The War of the Fallen Son

[LungTien Temeraire]

Temeraire managed to sit down, staggering. The black dragon raised his head slowly to peer at he titan, and he noticed a red dragoness on its top. Recognizing Azu, LungTien saw her be engulfed by ooze.

He was impressed to see she had managed to get there, then to dig a hole towards the construct's core. Tightening his teeth and panting, LungTien casted a fire bolt between his forepaws. Mostly because he was weakened and exhausted, the Helian ancient created a weaker bolt, as he couldn't keep casting spells at their full power.

But the fact that Azu, which the black primalist wasn't really liking, was fighting on his side against Maurger, still had a part on throwing a less powered fire bolt. After all, between two evils, it was better to choose the lesser. As LungTien threw his fire bolt towards the reachable ooze, he hoped Azu would be able to escape, with Awdz's help, and that the fire would devour all of the ooze in the huge golem's core.

[BrightCat]

Callihan made sure he was clear of the second wave of dark swirling energy. He saw chunks of the giant golem’s armor beginning to fail revealing the softer stone underneath. Callihan knew that this was their chance to get in some serious damage. He paused for a moment as a… zombie dragon… flew above the Titan and attacked it with a rain of energy spikes. He blinked a few times, but there was no time to ponder that now. The white and yellow dragon charged alongside Ausixen before taking to the air. He shot up around behind the Titan to attack. He made sure to pay mind where the others’ attacks were direct so he wouldn’t stray into the line of fire. He noted the zombie looking dragon was being pulled into the Titan’s body. He flew closer and his eyes widened as he recognized who the zombie was: it was Azu!

Callihan backed off as LungTien’s fiery blast hit the goo that was trying to pull Azu in and decided to add his own flames to the fire. As long as Azu’s barrier held, she shouldn’t be hurt by the fire. Callihan held no love for Azu and was thinking along the same lines as LungTien. She was a powerful ally and they needed all of the help they could get to bring Maurger down.

[Myrra]

knowing her cold would probably make no harn to the stone things, and knowing the monsters are all part of Maurger, she sneaks and moves through the battle, seeking a place to launch her attack.

After a long way around the battle, to make sure all enemies lost sight of her, she approaches Maurger under the wind, more silent than death itself, then she concentrates and uses all her ice discipline and her Healer Light to launch an intense beam of light and cold to the neck and head of the once dragon, hoping it would do more than slow him, or at least distract him so others can push the assault back.

Wave after wave she sends ice and light, and her snowleopard's fur quickly turns all dull as she drains her own life energy to launch all she can.

[Kaerisk]

(@Myrra: Maurger's still hidden within the Titan, except for the tendrils sticking out; not sure if Myrra would want to send a bunch of ice where everyone is firing their fire spells.

Also note: Maurger himself does not burn like the goo separate from him; Edari goo becomes flammable as part of the process of joining with the earth to make Edari. Maurger is susceptible to heat, but it requires a very hot flame, and then evaporates, not burns.)

[Myrra]

( of course if she can't see him, she can't attack him with ice... light only then, shining light against darkness )

[C`gan]

In his swirling circle of hops, Tagath saw Awdz' dark cyclones and came up with another idea. Why waste the hops between when they could be of use?

Popping out of between yet again, Tagath latched onto an eyestalk tendril at the eye's base, latched on with all four claws, and went between again, taking the eye with him. He released his claws and returned, to take another eyestalk on a one-way trip to oblivion. Perhaps with enough of them gone, the thing would be of little fighting capability.

C`gan waited for the magical attacks to subside which would carry him off and ran up to the titan, mining pick in hand. With the flame attack aura surrounding it, he took mighty swings where he could reach, allowing the fire to burn the black goo while the pick hit home to break the rock it hit.

[awdz]

Seeing Gifted allies converging attacks on the titan, Awdz called upon the Holy Mother Istara to make Her presence known by the enemy. In this way, she hoped to dishearten the oversized creature attacking Chiconis, leaving it more susceptible to others' attacks.

Awdz then turned back to the army and began raining her flaming arrows down upon them once more.

[BrightCat]

((Gonna have to drop out since I'm going on vacation tomorrow. Have a happy holidays all! Will be checking back to see the outcome when I get home. Sel just helped clear out the remaining Edari in Dralk and left. Cal helped defeat Titan basically and returned home to rest.))

[Kaerisk]

((As the holidays are fast approaching, I'm gonna go ahead and step back from the active part of this. I'll be posting up the Titan's last action; Azu can retroactively save herself or not save herself. If you all want to continue mopping up Edari, you can of course feel free.

Following this, I'll have two last stories to write and the Desha Treskri arc will be over~

On an unrelated note, planning on having a Festival of Ash in early January. I'll post something up about it soonish.))



The crack of it was audible all the way down into the furthest reaches of the city. As if a dam had burst, or a mighty tree had snapped under the strain of immeasurable force, the leg of the Titan could no longer support its weight. The inner granite was the first to give, kicking up dust to all those in close, though some was moved away by the last of the cyclones. The outer shell, its powerful stoneflesh frame followed a few moments after, clinging to its shape before at last returning to the rubble it had once been.

And with the Titan off balance, gravity itself would not be denied.

Screams ran out around the battlefield. Captain Aaron called for a hasty retreat as the massive Titan threatened to land on the valiant troops as they fought. As if a slow moving dream, the Titan fell, and fell, and fell. But the jolt of its landing could have woken even the Aegis from their slumber. The ground cracked under its weight; upturned rock and clouds of dust scattered in all directions away from the massive armor of the Fallen Son. But the Titan itself, suffering innumerable cracks throughout its stone flesh and inner workings, would be of no further use to Maurger. It seemed as though his moment of ascension to godhood had been questioned and postponed.

But Maurger no longer cared for patience.

With the last remaining arm of the Titan, Maurger moved the Darklight Crystal to the side of the fallen Edari. Activating it, the Darklight beam began to fill the cracking and unstable Edari with the black primal energy of the beams. The granite at its core sopped up the power like a sponge, but it could only handle so much before it burst - sending shards of the deadly stoneflesh out around the battlefield as shrapnel.

"Everyone, fall back down the hill to the shrine! It's going to blow!" Captain Aaron shouted.

Ausixen was about to fall back, when he saw it - the snaking, burnt, black tendrils that had captured Azu formed into the dragon himself. The Fallen Son took to the air - hiding in the ground was beneath a god - and left as the Titan was about to explode. Ausixen charged into a cloud of dust and took to the air after him. He would not let the Fallen Son escape. He was to deliver Drulkar's vengeance upon him.

The Ttian exploded.

Bits of shrapnel flew everywhere, though the forces of Captain Aaron and Chiconis' defenders had made it down the hill to relative safety; the Edari had followed and continued to battle, even without generals or their god. This was their fight to exist, and they were losing.

Ausixen had survived by the grace of Drulkar; a fiery sheathe had surrounded him and for once, Ausixen had truly appeared as a Phoenix. The faster dragon would soon catch up with his nemesis, his once-kyn, his false idol. And he would cast him down.



(Note: Don't follow after Maurger, since I'll have the story that follows take care of what happens next. It did appear as if he were caught in the explosion, so it could be believed he is dead, or that Ausixen will make sure of it.)

[LungTien Temeraire]

- OoC - *will wait to see Azu's fate to post LungTien's next actions - OoC -

[awdz]

Awdz ducked a little at the loud explosion, glancing over and nodding in satisfaction to see that the titan had fallen at last. The army was still causing mayhem before her, so she focused back on taking them out bit by bit.

"Clean up in city five!" <ooc - that's a random numbering of the cities, nothing thought out>

[RuneDragoon]

((Sorry, holidays. Busy time. The lady & kin in dralk are mopping up the hordes, and darkness is using the boulder general still as its puppet until the last creature is destroyed. It will then simply shred it apart and feed the remains to the magmatics, who are relishing the tar as much as the fire.))

((Last Azu post -- Please note that while I have continued the zombie-ness in game for a little bit, I think I'll throw that aside so people don't get confused. ))

The barrier-turned-projectile maneuver was a success. Much of the back plate was shattered, sending shrapnel around the field indiscriminately (not that she cared, nor that she could see). Her hands burned with a great blaze and as she landed, she dug it into a soft spot as deeply as she could, the scent of burning stone and flesh wafting into her nostrils. Oddly, it caused her a bit of pleasure to smell what she felt was suffering, as her talons dug in deeper and deeper.

Until the soft spot suddenly lashed out at her.

Tendrils began rising up and binding her body. She had no defense against being turned immobile when she had no sight, choking against one wrapped round her neck. The ooze began to speak to her as she realized that in this very situation, her misfortune of being stuck as a withered husk was an asset. She only had been breathing out of habit, and choking because she was not breathing. She really hadn't noticed in it all that somehow, she really was magically caught between death and life without the aegis being involved. A devious mind however, already had things under control.

She continued to breathe and choke under the tendrils for the sake of occupying her captor.

"You... would like-- *hack choke* ... that..." the dragon sputtered bitterly. "... But I.... *gasps for air* ... am ... better than..." ... she wanted to say 'you' but the tendrils already had caught on and choked her further for the insult.

While she was speaking, a sliver of her willpower and consciousness was severed from her mind in preparation to hold a spell. A few moments later, the spell occupied the space, prepared and ready to be released. The physically and mentally taxing process caused her to reel a moment, but she forced herself to try to quickly gain her composure. It only appeared without enough air she would soon expire.

"I was ..once a ...'litha' ... red... but now..." she paused a moment to take in a gasp of air.

"I .. am.. 'farrthen'... 'un-kir' ... able..." she continued against the tendrils squeezing hard. Was her mind shutting down now, garbling her speech?

"... matter...s ... not. 'Daih' you will, 'kur'!" The dragoness smirked, ceasing to breath on the last portion, yet still speaking and active. She had conjured an explosion around her, having woven the words into her speaking to make them sound like conversational words of a dying dragon into her speech. The blast decimated the irritating tendrils off her, spraying the fluid in all directions and leaving a bigger crater below her.

She took a quick scent for the stinking tar to find a large exposed patch of it, rearing up to release her stored spell. She held both arms up and in front of them a burning spear came into existence, a cone of white fire. As she slammed both claws back into the earthen base she sat on, the spear came down through it much like a heavy caliber armor piercing round. It entered through the exposed patch of tar and left through the bottom of the titan, slamming into the ground below like a meteor. The scent of burning tar wafting around strongly, she had no time to admire that trickery.

Tendrils snaked up again and dragged her into the exposed patch, likely in hopes she would drown in the sea of black and everything felt wrong.

Something was to happen... and she couldn't leave this. A few seconds passed and her body was filling with the horrendous fluid. At least she was dead, she thought once, but it still didn't make it any better because she couldn't come out of her misery in this place.

All she could do while she was held prisoner in the heart of the creature was give semeneth his citadel back - having the ice rimed structure moved back into position from the blizzard valley.

But then the titan's leg gave way. As it collapsed and Maurger ejected, the crushing fluid seemed to cease its living grip. It had the consistency of oil now instead of cement. She could move? She pawed and flailed blindly upwards, or what she percieved as up... instead she had gone down. She clawed at the stoneflesh, then realized that she hadn't gone the right way up.

'Bah, now where did I get dragged in...?' she thought, as the titan exploded, incinerating the withered dragon.

((She finds herself in her library when she dies, where she bound herself to an artifact on the shelf.))

[LungTien Temeraire]

LungTien Temeraire watched the titan's leg crumble, followed by the rest of the construct. The shaking ground made the black ancient stagger, but he managed to stay in his sitting position. As the army and the Gifted started running away from its upcoming blow, LungTien thought it would be wise to do the same.

While walking slowly away, Temeraire's hope to see Azu escape from the titan's core was fading. His tired expression hardened. He wasn't really able to do something for the withered dragoness, and losses weren't always avoidable in battle. Anyway, the Helian knew Azu was Gifted, so...

When Maurger's construct exploded, LungTien was safely out of range, near the mountain at the east side of Chiconis. and he managed to keep his large wings against his flanks. That wasn't entirely a good idea, though, as the Helian primalist saw two Edari-ancients who were darting in his direction.

The dragon's blue eyes widened and his head ruff spread. How many Edari were still in the town ? Panting deeply, Temeraire sit down again, and he raised his left forepaw to prepare a spell. His gloomy gaze showed that, if he had to die, the ancient wouldn't do so without using his last and fading forces.

[C`gan]

With a swing of his mining pick, C`gan heard the last, fateful crack he'd been hoping to hear. With a grin, he recalled out of the way of the lumbering construct, glad to know it'd stand no more.

[LungTien Temeraire]

- OoC - (there should be a few Edaris still wandering on the cities, I think... about my character, I'd wait another character to come and help him, letting him time to recall elsewhere and rest, knowing he is now too exhausted to keep fighting) - OoC -

[C`gan]

Tagath came out of between to grab another eyestalk when the titan fell. He surveyed the remaining Edari and saw a familiar black form badly weakened on the ground, being closed upon by yet more forces. He dove quickly to land aside LungTien and began casting both primal instant heal and primal health on the elder dragon to aid him in his strength returning, then began firing off his long-range prime bolts at the oncoming Edari to draw their attention as he sidestepped away from LungTien and around, to have the flanking positions on the golems.

[LungTien Temeraire]

LungTien's remaining injuries healed as Tagath used his spells. Relieved to see Tagath being able to keep fighting, the ancient dragon, panting, used his last strength to prepare a recall, and to say:
-Thank you... Tagath. But now... I must go away from... there. I wouldn't... be better than a burden for you and... the other defenders if... I stay.
After that, the primalist disappeared in a blue light, recalling in a safe place away from the two dragon's towns. Hoping the remaining enemies will be wiped out, Temeraire was himself going to get a deserved rest.

[C`gan]

Tagath turned and smiled at the approaching Edari.

"If you wish to fight me, you will be destroyed."

The Edari, having no thought for surrender, began throwing their twisted rages of earth toward Tagath. Tagath muttered yet another breeze spell of purifying and let them rage, returning the blows with prime bolts of accuracy.

"Your master has fallen. It is over. Quit attacking and find peace."

The Edari had no thought for peace. They continued advancing and attempting to skewer the lone blue dragon, in return getting chipped away further by Tagath's prime bolts.

Tagath smiled. "Then you leave me no choice." He adjusted the dark green claw on his own forelimb and jumped, dodging the last volley of rage of earth. He went between, emerging behind the two Edari a scant second before landing and shredding the first with a Gold Rage. As the blows hit, Tagath felt the faint pulse from the Demon Claw, and watched the Edari's plates shatter to powder. He spun with a tail whip and connected with a Silver Strike set to end the first Edari.

The second turned and howled at the blue whirlwind with the cries of the fallen, instead finding itself in the heart of a breath of fire. As the black ooze began burning as fuel for the flames, Tagath beat the Edari back with a Ravage. The Demon Claw once again pulsed. Tagath's quick flury of drain strike, staggering howl, and galewind tore through the ancient's powdered armor. As the ancient began to attempt a galewind against Tagath, Tagath returned the blow with another round of gold rage and Gust, ripping the ancient apart.

Tagath shook, allowing himself another primal instant heal as he observed the black ooze becoming char. "It is sad that you cannot accept a peaceful solution and that you must throw yourself upon more powerful enemies like so much rotten food on a midden heap."

[sparkcal]

(can i join in?)

[Racktor]

(The last time this RP was continued was back in 2010, sparkcal. I don't believe it's going to be ressurected... I also think some of the characters in this RP don't even exist anymore, actually.)