the stains of time -- raid boss 1 complete!

[nemhain.]

A grin, excited and full of power, spread over Nemhain's face at her lady's order. Yes. She got to hunt down the son of a bitch who was causing all this, as well as causing her lady a great amount of distress. Moving out of the building after Rin, Nemhain launched herself up into the air, her massive wings striking downward to launch her up and into the sky above. The wind rushing through her feathers felt amazing, and she flew towards the dock quickly, making sure to keep tabs on how Rin was feeling. She knew her lady was injured, and if she let Rin be further hurt or worse, killed, there would be absolute hell to pay. It was a hell of a thing, splitting her attention between making her way to the docks and keeping an eye on Rin – as well as many other Elysites – but she didn't mind the task that much. After all, she had been born with this in mind, and she could multitask. It would be something so simple for someone like her, and with everyone else behind her and Rin? This would be a piece of cake, she was sure of it. Truly, her confidence was, technically, against what a persona was supposed to be and do, since too much of her own personality was seeping through in the cockiness that thrummed through every feather. It couldn't be helped though, and even if it could be, it would be a subject for a later time, when the Ferryman wasn't beating down their door.

After only a few minutes, Nemhain arrived at the docks, her eyes narrowing when the Ferryman's boat and the fight currently going on top of it came into sight. Swooping downward, the fenghuang moved to fly around the boat in circles, surveying what was going on. It seemed as though Tena and Valerian were engaged in combat with the Ferryman... that would make this slightly more difficult, but she could handle it. Nem didn't bother with landing, knowing the sheer weight of her large form would probably lead to it capsizing and dumping all within it into the water. And while that might've been useful for distracting the Ferryman, Nem didn't have much of a desire to see Tena or Valerian die as a result of drowning in the chaos. So, instead the persona moved in near by, hovering as she looked for a safe place to hit her target. Once she zeroed in on where she could hit the Ferryman without also hitting Tena, she opened her mouth, her body practically buzzing with power as the air around her dropped several degrees. Focusing her water elementals, Nemhain aimed to shoot several frozen shards at the Ferryman's chest, low enough so that they hopefully wouldn't injure Tena in any way. If she succeeded in her attack, the shards would sink deep into the flesh of his front half. Whether she hit or not, she would then allow herself to become intangible, surveying the scene from a distance.

( health: 100%
power reserves: 85%
attacking: the ferryman )

[Cosmic]

The Ferryman couldn’t have made a poorer decision- attempting to even penetrate the feline’s mind was one mistake that could prove fatal for the wolf. Valerian looked up, not even shaken by it, and the attack was blocked by a strong force that took the forefront of the feline’s mind- his possessor.

“You’ve made a foolish decision to try and manipulate my host, so-called ‘god’.” His voice was distorted, definitely not his own as he gave a grin, deflecting the attack. He made the opportunity with Tena attacking to make a surprise move on the Ferryman, or if it didn’t work, at least act as a tank. And a tank Mercer was nothing short of. Basically act as a distraction so she could land a blow.

With a wide grin on his face, the feline would attempt to infiltrate the Ferryman’s own mind and force him to hear the same screaming he had tried to project to them, with a much higher pitch and clarity. Hopefully that would be a distraction enough for anyone attacking the man to land a blow.

[Verdigris]

[font=trebuchet ms]Serpent's cry was met with no response. Had all of the other reapers been compromised? There had been three others, plus the Ferryman; surely they couldn't all have been neutralized. If no one would hear it and attack Warringkingdoms, then what was the point-

Claws sliced into its tail, yanking it backwards. Dizzy from blood loss, it uttered a low hiss, followed by a significantly higher-pitched hiss as claws dug into its face. Thrashing around, it struggled to wriggle out from under Mistrim, snapping its jaws at anything it could reach. Its odds of survival were minimal at this point, so it ought to cause as much carnage as possible before expiring.

--

"The target is this way! She has the bird!"

The Ferryman snapped to attention as the words hit his ears, his gaze flickering towards the street where he'd sent Serpent. The fenghuang was out? If that was true, then-

He didn't have long to think it over before the screams echoed in his ears, even louder than he'd projected them originally. The sound of screaming itself didn't bother him, but it drew his attention back towards his attackers- one of whom was perfectly content to stand there, smiling.

Feeling claws sink into his back, the Ferryman growled lowly, but before he could retaliate, he spotted the fenghuang approaching the boat. As the shards of ice blasted towards him, he jumped back- a couple shards managing to pierce deeply into his left foreleg, but the others missing his chest and other foreleg. He didn't have time to strike back before she was gone again, leaving him with the other two.

He couldn't make Megalodon attack the boat without risking his own life, Phoenix wasn't responding to his commands, and Barghest was still as confused as a puppy chasing its own tail. His best chance was to get out of there and locate the target, then destroy her himself.

Becoming intangible and invisible once more to get himself free of Tena's grip, he then directed Megalodon, Swim out from under the boat, take me to the dock. Seeing Megalodon emerge from the water, he descended onto its back and braced himself as it swam towards the dock. So long as he remained invisible, Tena and Valerian would likely be no problem- the fenghuang might still pose an issue, but if Warringkingdoms arrived at the dock soon enough it wouldn't matter.

Gazing at the land's edge, he searched intently for any auras that might denote the fenghuang's position. If he could spot her before she attacked again, he could probably dodge and incur minimal damage to himself- Megalodon might not be so lucky, but it existed solely to serve him. If it died protecting him, that was not a tragedy.

Reaper Serpent
Health: 6%
Current forms: misty figure in the shape of a serpent
Powers: water elementals, intangibility, invisibility; mentally bonded to the Ferryman
Attacking: [member=9408]Mistrim[/member]

The Ferryman
Health: 59%
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: attempting to detect [member=9480]nemhain.[/member] (currently intangible and invisible)

[nemhain.]

It was certainly disappointing to see her attack miss its mark somewhat, but it was still satisfying to see at least a few shards of ice sink into the Ferryman, injuring him further. Ultimately, this would be a war of attrition, but it would hopefully be a quicker one than most, considering the fact that the Ferryman was severely outnumber, and perhaps even out powered at this point. He seemed to realize this, considering the fact that he too faded away into nothingness before her eyes. A gruff trill left the annoyed fenghuang's throat, and she found herself searching around for a moment before her eyes landed on Megalodon. Even if she wasn't aware that the Ferryman was atop the beast's back, she could see it traveling towards the shore beneath the water, which was very much something she didn't want happening. She didn't really want anything going back towards the dock or shore, considering the fact that Rin was that way. Although Nemhain herself could not detect the Ferryman, she made no attempt to make herself undetectable from him. Her aura was loud, cloudy, and seemed vaguely icey as she hovered in the sky, clear as day. Letting out a shriek, the massive bird dove downward towards Megalodon, attempting to dig her talons deeply into the creature's thick skin. If she was successful, she would then attempt to slam her wings downward, soaring up and pulling Megalodon from the water. Megalodom was massive as well, and certainly wouldn't be easy to pull up, but she was also a huge nine foot bird, with lots of strength in her body. Besides, even if she wasn't able to pull him up and out of the water, she would more than likely pull massive chunks of flesh from him that would bleed profusely, likely taking him out of the fight eventually anyways. As she did this, her entire body was tensed, ready for any attack attempts from either the enormous shark that she was attacking or the still invisible Ferryman that she was searching for. She wasn't afraid to take damage in this fight, especially if it was in service of protecting Rin, but she needed to be hypervigilant of it's so that if she did end up injured, she could immediately identify from where and go after the source. It was a more primitive way of doing it than the Ferryman, but Nemhain very much did not regret not being like him.

( health: 100%
power reserves: 85%
attacking: Megalodon )

[Cosmic]

As the Ferryman tried to run away from him, Mercer’s rage grew. When the wolf turned invisible, the feline then relied on his senses and other abilities granted to him by his vessel. This would be the end of the bastard, and he would ensure that the wolf died on this day. Him running only pissed him off further, as he saw the Megalodon shark swim away from the boat, he reasoned that the Ferryman had to be with him as well, seeing as the shark had been pushing the boat out further into the water.

“Get back here, you suicidal moron!” His voice roared, fury overcoming him as he then attempted to jump onto the Ferryman if he could locate him using his clairvoyance and other senses. Just because he was physically invisible didn’t make the bastard invincible or undetectable, and Mercer was a skilled hunter.

“NOTHING WILL PROTECT YOU FROM ME! NOT YOUR MINIONS, WEAPONS, OR ARMOR!”

[teef]

ARISIDE LANECES

✯ — BABY, YOU'RE SO CLASSIC

space

the roar of battle and battle-cries brought the tigress from her recently rebuilt forge, her eyes glowing with the force of a fire building up in her lungs, growing larger with each breath until she felt heat blossom across her pelt, only in specific places. turning her head, the massive tigress would be greeted by flames dancing along her pely harmlessly from the stripes, her nearly black tail ablaze. grinning as she felt the flame, she was pleased to find her paws passed through the flame without harm.

flame welled up her throat at her command, eyes glowing with the great heat burning inside of her body, the blacksmith left her forge with her best sword clutched in her jaws. after the raid on the pitt, she had focused on her forge and her beloved partner. she had been drafting sketches of something to give player, but not that she would admit it.

passing the old woman muttering to herself, kade chuckled, watching her expression turn from anger to realization as kade passed her and forestalled her from entering the fight. finnloch would be needed upon the shore for the injured. avoiding her groupmates, the smith headed for the docks, gaze locked on the ferryman, registering him as the commander here. the water didnt phase her, nor did Mercer or Nemhain attacking the man and the beast lurking in the water.

spreading her jaws in a roar, she threw herself into the battle, racing at a comfortable speed down through the edges of the fighting and across the dock, powerful hindlegs throwing her up into the air and out towards the water. quenching the fires upon her pelt before impact, she closed her eyes as cold dark water sucked her down and pulled at her sword.

kicking her paws, the smith swam upward, roaring as she broke the surface, water steaming from her pelt as the former merc paddled towards the boat and the ferryman aboard it.

space

✯ — FEMALE. RB & EL. MODERATE-HIGH. REF. BIO. — ✯

#psychosocial.

[teef]

[align=center]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[color=#137E7A]FINNLOCH
" i wanna take the long way home "

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

a little breathless, the old she-cat would arrive, burdened by bandages and herbs, her tail up and streaming behind her as the russian blue gaelic woman began to sort through her belongings, muttering to herself about gods, wars, and being way too old for this kind of thing.

blue eyes glued to the coming enemies and her fighting groupmates, the old elysian flicked her tail anxiously, her dagger set into the side of her overstuffed satchel, calm flooding her as she blood and fur fly, screams ringing in the air, battle raging about.

how dare this wolf-god appear in their land and demand a surrender. she hadn't been home in moons and now the home she knew was in danger. half tempted to rush into the combat herself, the woman spun and paced circles, ready to call off the badly injured and let somebody else fill in their spot in the combat. right as she was about to join the fight, she was pressed back by a huge paw and caught a glimpse of bright glowing blue eyes, a familiar tigress passing her as she was headed down towards the docks.

[GuardianAngel]

Mistrim clawed at Serpent’s face. Her attack dragging deep lines of red through the reptile’s eyes. It relieved her that she didn’t face plant into the dirt but the relief didn’t last long. The determination quickly faded as her hind leg and part of her tail was roughly torn by Serpent’s retaliation. Her claws lingered for a few moments more, dug into the reaper, before she was promptly flung away. She hoped that her attack at least blinded him but there wasn’t much time to think on it.

Her body tumbled onto the road, dust billowing from the force. A small whimper from Mistrim for told that she was completely spent. Her back leg luckily wasn’t as injured as her tail but they would both heal with time. The combination of open wound and friction burn as well as the dirt burned like fire. She laid there for a little while longer before summing up enough energy to stand. It would be hard to defend herself if Serpent wished to attacking her but she bared her teeth and withstood her scratches.

It was easy to hurt her but she was harder to kill. If she was going down then she would go down fighting. She just hoped that everyone at the docks were okay.

Attacking: No one
Health: 63%
Stamina: 5%

[Verdigris]

[font=trebuchet ms]For all its thrashing, Serpent could not save its eyes from the razor-sharp edges tearing into them.

As Mistrim finally released her grip, it let out a low wheeze and tried to lash out- but its literally-blind flailing didn't seem to hit anything. She must have been too far away. Every movement sent flares of agony shooting through its body, until it eventually ceased its writhing just to make the pain stop.

Reaching out along the mental connection, it struggled to locate the Ferryman. If it could just get some confirmation that this mission would succeed...

It could see nothing, but it could taste the scent of death growing closer, feel the Ferryman's renewed confidence. He must have heard its cries. Within the next few minutes, he would be arriving to exact justice. If nothing else, Serpent had done its job. It would not die a failure.

A hacking cough escaped its maw, and it curled in on itself.

--

Detecting Nemhain's aura, the Ferryman smirked underneath his cover. The way her eyes were cast down towards Megalodon, he suspected she was about to try and strike the reaper- but if he held out for just a few more moments, he could make the jump to the dock. What happened to Megalodon afterwards didn't matter, so long as the mission was a success.

He tensed up, she swooped down- and a loud roar split the air behind him, startling him into jumping off of Megalodon's back earlier than he'd planned to. Slamming roughly against the side of the dock, he hauled himself up onto the wooden planks and started running down the street where Serpent had been yelling from. Feeling a twinge in his tail, he spared a glance over his shoulder for long enough to notice blood dripping from what was apparently thin air.

With a grumble, he let himself become visible again; his intangibility must have stopped working, if Valerian had managed to catch a piece of his tail. Turning his head forward once more, he ignored Serpent's fallen form, and the young vixen beside it- there, he saw the target flying closer.

Warringkingdoms would pay for what she had done.

Releasing a howl of rage, the Ferryman charged directly towards her, lunging and aiming to sink his teeth into her throat. It was too late for playing games. He was going for the kill.

--

Megalodon had just been following orders, see.

It wasn't entirely sure what was going on up on the surface, but if the Ferryman told it what to do, it would do it. It was a loyal reaper, after all, and not really created for the purpose of questioning orders. Whether or not these Elysites deserved to die, or even whether or not Warringkingdoms deserved to die, didn't really matter.

That said, it most certainly was not here to get ripped up by two different sets of talons and claws while its master ran off.

With a bellow, Megalodon arched its back, snapped its teeth and thrashed its fins- both to try and get free, and to dissuade its attackers from attacking again. If it could just get out of these creatures' grasps-

Feeling the sweet embrace of gravity tugging it down towards the water, out of the fenghuang's grip, it immediately dove into the sea. The salty water stung at its deep wounds, but it couldn't care less about the pain now that it was free. Shaking its head, it swam out into deeper waters, not going any closer to the surface. The way Megalodon figured, the Ferryman was now back on land; he most likely would not be returning to sea alive, so there was nothing else Megalodon could do here. Attacking the sand cat or the dragon hybrid could be helpful, but Megalodon wasn't exactly raring to get itself skewered again by the tag team of the hybrid and the fenghuang.

The others would think Megalodon a traitor, but at least it would remain alive.

The Ferryman
Health: 54%
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=649]Warringkingdoms[/member]

Reaper Megalodon
Health: 72%
Current form: misty figure in the shape of a megalodon shark
Powers: water elementals, intangibility, invisibility; mentally bonded to the Ferryman
Attacking: [member=9480]nemhain.[/member] [member=2129]HALO MERCER[/member]

[Warringkingdoms]

  [font=trebuchet ms]Seeing Serpent curling in on itself as she passed by, Rin slowed to a stop and glanced over towards Mistrim. "Hey, Finnloch, could you tend to Mistrim?" she called, giving Mistrim a small nod. She'd fought well, incredibly well in fact, but Rin could tell she was winded.

  Footsteps, rapidly growing closer, caught her attention. Rin jerked her head up, and saw the Ferryman advancing- charging directly towards her. Was he going to... yes, he probably was going to do that. Setting her jaw, Rin stood her ground and prepared an arrow. If she shot at him right as he attacked, she could end this right here.

  As he lunged, she launched the arrow directly at his chest.

  In a swift bite, his jaws clamped down... on her scarf, the fabric snagging on the teeth so that they just barely nicked her skin. Though his bite hadn't punctured any veins, she was still stuck in his jaws for the moment, until she could get the scarf off of her. While trying to wriggle free, she lashed out at the Ferryman's neck with four swipes, bursts of flame wreathing her paws with each strike. She could feel the power within her draining quickly as she attacked, but if she could kill him here, or at least weaken him enough for the others to finish him off, it would be worth it.

  Warringkingdoms
  health: 45%
  power reserves: 35%
  attacking: the Ferryman