the stains of time -- raid boss 1 complete!

[Tena M.]

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Tena Moonspinner —
Tena rolled on instinct, finding herself frightfully close to the edge of the dock.  To the water below.  Her breath left her throat in a seething hiss.  Annoyed.  Coward.  Hiding behind obvious servants of his bidding.  Now her eyes flashed, claws ready to pierce the creature that lunged for her. 

Only for a familiar figure, standing calm amidst the action, to fall into her line of sight.  Concentrated.  What the kriff are you up to Solo?

Then another sand cat sprung into action.  Manipulating the earth.  Tena felt her chest squeeze.  Upanda? Surprise.  Relief.  And a steady realization.  The reaper had two fierce Elysites attacking it.  Okay.  More than enough to keep them busy.  To free Tena for someone else.

With a fierce growl, she spun on her heels and sprinted across the dock.  Not thinking about the water below her, the former magna leapt, skidding on the floor of the Ferryman's boat.  Rocking on the water.  Kriffing hell.

No time to waste, Tena crouched low in a steady stance and attempted to slam the wolf down with a harsher gust of wind than before.  "You coward depur!" Her words dripped with nothing short of pure venom.

[align=right]Attacking: The Ferryman

Stamina: 95%
[align=right]— I tell you this story, save your life, set you free

[Cosmic]

As soon as the Ferryman had arrived, his instinct to fight and kill had kicked in. It was too late to redeem him after his eyes changed to a crimson red, the markings on his forelegs glowing, the black and red smoke forming at his paws. There was no thought to his actions- his body acted on its own accord. This was a battle that he would win.

With a great leap of faith, Valerian would aim to make a landing on the boat with the Ferryman, taking the fight directly to the source. His gaze was focused, intense and intimidating, locked onto his target as he made his move, smoke on his paws trailing behind a bit as he ran for the timed jump.

Should he have made it, he would try and land a harsh blow to the Ferryman’s body with a quickly shifted dragon’s arm in place of his usual feline one. Hopefully it would land and make a good dent in the enemy.

//VALERIAN MERCER: 100% health
-currently using a shapeshifted small mythical dragon transitioning shift body for an attack.

[Verdigris]

[font=trebuchet ms]Serpent hadn't expected to be led along by one of the Elysites, but apparently today was its lucky day. Spying Mistrim running off down one of the streets, Serpent slithered after her, flickering its tongue out to detect each of the overlaid scents. The scent of herbs was getting stronger; even if Mistrim was causing a diversion, they had to be getting closer to the target's house, at least.

It turned onto the next street just in time to spy the tip of Mistrim's tail slipping into one of the houses- it had to be the target's, at this rate. With a low, hissing laugh, Serpent darted towards the house, staying low to the ground in case its presence alerted the target. Assuming this house had a back door, then Warringkingdoms would likely order Mistrim to leave through there, leaving herself completely alone and unprotected. If it didn't have a back door, then the two would be cornered, and the other reapers could be summoned there... either way it would end in victory.

Arriving at the house, Serpent peered through the doorway. Indeed, it could see a back door. The encounter would be one-on-one, and the target's chances were slim. With a smirk, Serpent rushed through the doorway-

-and immediately regretted its decision upon seeing both Warringkingdoms and Mistrim standing there, the former holding an arrow. Hissing loudly, Serpent struck out towards Warringkingdoms, aiming to sink its teeth into her left front leg. There was no time to come up with a better plan. All it could do was deal as much damage as possible.

--

Barghest, meanwhile, had locked onto Tena, drawing closer and closer, its teeth ready to dig in-

Everything went white, as if a solid wall of light had slammed into it, blocking off its brain. Jolting, it yelped in pain, and whipped around as if searching for the source of the overload. The energy running through its system drowned out the surroundings, the noise and the chaos simultaneously fading away and being amplified to mind-shattering levels.

Kill- any means- deal with them! it heard the Ferryman order from an indeterminate distance, echoing through the static- and then there was nothing from the other end of the connection, not even the sound of silence. The connection was gone.

Barghest tried to back off, but pain exploded in its back legs when it tried to move- as though the earth itself was holding it down and tearing into it. With a loud, agonized snarl, Barghest lashed out with its freed front claws at anyone within reach. Whoever broke the connection had to pay.

--

Phoenix swept its gaze over the houses lining the street as it flew, searching for any signs of life. No one seemed to be outside at the moment, but there was still the possibility that the target was sheltered inside. Everyone at the docks had either been cooperative to the reapers' efforts, or had been occupied by Barghest, so Phoenix wasn't especially worried about being interrupted.

A shock of cold struck its talons from behind- not hard enough to hurt, but nonetheless enough to startle it. Flapping its wings rapidly to slow down and change direction, it whipped its head around, landing its gaze on Lemy as his insults rang through the air. Oh. So this was how it was going to be.

Use him as bait, ordered the Ferryman over their bond. Phoenix understood perfectly- if words couldn't draw out the target, then the scent of blood certainly would. Releasing a loud screech of anger, Phoenix dove down towards Lemy, extending its talons in an effort to snatch him up.

--

He'd had to cut off his connection to Barghest to spare his own mind, but Phoenix would likely be able to provide backup at the docks once Lemy had been dealt with. Rubbing at his temple with one paw as the boat exited the docks, the Ferryman closed his eyes. With a soft hum, he extended his mind across the bond with Serpent, hoping to see through its eyes. Chances were, if any of the reapers had found something, it would be Serpent.

Two loud thuds echoed behind him. Something had hit the boat.

The Ferryman had just enough time to turn around and witness his two attackers arriving on deck before he was shoved from above with a gust of wind- another one of Tena's tricks. Staggering a bit but managing to remain upright, he then jumped back- too late, as the other beast's paw slammed right into him, knocking him into the side of the boat. Forcing himself back onto his feet with a low wheeze, he glared at his two opponents, evaluating quickly what he ought to do.

Narrowing his eyes, he faded into the mist- his invisibility and intangibility may not have been as flashy as his brethren's powers, but they served him well. Phasing over to the other side of the boat behind the two- not going directly through, but passing by- he then faded back into reality, becoming visible and tangible once more. Narrowing his eyes, he attempted to project the sound of an agonized scream into both of their minds. Whether or not that worked, he would then lunge forwards with a one-two swipe, the first aiming to knock Tena overboard, the second aiming to swipe Valerian's legs out from under him.

The Ferryman
Health: 85%
Current form: a thin, almost-skeletal mountain wolf with black fur, rotten yellow fangs, and yellow-green pupil-less eyes; fur is now dripping with black, almost tar-like water
Powers: amorphous, clairvoyance, intangibility, invisibility, mental manipulation and communication
Attacking: [member=298]Tena M.[/member] [member=2129]HALO MERCER[/member]

Reapers Phoenix, Barghest, Serpent, and Megalodon
Health: 99%/85%/100%/100%
Current forms: misty figures in the shapes of a phoenix, black dog, serpent, and megalodon shark, respectively
Powers: water elementals, intangibility, invisibility; mentally bonded to the Ferryman (Barghest's connection has been disrupted)
Attacking: [member=649]Warringkingdoms[/member] (Serpent), [member=299]Ebra M.[/member] [member=869]lavi s.[/member] (Barghest), @lemy. (Phoenix), none (Megalodon)

[Warringkingdoms]

  [font=trebuchet ms]Mistrim insisted on staying. Rin was only slightly surprised- after the events of the past week or so, everyone in Elysium seemed to be alright with putting their lives on the line. The oath didn't require that they give their lives in service of the clan, let alone one person, but they were doing it anyway.

  If Mistrim intended to risk everything to protect her, then Rin would just have to repay her in kind.

  Sure enough, the snake burst into the house, and immediately turned to attack her. Rin yanked her paw out of the way, but the fangs still grazed her skin deeply enough to draw blood. With a hiss, she shot the arrow down at the snake, aiming for the spot behind its head in an effort to pierce into its brain. She couldn't be sure if the snake was venomous or not considering its nature as a reaper, but they could figure that out once it was dead.

  Warringkingdoms
  health: 48%
  power reserves: 95%
  attacking: Serpent

[candorosa]

[align=center][div style="width:70%; text-align: justify; padding: 1px; font-family: helvetica;"]Lemy sneered up at Phoenix upon seeing his attack ring true. Swoop down you stupid fuckin' bird, he thought, tail lashing. Then he could—his smugness evaporated at Phoenix's screech and the sheer speed the bird had dove down at. He hadn't expected such a quick retaliation. He cursed his lack of foresight as he scrambled to unsheathe his dagger and with a quick motion—

Lemy bit his tongue to avoid releasing the yelp that bubbled in his throat as talons dug into his back. Icy hot flashes of pain numbed his back as he tried to collect himself. "You're ruinin' my cloak, jackass." Lemy spat weakly at the bird, desperately clinging to his dagger. Don't drop it, don't drop it, he chanted to himself as he pulled through the haze of pain. He tried to struggle in the avian's grip, choking in pain at the sensation of the talons in his flesh wiggling with his movement.

Then he dropped his dagger.

He watched with a mixture of contempt and pain-ridden apathy as the weapon landed harmlessly on the snow. It grew smaller as he was lifted higher into the air.

Was he seriously about to die?

Lemy was screwed—if he attacked Phoenix or struggled and fell, he might end up with broken bones and another concussion. He'd be easy pickings—bleeding from the back, disoriented and who-knew-what-else. He felt his ears grow hot with emotions he wasn't willing to pick apart at the moment, claws unsheathing and resheathing in an unstable tempo. Fine. Fine.

With some difficulty, Lemy reached out with his possession, aiming to take control of Phoenix's body. The roar of the background static faded away as he did so.

This was his last attempt in his series of failures. If it didn't work then that was that. He would rather die than be humiliated by any failed attempts to save himself. He would let Phoenix win; Lemy didn't lose. Álmos never lost.

attacking: phoenix
health: 42%

[nemhain.]

Oh dear. It seemed as though she had arrived a little late to the party, now hadn't she? Nemhain hadn't meant to disappear so quickly after her surprise arrival in Elysium, but the awakening... it had been tiring. Not to mention the fact that Nemhain was a petty being, and after having spent so long waiting for Rin to realize the true potential that could come with working from others? She could stand to make Rin wait a little while, couldn't she? Whatever the case for why she had been gone, it seemed as though she could no longer just linger in the shadows of Rin, dutifully watching and waiting to see if the other did the right thing. No, now she had to act, and deal with this... annoyance. Nemhain had been lingering for days now, resting stop the roof of Warringkingdoms's home in an invisible state so that no one could bother her. When the booming voice of Pluto came from farther in the main area, Nemhain merely lifted her head, blinking her faintly glowing eyes slowly as he listened to his words. The deal was ridiculous, of course, and Nemhain knew it. The Elysites would never go for it, no matter what Rin had done to wrong them in the past. Nemhain hadn't been here long, but she had been watching, and these types tended to protect their own. The comment about Nemhain herself even made a soft amused laugh leave the fenghuang, her head shaking from side to side. They would allow her to stay? What ridiculousness. The only person she answered to was Rin, and if Rin wanted her to stay, then she would be staying.

Nemhain watched lazily as the first of the interactions happened, curious to see how everyone would react... and then the fighting broke out. The area around her burst to life, with yelling and power usage and attacks being flung all around. Immediately the persona's blood came to life, and she let out a bit of a cackle as she let her invisibility fall, leaping from the roof and soaring downward. Her first priority, of course, was Rin, and so she found herself turning towards the door of the house she had been perched upon, throwing it fully open. Immediately upon seeing Serpent, the female's gaze narrowed, an irritated screech leaving her. The snake threw itself forward, aiming for Rin with its attack, and made Nemhain tense up for a moment. She let out a relieved breath when the creature merely grazed Rin, but she didn't truly have time to relax yet. With something akin to a snarl leaving her throat, Nemhain threw herself forward, moving to sink her razor sharp claws into Serpent's body, trying to plunge them deep enough to cut through vital organs. She saw no use in using her powers yet, since these were mere fodder to her. The Reapers were simple pawns for the Ferryman, and her claws and massive form would be more than enough to deal with them. Whether or not her attack succeeded, she would then turn towards Rin, saying with a sharp grin upon her beak, "Miss Rin... may I have your orders, please?" Nemhain longed to turn and rush out to where the Ferryman was, to truly give her muscles a well needed stretch in combat, but she would only do so if Rin requested it of her. After all, she was just the persona here.

( health: 100%
power reserves: 100%
attacking: serpent )

[Verdigris]

[font=trebuchet ms]Serpent let out a hiss as its jaws fell short of digging into the target's leg, and lurched forward- only to feel a sudden, piercing pain in its spine. Recoiling, it tried to gaze back at where the injury had occurred, but couldn't see the source of the pain. It couldn't have ruptured any vital organs, at least.

Baring its fangs, it turned back to Warringkingdoms and slithered in her direction- and heard a snarl behind it, followed swiftly by sharp talons skewering its flesh. With as loud a hiss as it could muster, it writhed to try and get free. Finally, slipping free of the beast's grip, it shot towards the door and fled the building, heading back towards the docks.

The Ferryman hadn't sent any further orders... why was that? Surely he would have been able to see what had just transpired through Serpent's eyes, and told Serpent what to do while he sent reinforcements. Had his connection been disrupted?

At this point, Serpent had a choice between fleeing, or dying at the claws of the target and her newfound entourage. Dying would do no good if the Ferryman and the other reapers didn't know where Warringkingdoms was, or that Nemhain had been alerted to their presence. Serpent had to find the others and let them know before being finished off.

Slithering down the street, internally cursing the thick trail of blood it left behind, Serpent cried out as loudly as it could, "The target is this way! She has the bird!" If the mental connections had been disrupted, it would just have to rely on yelling aloud.

--

As its talons snatched Lemy from the ground, Phoenix took off towards the skies- the higher up off the ground it was, the less likely it was to be interrupted by another would-be hero. Flying towards the Ferryman, it bit back a chuckle at Lemy's yelling. The lowly demon refused to accept its place, was that it? Poor, unfortunate, miserly soul.

As the Ferryman came into view, Phoenix blinked- there were others in the boat, savagely attacking its master. Well, now how was it supposed to create a hostage situation if the hostage-keeper was under attack himself? With a sigh, it decided to-

Something changed. The world seemed to shift. Phoenix's limbs were... not its own? Its impulses were overridden, its consciousness forced into the back of its own mind. It couldn't move. What was this? It couldn't even reach its mental bond with its master- it was, completely and totally, helpless.

In its haze, it could barely register that someone else's soul was in its body, pulling the strings- a soul that just a few moments ago, it had considered too lowly to be a threat.

He was that strong?

Reaper Serpent
Health: 32%
Current forms: misty figure in the shape of a serpent
Powers: water elementals, intangibility, invisibility; mentally bonded to the Ferryman
Attacking: none

[Tena M.]

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Tena Moonspinner —
Mother knows she never wanted to set foot on another boat ever again after this nonsense.  The constant sense of floating unnerved her but she had a god to take down.  Nothing short of a true fighter, Tena seemed to move on instinct alone.  Her ears flattened as she felt the uncomfortable sensation of someone trying to mess with her head.  Nerf herder.  But her mind held strong and she let defense take over.

As the ferryman moved to attack, the Demdji ducked, twisting around, rolling over and springing back to her paws.  In pure rage she aimed to launch herself onto the 'deity's back and sink in her claws.  No one touched her mind, but perhaps Tena ought to except such an overestimation of his place from the arrogant 'god'.

[align=right]Attacking: The Ferryman

Stamina: 92%
[align=right]— I tell you this story, save your life, set you free

[Mistrim]

Mistrim looked at the...very large...oh. That snake is a bit bigger then she thought it would be now that it was up close... Her body froze, her ears pinned to her horns and her tail curled around herself protectively.

One word invaded her mind like a bell constantly ringing. Coward. With a slight cry, she shook her head and ran after the serpent. At breakneck speed she dashed out of the building past Nemhain. She was most definitely glad that he had shown up as Mistrim found out that it was easier to say she was going to break a habit then to actually break said habit...

Whether her cheeks burnt out of shame or out of the exercise she was doing, was unclear but if she was good at one thing it was running. Her gaze focused in in the snake her paws following the path of blood. She couldn’t let him hurt Rin anymore.

Just as the Serpent has finished its yell, Mistrim was right at it’s tail. In a last ditch effort, she used the last of her energy to grab onto the serpent’s tail, digging her claws in to gain grip for a leap towards the head of the snake, specifically his face.

If this didn’t work then Mistrim would have wasted her energy in the sprint and be spent. Possibly even a bit scratched up or made a target from the failed attempt. This was her one and only chance to redeem herself and the thought of being alone again was disheartening to the small fox.

This had to work...

Attacking: Serpent
Health: 100%

[Warringkingdoms]

  [font=trebuchet ms]The snake recoiled at the hit, allowing Rin to enter a proper defensive stance. She'd need to shoot it again to actually kill it, but that was fine. Unsheathing her claws, she prepared to fight- but in the blink of an eye, the snake was shishkebabbed on Nemhain's talons, and could only muster up enough energy to flee.

  The snake slithered out, its blood staining the floor- well, she'd cleaned up worse stains than that. They'd fended it off, and other than the shallow cuts on her leg, the three of them were basically unscathed. That much would have been cause for celebration, if it weren't for the fact that the other Elysites might not be having such luck.

  Glancing over at Nemhain, Rin dipped her head. "Thank you," she said, twitching her ears. As for orders, well... they ought to rejoin the rest of Elysium, to maximize the chances that everyone got out of this in one piece. The snake would most likely lead them there. "We should-"

  Before she could finish her sentence, Mistrim bolted out the door after the snake. Blinking, Rin hurried over to the door and glanced out at the street. "We'll follow them back to the docks," Rin finally answered, exiting the building. "And bring the fight to the Ferryman." Elysium stood the best chance if they were all together.

  Taking a deep breath, Rin levitated herself into the air, then flew after Mistrim and the snake at a speed roughly equal to her normal running speed. Best not to risk aggravating her injuries any further, but she also needed to keep up.

  Warringkingdoms
  health: 48%
  power reserves: 80%
  attacking: none