The Kethencian College of Magic RP (Part 3)

[Tsubasa & Wen Tien]

"What do I want?" Asoka replied, trying not to give in to the voice. "Among my people, there is a saying, 'Power and glory are good. However they only are applicable in destroying your enemies.' I want your death, Acolyte!"

Having given her response, Asoka formed wheels of fire mimicking Murasaki in form, throwing them at the shadowy Acolyte with a single gesture of the hand holding Murasaki.

[Marvelous Miscreant]

The Acolyte smile fell and his brow furrowed slightly.

"Tsk, such a shame. What I could have done with your fate."

The wheels of fire collided with the acolyte, setting him ablaze and searing him to ash. With one simple attack, he was gone.


But he was far from dead.

A chuckle drifted back from the great beyond and the ash swirled on invisible winds. In collected and formed the acolyte's laughing frame.His body reconstructed and he leered at Asoka.

"My fate is not for you to decide child. I, Daramos, hold the contract to my fate. Without as signature, no one person can direct my fate. You were a fool not to take my offer young mage. Without my gifts of fate manipulation. You are destined to die this night. Now DIE!"

With Daramos' words, A massive sword plunged towards Asoka. The Warrior Acolyte had approached as Daramos held Asoka's attention. As Asoka reacted to the Warrior's attack, Daramos faded back into the shadows and dissipated. However his voice remained.

"Now, if you'll excuse me I have other contracts to exploit. A friend of yours owes me an army of constructs...he he he he he he...."

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

Caught off guard by the piercing noise, Billy shakes and fumbles his attack.

Instead, he just slams bodily into her.

[Philote]

Zauber tried to refocus his eyes after they Harpists last outburst. The scene before him had changed very quickly in the few seconds it had taken him to do this. Already, one of his foes had vanished from the field.

He was prepared to do whatever he could to assist Billy with his assault so that the deafening noise could not be unleashed again, but then the sight of Asoka caught his newly focused eyes. A massive sword was now being aimed at his ally.

From on top of EarthShaker, Zauber released the motes to cast his spell. An archway of stone rose up around Asoka, formed from the material that made the college's floor, to catch the warrior's blade.

"Hit him hard Asoka! I'll do what I can to make sure the attack hits!"

[Tsubasa & Wen Tien]

Hearing Zauber's cry, Asoka began concentrating and formed a sword out of her raw mana channelled through Murasaki, condensing it down until it was several hundreds of layers thick then swung it at the Armored Mage, dodging around the obstacles in her path.

[Ericus Europaeus (Bug)]

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[Zaleramancer]

Which each act of violence, each blow of weapon, each drop of blood, the crows grew larger. Grew darker. Grew more real.

Tiberius watched.

It was time.

The birds converged on each other, flowing into a single being. Feathers and wings merged and split, combing and vanishing.

Blood and slaughter. One of the countless children of war. Asoka would know it well. It was glory in the slaughter, the raising high of ending lives. The certainty of death by a sword or spear or axe- Death by things made to maim and hurt and kill.

But it was more. It was the beauty of it all. The beauty of a predator. It was why a sword was such a beautiful thing- both because and despite of being made to end men's lives.

It had been born when the first of creatures raised up arms against it's brethren and would die when the last warrior died.  

It was a thing, concept, idea, philosophy, pattern. Some ephemeral and not properly alive.

Until now.

Coppery mana spun like sheets, wrapping around the spinning sphere of wings and feathers. Forcing form on the formless, giving strength and speed.

A hand reached forward. A corpse white woman's hand, lean and dexterous. Another came. And one foot, then the other. As the wings merged into a single vast jet-black pair, coppery mana forged itself into metal- bits of armor flashed and flowed onto the figure.

The wings snapped apart at last, like a butterfly flushing free of cocoon. Sparks and arcs of electricity danced across them as a woman hovered on inky wings. A helmet in the crook of one arm, her other hand tapped a martial tune on the hilt of a sheathed sword.

Her tawny bird's eyes surveyed the carnage and her pretty mouth curved upwards in devilish glee.

Her kind had a name. Tiberius had read of the many names. But one had stuck with him. One from Earth.

They called this.. a Valkyrie.

[Celadon's Penultimate]

Wulf had had a feeling about the foreboding that hung in the air. It was a creeping strange electricity, penetrating the air as a deafening silence. It stilled his breath and quickened the blood in his veins. The rumble of his storm cloud hushed to silence, so he could listen to the fray that lay waiting ahead of him.

The dark magics they possessed could be felt all the way from here. And what he meager bits of combat Wulf knew, he had taught himself. Storm classes had, ironically, had yet to delve into any matters of strife or conflict.

He had been wise to stay behind.

When the others had gone off, he would instead use newly heightened senses to his advantage. He was blind as to the circumstances of this battle, but not completely. And so, on his fledgling storm cloud, he drifted through the halls, seeking a place from which to make use of the element of surprise. His combat skills what they were, his abilities would only be half as useful unless catching his foes off guard.

[Marvelous Miscreant]

The sword sliced through the Mage's plated stomach, leaving behind a red hot scar of seared metal. Through the cut the inside of the armor could be seen. It was empty. There was no person in the armor.

The Mage laughed, its voice deep and echoing in its helm, "Oh ho ho, cannot hurt Gorn with fiery toothpick. Gorn magic metal. Magic Metal Strong. MAGIC METAL BEST!"

With barely an effort, Gorn tore his massive sword from the stone arc and twirled it as if it were a stick. With a heavy gauntleted hand, he smacked Asoka aside and threw the sword like a spear in Zauber's direction.

[Marvelous Miscreant]

The Kid inched closer and leaned close to whisper, "I killed them all..."

The child grin grew wild and crazed and his fist became sharp knife. He thrust it towards Eric's chest, laughing maniacally.

[Marvelous Miscreant]

The Harpist grows furious as the boy mage lands on her, knocking her from her feet.

"HOW DARE YOU TOUCH ME!!!"

She reaches for her harp, plucking out a haunting tune. As the notes echoed, the air vibrated with each pull of the harp's strings. The wind picked up, the scent of something foul and dirty wafted through the air. With a final pluck of the strings a bolt of boiling and twisted black magic screamed from the void towards Billy.

[Tsubasa & Wen Tien]

Asoka struck a pillar and slid down. That strike had hurt. Not just her body, but also her pride. That... construct was going to pay! Asoka got up slowly (in pain), drawing upon her magical power to form dozens of fire chakrams, then channeling the power through Murasaki, amplifying the power of each chakram and causing them to become purplish.

Drawing in a breath, Asoka quickly let it out, practically roaring, "Hono no Yoshiki: Sen'no Moka!"

The chakrams let loose, flying in every direction away from the fire mage, then arcing in to strike at Gorn.

The building might get damaged, but at least she had a good chance of harming the enemy.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

Billy scrambled to all fours and flung himself clear, the magic just barely grazing his arm. His glove and the long sleeve of his robe disintegrate.

The arm underneath is skeletal, chalk white.

But no, that's not quite right. There's another arm, there, under the skeletal one. Fleshy and pale and altogether human. Connecting them, like a sown up seam, looks to be the same black, web like mana holding Earthshaker together. Billy is wearing the arm.

This is the arm he now points at the harpist. "I don't have any personal interest in you, not-life. One of your companions, however, is a life eating vampire. Tell me where it is and I promise to escort you to the Black Manor without pain."

[Ericus Europaeus (Bug)]

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[Philote]

Zauber sees the sword coming, but can do little more than raise a shield wall in defense. The sword easily cracks through the hastily created barrier, but the omni-ward that he created earlier absorbs the rest of the blow. Both Zauber and the sword though are flung off the back of Earthshaker and onto the hallway tiles behind him. The blue fang insignia of the ward dims slightly as a result.

[Marvelous Miscreant]

Flames erupted around Gorn as the chakrams collided with his plated back. The heat and light were searing. As the bright fires dimmed, the large shadowy bulk of Gorn shifted  and turned slowly.

Hundreds of scratches and jagged scars decorated his armor, lit by the bright flames that clung to the searing metal. The fire licked at him, but Gorn did not care. His metal form unfeeling to the fire. Slowly Gorn stomped towards Asoka, his armor shifting again as he did.

The armor shimmered and pulsed like something alive as it became something new. After a few seconds it had become a thick frame of chain mail and dark leather. His sword skittered across the floor and snapped into his hand, bending and twisting to form a sharp, pointed spear.

Gorn stabbed at Asoka with a fierce roar.

[Marvelous Miscreant]

The Musical Mage laughed, her voice as melodic as the instrument she wielded.

"You are the necromancer, yes? He talks about you. Says you are a loose end. Sneaking a peek behind his little veil of mystery. Is funny to me. He does not like you to say the least. It will be a joy to watch him kill you..."

As the harpist spoke she played a shallow tune. The notes carrying sweet and low on the air and traveling throughout the school. As she finished and the notes faded the ground shook in a shuddering thud. Then it shook again. and again. and again.

Something was coming. Something Big.

[Marvelous Miscreant]

The child's body bent and twisted like putty to dodge the swirling balls of wind. As the air barrage subsided, the childs bodied pulled together and warped into that of a lanky adult male. He giggled, head cocked to an inhuman angle.

"Tee Hee, little windy boy is quicker than me. Much more fun than I thought this would be. Going to cut his skin with giggles and yuks. Says the acolyte shapeshifter Flux."

His rhyme completed. Flux darted forward, his hands elongating into feline claws.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

Billy wondered what the appropriate response was to having all your paranoid fantasies justified, but it wasn't the only thing that worried him.

It wasn't the shuttering footfalls that were shaking the whole room. Well, yes, those were extremely worrying, but it wasn't the thing tugging at the back of his brain. Something she said about peeking behind the veil qualifying him as a loose end. There was really only one even that met that criteria. And if that were the case, he wasn't the only loose end. There was another.

Another who had snuck a peek.

Another who hadn't been in the room when they'd arrived.

Another who he hadn't seen since he returned from his phantom year. Who hadn't responded to his message on the communicator.

"You have just reminded me of a promise I never kept." He says to the Harpist. "Mr. Zaubar, Mr. Tiberius." He shouts, leaping back over Asoka's fight, away from the Harpist, and landing under the beautiful Valkyrie of Tiberius. He speaks quickly. "I think someone is going after the diviners. They can't defend themselves as well as the other schools. I'm heading there now. I'm sorry, but could you please take up my dance card while I do this." He pulls Zaubar to his feet. "Mr. Gob will back you up. Mr. Gob!" he calls up to Earthshaker. The Mouth opens slightly. "Whatever is making that rumble, it doesn't get through this room. It's your duty as a squire of the Black Manor."

Earthshaker gives and enthusiastic thumbs up, which Billy mirrors. The he turns back to Zaubar and Tiberius. "I'm sorry. I would never be leaving if I didn't think you had this well in hand. And they may be after someone I involved."

[Ericus Europaeus (Bug)]

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