses the entirety of his will upon their allies. The strain is immense - this is a world he is affecting. =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Dworkin (GM) ----------------------------------------------------------- Prime is there, a presence as cool and massive as a glacier flowing into the mind of the gestalt. Cyan, the warriors report that the Archons are close to me, and that something has sealed the tunnels. Also, they themselves seem different, more sharp-witted and dangerous. What is happening? THX 1138 uses the contact with Prime, and through to the warriors, to update the map of the city that is being maintained as a floating image which seems to hover in front of Jack and Cyan. Blotches of red now show places where the fighting is most intense, and rivers of orange mark where the major Archon movements are taking place. More green targets flare; pockets of resistance that the warriors have found, but have not yet launched a major attack against. =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Jack ----------------------------------------------------------- Berd can you find out if the Archon’s are in a gestalt? Have prime direct the Warriors to take out the bladed wheels as quickly as possible NOW He pulled the target back, spreading it as far as he could to try and engulf as many of the major conflict areas as he dared. “SHANG!” he barked the word of power. Trying to force the bladed wheels into a non lethal form if only for a bit to give their alien allies a chance. Then to strengthen the chance he suddenly focused in the spider warriors making brief contact with one. Through it he made brief subtle contact with the whole. “FORZT!” he sent a pure bust of luck and good fortune to their allies including prime. Followed by a burst of sheer life force to give them power and strength. “LIEVZ!” Jack not wanting to pull his attention form tasks at hand, hopped that Berd could find out if the Archon’s shared a mind. Jack could then take the battle to the mind now that they were weakened and rip through them mentally without damaging anything else physically. Again without waiting to see the result of his work Jack focuses on the rivers of Orange and places of green. Trying to do as much damage as he can to their movement and pave the way for the warrior strikes. Occasionally focusing in on a place of Red to see if he could strike an gatherings of Archons while minimizing damage to Primes people. Trying to assist them and give them the edge. Please let me know if I need to protect Prime. . . I know I can take out individuals if need be. . . It will just take me longer to home in! =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Cyan ----------------------------------------------------------- Prime - It is my allies who have sealed the tunnels to you, blocking off any attackers - should the seals be breached, I will require you to reach for me. Merely touch me, my image you see before you, and I will come to defend. The Soldiers are being strengthened, temporarily, by my allies as well! Keep me informed of the disposal of the tunnels! As Jack summons the power to control the forms of the Archons, Cyan nods with approval, both mentally and physically. There is no need to instruct Prime to instruct her warriors - the Soldiers will react, instantly, driven by instinct. It is, after all, why they threw themselves, heedlessly, into death. Then Jack adds to Berd's hellish mixture a touch of luck, a touch of strength.... Strike at the orange flows, Jack, and the green - yes, you have anticipated me. Here, and here. Cut these from joining. Keep them separate. Stop this, and break this bastion. Keep strong, Jack, and now here! Still linked, awaiting news from Prime, Cyan picks through the information, giving Jack what he needs to strike with maximum effect on the entire structure of the Archon's forces. =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Berd ----------------------------------------------------------- Berd pushes harder. Reality folds and twists before his will. The Archons are monstrous creatures of pure, distilled malice. Now they will face something more terrifying than themselves. A horde. A horde of unstoppable, implacable foes. Berd raises his head, and the outline of his body wavers, as if comprised of smoke. The little dragon exerts himself to his fullest, and the room begins to grow more bright with the burning light shining from his eyes. An image swims in the mind of the drake for an instant, visible to all those in the gestalt - a sword of fire, placed in pale, shining hands. Then a thousand such flaming swords, raised against a curtain of blackness sweeping down over all. At the same time, a piece of his conciousness detatches, hunting, seeking for a guiding force behind the Archons, a group mind, or a leader. They have organization...where is the 'queen'? Private to Jack: And they came, and with the weapons I created, were cast down.... =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Jack ----------------------------------------------------------- Kia, feel the power I use! Touch it with your mind and focus one of the weaker, controlable currents into Berd to use at his disposal! Pour the power into him and help him to your fullest now Jack easily fell back into quickly and efficiently following Cyan’s directions. It took so much of the confusion and pressure off of him to be able to simply strike at a target. Rather than having to seek for one himself. Cyan’s knowledge of war far surpassed his own and up to the second updates had saved them much grief already. Point, fire, point, fire. . . Yes he was thankful he did not try this alone or even with just the drake, who had proved himself time and gain in this skirmish. Even Kia’s silent support had helped, lending power and control where it was needed. It was funny that Jack should find so much to be thankful for in the midst of such destruction. Then again it was also a reason to continue to fight harder even though so many words of power were taking a quiet toll on the broken man. He pressed on. . . As a man that was no stranger to war, he just did not fight them in the same way as others. Blink Blink Blink Without a though as to the life and destruction. . . Though not so coldly as before, each death was an innocent life saved, a torment averted. =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Dworkin (GM) ----------------------------------------------------------- It starts slowly... a warrior smashes the supports of a bridge, causing it to drop onto one of the Archons, pinning many of the razor-sharp blades and preventing the Archon from rotating effectively. Linked through Prime, every warrior instantly knows of this new tactic. All across the city Archons find themselves cornered and trapped beneath falling structures. The warriors swarm over the trapped ones, suddenly faster and more cunning. Blades are grasped in black metal mandibles, and ripped away from the main mass. In the tunnels two dozen warriors sacrifice themselves to bring the roof down on the attacking Archons. The tide starts to turn. The improved warriors are even more ruthless than before, and the Archons are driven back across the whole city. =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Cyan ----------------------------------------------------------- The icy, diamond core within Cyan watches with cold, dispassionate satisfaction as the warriors continue their tide of destruction, slowly sweeping over the sand castle of the Archon's supremacy. Jack, be more careful with your attacks, now. We must strike at the areas where the warriors are not engaged - here, and here. Archons are massing again in these 'green' sections - obliterate them. Once they are routed, begin with selective strikes against the pockets of resistance. But do not slow - this is the time to push harder than ever! Slowly, the Bard breathes out, her shoulders relaxing. Slightly. She had been prepared to take to the tunnels, but now...Perhaps not necessary. Still, she is wary. Cyan's hand, still on Jack's shoulder, tightens slightly. "The beginning of your retribution, Jack," she whispers. There is a tinge of sadness in her tone, then, as she stares into the lens to watch the endless march of destruction. Sadness for Jack, and for the Spiders. Their world has changed.... She continues to target points for Jack to hit, asking for massive, explosive destruction - shock value - on the places where pinpoint accuracy is unnecessary. =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Berd ----------------------------------------------------------- Berd, mostly satisfied with the Soldiers' development, continues to push for smaller improvements - greater resistance to damage being the main one. They seem to be doing quite well in other departments. With his energies diminishing, though, the little dragon slows his efforts, wearily taking up the duty of again searching for some kind of guiding mind to the Archons. He sweeps through the world, hunting for a mind *not like* the others, realizing that his chances of scrying such are minimal. But exhaustion grows, and the little dragon knows that he is limited, now, in how much he may affect the world. Scrying is easy. Scrying will leave strength for defense, should it be needed. The Drake pauses, taking a moment to survey their own 'worldling', checking for penetration, dissolution, Enemy action. Then Jack orders, Kia responds, and Berd, scrambling desperately to find a reason NOT to accept the power, is handed a bowlful of might. Berd's eyes widen until they seem like saucers attached to his tiny head - comical, almost, save for the invisible, inaudible shockwave that passes from his body. High above, the clouds twist and the air warps with a thunderous boom, the impact of growth shunted into the atmosphere. Exhaustion is gone. Berd swims in a sea of energies, and feels part of himself fall away, tumbling and lost in the storm. But another, buried aspect of himself tears free, rising to meet the demand. He turns his attention upon the Archons. The Spiders must be saved - their world must be preserved. But that is his only leash. =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Dworkin (GM) ----------------------------------------------------------- Suddenly Prime is there again, Cyan! The warriors have told me... the sky is on fire above them! Archons are falling from the high places where they went to rest! An image comes to mind; Jack, when he came to the Shadow before, had seen a river of light in the night sky above the city. Now the whole sky is burning, and the Archons are falling, spinning groundward like leaves in autumn. Most are blackened as if by great heat, and none are burning with their own fires. The speed with which they strike the ground destroys them, and it is fortunate that none drop within the city. =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Jack ----------------------------------------------------------- Jack follows Cyan’s instructions with brutal efficiency changing the attacks to fit the situations, pushing himself to the limits of his psychic abilities and control. . Here he strikes by dumping a mass of pure power, leaving nothing but scorched Earth in a blinding flash. There he strikes with a Psychic blast that leaves all the buildings untouched, but fries all the minds in the target area. A tangle for twitching Archon forms left in the wake. Psychic and natural Maelstroms spring up along the Archon highways and paths. Beads of sweat form and roll down Jacks brow, his face contorted in effort and concentration. Each strike brings a chant of “Die! Die you bastards. You can not just do as you please with worlds! ” He moves on to the more pinpoint surgical strikes that Cyan points out to him, falling back on the faster more accurate blink attacks. Striking with lethal speed as each target was pointed out to him. Who knew that wasted hours on missile command as a teen was just practice for them main event. Still even with the venom that fills Jack right now, it is so cold. A bitter cold fire filling his chest, feeling like it is threatening to burst. Then fire rained from the sky as Archon’s fell. Jacks concentration shook for a split second, though he recovered quickly enough siting the nest target. However now he spoke. “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.” he breath a sharp intake of breath as he watched. “Cyan! Berd! What is happening!?! Did you do that Berd?" =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Cyan ----------------------------------------------------------- The Bard grits her teeth, struggling to make sense of the bleeding vision before her, colours changing as information swirls in from THX 1138, attempting to keep ahead of the rapid strikes Jack sends down, over and over. Her oddly shaded eyes now turn to Jack, feeling the growing weariness within the man, held at bay by his immense will. Jack...be careful.... Then the world catches flame, and at the same time, Cyan jerks violently, feeling the psychic howl from Berd as he looses his fury. "That..." Cyan shakes her head, answering first Prime, then Jack. "Prime, that was our weapon - we have found a use for it to even the advantage the Archons gain with flight. They will no longer be able to hover out of the reach of the Soldiers." Jack...it is Berd. Something has changed. The power alters him, changes him...heals him? Fear, there, as she stares at the fulminating dragon, his form wavering and blurring within his own brilliant aura. Do not stop! He remains in control...in part. We have them in shambles, Jack - continue with the strikes, but now, concentrate on eliminating the enemy in detail! Shatter all within one area, however long it takes, then move to the furthest from that, allowing the Soldiers thus freed to take their battle to the closest area to them! =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Berd ----------------------------------------------------------- Berd's body wavers again, another time, another crackling boom echoing far above the tower. He rises on hind legs, wings fanning in fiery arcs. Private to Jack: Speak not of Heaven, Jack of Shadows...continue with your battle, for our task is not yet complete. I weaken...I could not have done what you have, and you must continue.... '...the Sulphurous Hail Shot after us in storm, oreblown hath laid the fiery Surge, that from the Precipice Of Heav'n receiv'd us falling, and the Thunder, Wing'd with red Lightning and impetuous rage....' I CAST YOU DOWN - TO THE PITS WITH YOU! DIE AMONG THE DEMONS OF YOUR OWN BEGETTING Rising into the air within the tower, Berd's shifting form burns with a golden light. =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Jack ----------------------------------------------------------- “Berd! Are you okay!” Jack calls out continuing with the varied strikes, catching them in group when he could, striking lone targets when he had no choice. following Cyan’s guidance to the letter. Target after target it all became a blur as the broken man faced a seemingly endless sea of destruction. “Berd please, talk to me, talk to me Berd. Tell me what’s happening. I can’t afford to break it off now, to much is at stake.” He could feel his concentration slipping as fatigue and worry took it’s toll, he miss a target almost completely. having to attack the same spot a second time, still the man kept striking as fast as Cyan presented him with new targets. His hair now matted to his head by sweat and his body trembling ever so slightly. Even so he could not spare a glance for his draconic friend, not with a world hanging in the balance. =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Dworkin (GM) ----------------------------------------------------------- On the world where the Archons had ruled for so long over a seemingly subjugated population, things are not going well for them. They are under attack from all sides, using weapons that they cannot even define, let alone defend against. They try to rally, and from time to time they seem to succeed, only to have their forces broken by thousands of unknown creatures. Their reserves, their bloc leaders, all have been destroyed before they could be summoned. They have sent a group to find the source of the attacks, but they have not returned. Nothing is going right. Senses strain to detect the attacks, to give some warning which would allow the targets to teleport clear, to no avail. There is nothing to detect. And however the attacks are guided, they are deadly accurate. And now the ultimate horror. Something long forgotten has returned. Streamers of flame lash down from the sky, and the burning clouds are blasted apart by hurtling meteors which, impossibly, strike only the places where the Archons are huddled. The explosions are literally deafening. The rain of shattered glass from the broken buildings is even louder. All pales into insignificance though, before the VOICE which roars from the fiery Heavens... LEAVE THIS PLACE NOW! I CLAIM IT FOR MY OWN! LEAVE NOW, LEST I SHOW YOU WHAT IT TRULY MEANS TO SUFFER!" =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Cyan ----------------------------------------------------------- Cyan staggers at the sight - between the shockwaves of Jack's power rolling across the world, and this...new devastation, she feels battered in her spirit. "Melcaquétima!" she gasps, mind struggling to keep up with the tactical analysis of the 'battle'. Battle no more. It has become a rout. The Archons' structure, what little remained, dissolves under the tri-pronged attack from Jack, from the Soldiers, and from the sky. The broken remmnants flee, only to be shattered by the forces that have been leveled against them since the beginning, torn by the Soldiers, or beaten down under the new power, falling upon them. "Jack! We need...a prisoner!" Cyan cries aloud, staring up at Berd in stunned horror. "Secure one, if you can - Berd cannot, I think! If you cannot take a prisoner, then take information, directly! You have the power - do so! Who is behind this? What is the next link of the chain?" =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Berd ----------------------------------------------------------- The incandescent form hangs in the air of the tower. Private to Jack: Jack of...Shadows. Continue...the battle...do not stop. Do not stop! The shining light wavers. =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Jack ----------------------------------------------------------- “Melcaquétima! What the heck is that?” Jack hears both and is torn, not certain if he understood Berd correctly. Cyan wanted him to get information, Berd had told him to continue the battle. Now he found himself fighting an internal battle, one that ended quickly “Berd! I can’t continue. . . I can’t take the chance of not getting the information!” with that the tendril shot out searching for the closest Archon of the greatest rank and made mental contact hoping it would be Uriel, willing it to be that Archon. “Cyan, keep contact with Prime and let me know if we have any problems I need to deal with quickly!” he called out to her forgetting they were in psychic contact. Now was the time to gather information. . .Still someone needed to keep them busy and whoever was attacking from the sky just confused Jack. He hoped it was Berd, he prayed it was Berd. . . “Kia!!! Is there any way you can take over the attacks for me!?!” All the time seeking a Archon mind that knew something. =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Dworkin (GM) ----------------------------------------------------------- There! Jack's tendril finds what it seeks. An Archon mind, filled with terror, desperate for escape. The tendril coils around it, and pulls. It starts to move, and just for a moment it feels as though something resists that pull, and then it gives way and Jack reels the tendril in. The Archon appears in the lighthouse, howling and pinned in place by the tendril. And something else too, something darker that drops to the floor, leaving the Archon torn and bleeding light and fire, and unfolds to become one of Prime's warriors. Metal mandibles as long as Jack's arms, and sharper than any razor, spread wide as the glittering black creature uses unimaginable senses to survey the room. Then, with a hiss, it flows towards Jack, multiple limbs moving in perfect sequence... =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Cyan ----------------------------------------------------------- "No!" Prime! One of your warriors is HERE! Then the contact is severed as the book flies into the corner. Cyan reacts with blurring speed, moving to come between the enemy and Jack, Kirilindë flickering - not to kill, but to hold off, to hurt, to make it reconsider. She knows full well it will not hesitate to die in order to kill the enemy, as it sees it, but...at the same time, its increase in intelligence might make it crafty, more willing to wait.... "Someone...hold it! Send it...back! THX 1138...Kia! Someone!" Her sword a wheel of shimmering, rainbow light, she strikes to wound, to force back, to maim if necessary. And as she does the obsidian in Cyan's eyes begins to fade, the diamond growing. =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Jack ----------------------------------------------------------- Jack sat in shock at the shear raw power at first with the Archon before them. He did it? He actually brought one here. He could never have. . . . He shouldn’t have been able to. . . . The shock and victory were short lived and the danger presented it’s self with deadly mandibles, bred had done his job ever so well. Now they were facing a beast of their own doing, their own demons so to speak. Jack had to hold the Archon, tying up his only tendril. To release it meant that they would have double trouble. So instead Jack sat there holding the Archon, no armor, no sword and the frying pan would not do much good. Still he was not totally defenseless and could back Cyan up when the time came. The power word rose to his lips, it would at least give Cyan opportunity when push came to shove. He may not be able to take his tendril from the Archon, but he can do something fast and dirty. Beyond that he sat there holding the Archon in place and said “Cyan, you’ll probably have to kill it. . . You can’t afford to play with an opponent and I can’t afford to let the Archon free to have access to this place.” =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Berd ----------------------------------------------------------- Danger.... Berd hovers, silently, shining so brightly it is almost impossible to see the dragon's form...and what lies within the aura only bears a superficial resemblance, from moment to moment, to the little Drake. But the aura has begun to pulse, wavering slowly, weakening. Danger... The thought penetrates a terrible, consuming purpose. Laboriously, Berd turns a fraction of his attention towards the room. =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Dworkin (GM) ----------------------------------------------------------- Cyan intercepts the warrior, Kirilinde slicing and slashing at its armoured exoskeleton, slicing off a foreleg at one of the joints, carving off the tip of a mandible. The warrior keeps trying to push forward, but the bard holds it back. The blind head swings left and right, trying to push the great jaws past her guard, to no avail. Suddenly it pushes backwards as far as it can, then launches itself forward, mandibles spread wide in an effort to overpower Cyan... And at the last instant it is slammed sideways by a blast of water and knocked onto its back. Cyan glances away, and back again quickly. Kia is standing beside her father, right palm outstretched towards the overturned warrior which is struggling to right itself in the two-inch deep water which is now sloshing around the floor... The Archon is pushing against Jack's tendril, howling incoherently, but unable to break free... Berd seems to flare with light, there is a shudder through the structure of the tower, and the warrior is gone. Except for two of its legs which continue to thrash about in the water for a few seconds before laying still. Cyan hears a splash behind her, and the hissing of steam, and Kia yells, "Berd!" =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Cyan ----------------------------------------------------------- Relief shadows the brilliant light has fallen on Cyan's thoughts, and faint hints of topaz begin to colour her eyes. "Kia! My thanks - I feared I would be overwhelmed!" Turning, she points her blade directly at the struggling Archon. "Be silent!" Not really caring if it actually follows her command, the Bard sprints to where Berd lies, feet skidding on the soaking floor, and stares down at the little dragon. Steam rises from around his silent body, and bubble are frothing at his snout, where it touches the water. Reaching out, hesitantly, Cyan discovers a chill in the air; it seems the drake is ice cold. One of the many oddities that surrounds him. Carefully, shivering against the sensation, Cyan picks him up, letting his head and body droop in her arm to allow his throat to drain of any water that might have infiltrated. "I must discover how things pass, with our disappearance." Finding her sketchbook, luckily having landed on one of the chairs, Cyan begins flipping onehanded to find Prime's sketch. "Jack - Kia. Can you hold that creature longer?" The Bard cannot help but pause for an instant, even in the middle of the chaos, to look Jack up and down. A wave of relief strikes her, then. Exhausted, but unharmed. Nothing that sleep cannot heal. Nothing wounded in body, in any case. Spirit is another matter. Perhaps, the Bard considers, Kia's presence may help with that. Jack's daughter.... Shaking those concerns from her mind, Cyan turns to the sketch. Thoughts for another time...Prime. Do you yet live? =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Jack ----------------------------------------------------------- Jack had started to move as the arachnid terror had prepared to lunge only to find his Daughter standing beside him. Protecting Cyan with a blast of water, the flood of relief he felt was as great as the flood that hit the gibbering horror. then in the blink of an eye the creature was gone. He glanced at the terrified Archon and Said mentally as well as physically, “Stop struggling, don’t force me to have to kill you. You are a prisoner now. . . behave and you may yet get out of this alive.” Jack’s voice was calm and calming, yet some how still cold. “I think I can hold him, I will get the information as quickly as possibile.” A note of worry crept into his voice as he spoke to Cyan, “Berd. . . Let me know if he need healing or my help in any way.” His attention turned back to the Archon, and he started trying to read it. Leafing through the files of it’s mind intrusively, reading it’s emotions passively. As he did so he spoke in the same calming if cold tones. “If you cooperate totally, I will heal you and find a safe pleasant prison for you to live out your days in. If you do not cooperate I will shred your mind piece by piece, taking the information anyway and leaving nothing unbroken. You will die painfully, in unimaginable pain as I light up the pain centers of your brain. The choice is yours. . . Healing and the chance of pleasant life as a captive in a paradise, or the slowest most painful death you could imagine.” “What is your name Archon? Also who, what and where is the Broken God? Do not lie to me, I am reading your mind even now as we speak and I will know it if you lie.” Jack sounded as if everything he was saying was simply cold hard fact as he questioned the captive. =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Dworkin (GM) ----------------------------------------------------------- Jack, pinning the Archon with a tendril boosted by the awesome elemental forces of this place, probes the creatures mind as it howls and struggles. The heat from it is fierce, and the malice seems palpable to all present, a constant pressure bearing down on them. As it jerks and slams itself against the force Jack is exerting, the stone wall behind it starts to bubble and crack. Plaster falls from the ceiling in fine streams. Finally though, it speaks coherently, + I AM CALLED HOCHMAEL + REMEMBER MY NAME SO THAT YOU WILL KNOW WHO COMES TO SLAY YOU + Jack finds a place in its mind and squeezes, and the Archon shrieks in pain, a noise like the twisting and scraping of metal upon metal, and from up the tower stairs there comes the sound of glass shattering. + YOUR END WILL BE AS TEN THOUSAND DEATHS FOR THIS ACT + Barely heard through the sounds of the storm and of the angry Archon, Berd whimpers in his sleep and Kia reaches to comfort him. Prime's voice reaches Cyan through the Trump image, I live still, Cyan, and the Archons sdrrt fleeing, those few who glrxach left alive. I believe that we hrrchrrkt victictictorious. =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Cyan ----------------------------------------------------------- "Kia," Cyan whispers, "take Berd." Silently, she hands the little dragon off to the girl. "He should be fine." I hope. I have never, ever seen this before, not even when we... Shaking her head of that awful image, Cyan blinks a few times before returning her attention to the palanquet. "Prime - are you well? I am having difficulty comprehending what you say...have you been injured?" Her amber eyes flick to the creature, held down, and she listens to its litany of threats. The desperation is apparant, there. "It will not speak to us, Jack, and I do not wish to listen to its screams. Can you tear the information from its mind, and then destroy it? That thing will never forgive, never forget, I can see that now. Take what we need, then slay it, cleanly." Consider the Archon, awaiting Prime's answer, Cyan continues to muse. For we cannot become as they are, in order to defeat them. =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Jack ----------------------------------------------------------- “The choice is yours HOCHMAEL.” Jack focused all of his attention on holding the firey being in place and forcing it’s flames to be pushed back. Summoning the elemental aspects of air and water against the flames. I don’t know Cyan, last time I tried this I got one bit of information and killed it.” Then he turned his complete attention to the Archon and focused intently. He sought it’s mental sense of self, it very ego and will. Trying to single this aspect of the being out from all else and then driving his mind and the power home like a lance, like a surgical strike to destroy it’s will without harming it’s memory. Trying to give it the equivalent of a psychic lobotomy, destroying only that part if it that had will, Id and ego and leaving the rest memories whole so he could pick through them. =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Dworkin (GM) ----------------------------------------------------------- Apologies, Cyan, but the wa-a-a-a-a-ll of the chamber has beeeen cracked. Workers fzbktrrr on the way to repair it now. It will be well. "Thiz haz happened bevore, Zyan." THX 1138 speaks, while watching the trapped Archon with red-glowing eyes. "The wallz ov the chamber are exztenzionz of Prime'z mind. Onze repairz are made, then thingz will return to normal." Kia cradles the little drake in her arms like a baby and moves as far from the Archon as she can with him. The Archon struggles against Jack's hold, attempting to drive him out of its mind. The building shakes as it tries to escape, and fragments of stone and plaster and wood splash into the water swirling back and forth across the floor. Jack increases his pressure, and the Archon fights harder, burning brighter as it becomes more frantic. Rivulets of stone start flowing down the wall, glowing a dull red and sending up clouds of steam when they reach the floor. =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Cyan ----------------------------------------------------------- Cyan stares at the wall for a moment, then swallows. "Kia, prepare yourself. Can you do anything to seal that breach, for the nonce?" Her hand falls on her deck. Berd is unconcious, and so...Jack's pack. On the ship. No! There can be nothing in there that is worth my life, or Kia's! Going out into the storm, Cyan thinks, will cost them dearly. And now the tower threatens to come down around their ears. "Prime, I must go. I shall contact you anon." The sketchbook into her pack. Pack onto shoulder, and Cyan draws a single card after a moment's searching. The card of 'home'. I do not wish to go there, but it is the quickest...perhaps not at my cabin. The card is replaced into her deck, and Kirilindë jumps into her hand. "All of you, to me, now. Jack, push hard - we have little time!" she cries. Quickly, the Bard moves to stand beside Jack. No time! Furiously, the Bard considers possibilities. She could attempt to grasp the power...no, Jack holds the power, to use against the Archon. And she, in any case, has not Jack's lens, allowing her to see what to do, how to repair.... "Kia, if you can change the water coming through to ice, buy us a touch more time, I would be most appreciative," the Bard states through gritted teeth, staring with ruby eyes at the widening crack. "If not...asisst your father - lend your strength to him." The sword flares in her hand, brilliant rainbow light filling the room as the Bard begins the process of taking them away. But not yet. Not yet. =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Jack ----------------------------------------------------------- Jack pales, even with the extra power this is not being easy at all. beads of sweat forming on him anew. “Calisto. . .” Jack says the name, he has found at the same time stepping back before the heat. “Does. . . that. . . mean. . . anythhhing. . . Cyan?” He says trough a grim expression. He redoubles himself pushing his pyschy at the being of fire before them, searching for any thing he could use to his advantage. He pull calls upon every trik he knows. Seaching cfor break in the defences forcing them. Trying to find it's mental weaknesses. Ponding it svaagly where he has no choice. All for more information, all for answers. Who or what is Calisto He demands mentally Shouting the word of power “ZZAAQ!” as he does so to get the extra burst of Psyche as he tries to force through this things mental defenses. Who what and where is the Broken God!!! The next slamming wave of mental force as he soght an opening What are the plans!?! What were you doing on that world!?! Jack found himself shouting his questions to the beast at the same time he souted them through the mental contact. =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Dworkin (GM) ----------------------------------------------------------- With Berd unconscious, the storm returns with renewed fury as the tiny fragment of Shadow tries in vain to find some stability. The whole tower is shaking under the impact of forces which are almost behond comprehension, both outside and inside the structure. Kia struggles to hold the broken wall together, adding layer upon layer of ice, but with the heat from the Archon, the ice doesn't last long. Overhead something falls with a loud crash... Cyan stands ready. An orb of rainbow light held before her, just waiting for the final effort which will open it like an irridescent rose, to reveal the gate within. The sound of tearing wood echoes down the stairs... The Archon is white hot, and painful to look upon. It's howls and shouts of rage cause the ears to ring. Behind it the stone of the wall is flowing like water. Then, with a flare of heat that catches everybody by surprise, the creature is through the wall. Wind and rain blasts in through the hole, and the Archon is gone! There is a rumbling noise, and then the floor shakes. Through the hole fragments of stone and glass and furniture can be seen bouncing across the reef. The tower is falling... =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Cyan ----------------------------------------------------------- "Swine!" Cyan snarls as the Archon vanishes into the Broken World. I pray Jack found something other than a name - we have no time, now, none at all! "Jack, come! Everyone, we must flee this place - hurry, take hold of my shoulders!" Hope fills her as the contact comes and Cyan stares through the gate, struggling to see if the forest she left behind is still there. For an instant she has a nightmarish thought, that the gateway will open and they will stare through it into blackness, the howling, gibbering blackness of the Gatherer...with an effort, she thrusts that thought aside. Amethyst eyes shine in the wierd, flickering light, and the Bard struggles to see into the next world. Her own, up upon the hillside, a little over a mile above her cabin. =========================================================== Re: Part 24 - War without end by Jack ----------------------------------------------------------- For a brief moment Jack screams feeling the Psychic shock of the things horrible death as his own. Still he stayed with it to it’s bitter end, searching for anything, His body went rigid, like a string pulled tight where he stood. Just as quickly it was over. He blinked, glanced around regaining his bearings. Quickly reaching out and grabbed Kia and pulled her to Cyan, grabbing onto Cyan with his other hand. “GO!” He shouted. Pulling Kia in to protect her and Berd, as well as making certain they were in contact with Cyan. ===========================================================
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