Even This Power Is Not Enough

[Terrabrand]

And the King of Kings listened as the Scaled One spoke, taking what He could from her rather abstract description. A suit of armor, similar to his minions, she said. Perhaps- deduced the King of Kings- this meant they were empty suits powered by spirits or other Magic's- similar to angels, like the one He wore across His shoulders.

The Scaled One also spoke of one minion in particular of this 'Maldurion'. A being named 'Honox', who's homeland was fire. A sergeant of some kind. He would have do be dealt with. The King of Kings now had a target. All that was left was to find them.

And lo, from the ground yonder came a pillar of fire, as if on queue. The Scaled one set off after it, and the King of Kings, eager to meet His foe, followed.

By His will, Zoss became cloud of stone dust, and drifted through the caverns, drawn by an unknown wind swiftly across the city. And He did materialize before the pillar, likely long before the Scaled One, arms crossed over His chest, awaiting what foes did materialize.

Click to shrink...

Zoss arrives first, not counting the local forces lining up to battle. What can only be described as lesser versions of Revolution Dawn of the Dragon Fist leading individual squads of five or ten of the locals among them.

The pillar, however, represents an opening in the cavern walls, leading out into a seemingly unending badland of burning hills and crags, and through the opening pour a tide of small, three foot tall goblin like creatures, armed with knives and seemingly unaffected by the flame. In the center of this force strides an armored knight in golden armor, some twenty feet tall and holding a runed greatsword resting upon it's shoulder while gesturing intricately with the other hand. "My liege calls for me to strike at thee and by his will it shall be so! To the death!"

With it's peace said, the figure begins moving it's entire body in a clearly purposeful manner and yet to no clear goal, while chanting in no recognizable tongue. The goblin like creatures swarm at the edges of the fire while the forces of Revolution Dawn, for the moment, hold their positions, seeming to wait for something...

Frau Totenkinder watched it go, mulling over the oddity. A revenant, but not quite, and terrible power at work. At least this new place was proving interesting.

She heaved herself out of the chair with a creak. "You have my word, and fare thee well." It would run off, and that fire was sure to draw all attention...that ought to include hers.

The witch dug around in an incongruously deep pocket for one of the little odds and ends she kept in case of just such contingencies. Not the hot one of course. Another fireball in the city wouldn't do, and she intended to keep her word for as long as this distraction lasted. A woman had to maintain her long term options and stratagems after all.

"Ah..there we are." A lump of clay squished in her fingers as she wetted them in the pool and worked. A touch of art, a breath, and her muddy little sparrow took flight, showing her all that transpired on the earth below. Toward the flames, show me...

She looked around the alley. While those in the know dealt with whatever brought down the inferno and her presence was less welcome than one might hope, it seemed patience was the course to take. With a flick of her wrist a door appeared on the formerly blank wall and she stepped through in to a cozy one room abode. The portal closed behind her with a definitive click, despite the knob and hinges having an uncanny resemblance to chocolate ganache.

Old habits died hard.

Click to shrink...

The sparrow soon comes close enough to see the massive knight begin working hilariously powerful magics as if it knows them by heart. As in, 'depending on what it's trying exactly, it may be able to reduce the city to a smoking crater' powerful, although the magics are also terribly complicated.

 

[Kensai]

A great forest

Massive trees, taller than skyscrapers and wide in proportion to their scale, blot out all sunlight. The forest is alive with a cacophony of animal sounds. Then, quite abruptly, it isn't, things falling ominously silent... Before the death scream of something massive rings out, haunting and terrible.

Something quite dangerous hunts here, it would seem. This is where Kushinata and Vanitas find themselves, after a disorienting transition.

Click to shrink...

The young woman smiled calmly at her newfound companion as she lifted a golden statuette in one slim hand. It depicted a human figure on its knees, in a posture of devotion. Even in the darkness of the forest, it gleamed with an inner light.

"My name is Kushinata, and I am a Saint-Warrior of Athena," said the woman, her voice like the sound of small bells tinkling. "I suggest that we prepare to defend ourselves."

The statuette unfolded like a flower, its pleats and plates flowing over her as if taking her into an embrace. The scent of lotus blossoms and sandalwood filled the air, and Kushinata's hands, now elegantly gauntleted, rose, palms forward, into the position of abhaya mudra, a ribbon of amaranth-pink silk draped across them.

 

[Dust and echoes]

Zoss arrives first, not counting the local forces lining up to battle. What can only be described as lesser versions of Revolution Dawn of the Dragon Fist leading individual squads of five or ten of the locals among them.

The pillar, however, represents an opening in the cavern walls, leading out into a seemingly unending badland of burning hills and crags, and through the opening pour a tide of small, three foot tall goblin like creatures, armed with knives and seemingly unaffected by the flame. In the center of this force strides an armored knight in golden armor, some twenty feet tall and holding a runed greatsword resting upon it's shoulder while gesturing intricately with the other hand. "My liege calls for me to strike at thee and by his will it shall be so! To the death!"

With it's peace said, the figure begins moving it's entire body in a clearly purposeful manner and yet to no clear goal, while chanting in no recognizable tongue. The goblin like creatures swarm at the edges of the fire while the forces of Revolution Dawn, for the moment, hold their positions, seeming to wait for something...

Click to shrink...

And the armored one spoke, and Zoss listened. And when the former finished speaking, the King of Kings stepped forward. The earth trembled beneath his feet, and the air around him burned and fled, for now came the King of Kings, the Master of the Multiverse. Now came Zoss.

And so the King of Kings stepped forward, into view of the armored one. Zoss was unarmed, for he had learned long ago that the deadliest swordsman (or woman) needed no sword. He gazed up at the champion before him, ignoring the minions swarming at its feet.

"Silence." Spoke the king, and the collection of minions on both sides would find their hands bound to their mouths, and there would be silence, for behind the Kings words were Royalty, and reality was compelled to bend to His will. "Who be you, who comes in fire? A servant of Maldurion? The 'Honox' I so recently learned about? The Conquering King seeks both. Tell me what you know." The King demanded of the Armord one. "Speak!"

 

[Mina]

The sparrow soon comes close enough to see the massive knight begin working hilariously powerful magics as if it knows them by heart. As in, 'depending on what it's trying exactly, it may be able to reduce the city to a smoking crater' powerful, although the magics are also terribly complicated.

Click to shrink...

When faced with complicated problems often the simplest solutions were best. Bigby was fond of his maxims of battle and combat, but before he'd so so much as dreamed of a little piggy she'd been using a foe's strengths against them. The powerful, the beautiful, the brilliant, they all fell just the same in the end. This one would be no different, provided she could tease out the threads she needed.

Her needles clicked as she watched its lips, its movements, eyes flicking to and fro. Proper counterspelling was like turning a blade away with a feather, the right twist in the magic and all that power came crashing back down...on the caster preferably.

"Silence." Spoke the king, and the collection of minions on both sides would find their hands bound to their mouths, and there would be silence, for behind the Kings words were Royalty, and reality was compelled to bend to His will. "Who be you, who comes in fire? A servant of Maldurion? The 'Honox' I so recently learned about? The Conquering King seeks both. Tell me what you know." The King demanded of the Armord one. "Speak!"

Click to shrink...

Ah, the other stranger. And a loudmouth at that. She persisted, focusing on the sorcerous knight and not letting a stitch drop as she did. If she had her way the slightest slip of its tongue, a redirection of force, and the raw power it meant to unleash would have nowhere to go but inward. The nice thing about times like this was having a bit of distance from the field, and a useful brute on hand to deal with the fallout.

 

[Terrabrand]

And the armored one spoke, and Zoss listened. And when the former finished speaking, the King of Kings stepped forward. The earth trembled beneath his feet, and the air around him burned and fled, for now came the King of Kings, the Master of the Multiverse. Now came Zoss.

And so the King of Kings stepped forward, into view of the armored one. Zoss was unarmed, for he had learned long ago that the deadliest swordsman (or woman) needed no sword. He gazed up at the champion before him, ignoring the minions swarming at its feet.

"Silence." Spoke the king, and the collection of minions on both sides would find their hands bound to their mouths, and there would be silence, for behind the Kings words were Royalty, and reality was compelled to bend to His will. "Who be you, who comes in fire? A servant of Maldurion? The 'Honox' I so recently learned about? The Conquering King seeks both. Tell me what you know." The King demanded of the Armord one. "Speak!"

Click to shrink...

While in actuality the minions are mouthless, more importantly Zoss finds his will rejected, and nothing within the burning region is affected, as something even more stubborn than he permeates the region- although the region on fire ever so slightly diminishes, perhaps an inch or three of ground lost. The armored champion continues to dance, completely ignoring the demands...

When faced with complicated problems often the simplest solutions were best. Bigby was fond of his maxims of battle and combat, but before he'd so so much as dreamed of a little piggy she'd been using a foe's strengths against them. The powerful, the beautiful, the brilliant, they all fell just the same in the end. This one would be no different, provided she could tease out the threads she needed.

Her needles clicked as she watched its lips, its movements, eyes flicking to and fro. Proper counterspelling was like turning a blade away with a feather, the right twist in the magic and all that power came crashing back down...on the caster preferably.



Ah, the other stranger. And a loudmouth at that. She persisted, focusing on the sorcerous knight and not letting a stitch drop as she did. If she had her way the slightest slip of its tongue, a redirection of force, and the raw power it meant to unleash would have nowhere to go but inward. The nice thing about times like this was having a bit of distance from the field, and a useful brute on hand to deal with the fallout.

Click to shrink...

And then as Frau Totenkinder watches the creature abruptly slams it's sword forward and all the magic surges along the blade, the spell loosed as the figure turns it's visor concealed face to glare at the sparrow, falling into silence. It seems it may have detected her.

As for the magic, well, that's Zoss and the mortal's problem, as a chain of explosions burst forth, starting from the tip of the sword as the magic cascades directly for Zoss.

Meanwhile, it becomes apparent to both Zoss and Frau Totenkinder that more figures are simply appearing within the raging fire, most of them the knife wielding goblin like creatures, but every so often there's one with a staff, waving it around while repeatedly crying out "Honox!", and with every repetition reality seems to shift as something that Zoss would probably recognize as almost royal turns it's attention slightly more this way...

Revolution Dawn lands adjacent to Zoss, and seems to be preparing to... Punch the explosion wave?

 

[Vozen]

Bhavishy-kaal lazily hovers in the water.

"If this is your territory, I rather hoped that you would have the answer to that. I was at home, and then I am here, yet what is puzzling is that I have neither missing time nor did I record the usual signs of wormhole passage. This is not Nanori territory, yet I remain unmolested, which leads me to think that while you are not Nanori, neither are you Replicant, Mechanican, or Leaguer. I confess that I am intrigued by puzzles such as this."

Click to shrink...

Kars contemplated this. "It would seem we are all strangers to each-other, for all you just spoke of is alien to me as well...hmm, some force has drawn us from our home realms into this one. Perhaps by the hand of another Dragon for goals I know not."

Turning to the far larger of his conversion partners, Kars continued. "Leviathan, do you know of any Dragon with a power that may allow them to pull someone from an alternate reality?"

 

[Terrabrand]

Bhavishy-kaal lazily hovers in the water.

"If this is your territory, I rather hoped that you would have the answer to that. I was at home, and then I am here, yet what is puzzling is that I have neither missing time nor did I record the usual signs of wormhole passage. This is not Nanori territory, yet I remain unmolested, which leads me to think that while you are not Nanori, neither are you Replicant, Mechanican, or Leaguer. I confess that I am intrigued by puzzles such as this."

Click to shrink...

Kars contemplated this. "It would seem we are all strangers to each-other, for all you just spoke of is alien to me as well...hmm, some force has drawn us from our home realms into this one. Perhaps by the hand of another Dragon for goals I know not."

Turning to the far larger of his conversion partners, Kars continued. "Leviathan, do you know of any Dragon with a power that may allow them to pull someone from an alternate reality?"

Click to shrink...

"Never in the War did I see such a power, but Maldurion has shown many, and paid little attention to-"

Those present can see the glow of fire through the grand icy wall. "Honox dares threaten my Territory. That... Is a first. Fight alongside me, if you wish, strangers, yet fight him I will, for beyond my pride as a Dragon, he has perked my interest. If he wants you dead, I shan't allow him to do so, for if he would deny me I would deny him, and would know of why he wishes such when I can. "

The Dragon roars a battle cry- literally- before moving, swimming towards the ice wall, blitzing from stationary to a couple hundred miles per hour in a scant second.

Faster than you might expect for something so big. Meanwhile, hundreds of frost covered crab-like creatures begin pulling themselves out of the ocean floor and swimming, somehow, after Leviathan of Frozen Depths, as the fishmen begin being organized by more of the same crab creatures which, apparently, can speak.

 

[Dust and echoes]

While in actuality the minions are mouthless, more importantly Zoss finds his will rejected, and nothing within the burning region is affected, as something even more stubborn than he permeates the region- although the region on fire ever so slightly diminishes, perhaps an inch or three of ground lost. The armored champion continues to dance, completely ignoring the demands...



And then as Frau Totenkinder watches the creature abruptly slams it's sword forward and all the magic surges along the blade, the spell loosed as the figure turns it's visor concealed face to glare at the sparrow, falling into silence. It seems it may have detected her.

As for the magic, well, that's Zoss and the mortal's problem, as a chain of explosions burst forth, starting from the tip of the sword as the magic cascades directly for Zoss.

Meanwhile, it becomes apparent to both Zoss and Frau Totenkinder that more figures are simply appearing within the raging fire, most of them the knife wielding goblin like creatures, but every so often there's one with a staff, waving it around while repeatedly crying out "Honox!", and with every repetition reality seems to shift as something that Zoss would probably recognize as almost royal turns it's attention slightly more this way...

Revolution Dawn lands adjacent to Zoss, and seems to be preparing to... Punch the explosion wave?

Click to shrink...

The King was surprised to be rebuffed so, for He had not been resisted as such in uncountable years. To be denied was an unfamiliar experience. Beneath His helm, the King of Kings smiled.

He crossed His arms over His chest, steeling Himself from within. If His foe was what equated to royalty, Zoss knew what He must do. A contest of wills, and a contest of might. One must beat the other into submission, on this plane and every plane. In the language of flesh and the language of the mind.

Zoss allowed the wave to roll over Him, past Him, through Him. He was as stone, unbreakable. He was as void, untouchable. Even should the force blast Him into pieces, it meant nothing to Zoss, for He simply gave no care. What use is a head? The Hydra has seven. What good are arms and legs? The leviathan has eight. And so Zoss weathered the storm, breaking and reforming and enduring, all the while smiling beneath His helm.

With its passing, the King of Kings made His own show. Extending His right gauntlet, the Conquering King called forth a sword of white fire from the nothing. The sword of want, made manifest. A facsimile, a personification of but a concept, but a sword of immense strength no less, for Zoss had defined it so.

Planting it point-down in the stone at His own feet- mirroring His foe- He spoke.
"I am Zoss." He bellowed. "King of Kings. Master of the Multiverse. I have smote the Prime Angels from their dead world. I have ripped the 777,777 true names of God from the mouth of Metatron. I have crafted the God Key with mine own hands." And the King of Kings lifted His burning blade and leveled it at His foe. Beneath His feet, the ground turned to grey ash. Above His head, His halo burned blinding white.

"I am the Conquering King. And I will break you."

 

[Terrabrand]

The King was surprised to be rebuffed so, for He had not been resisted as such in uncountable years. To be denied was an unfamiliar experience. Beneath His helm, the King of Kings smiled.

He crossed His arms over His chest, steeling Himself from within. If His foe was what equated to royalty, Zoss knew what He must do. A contest of wills, and a contest of might. One must beat the other into submission, on this plane and every plane. In the language of flesh and the language of the mind.

Zoss allowed the wave to roll over Him, past Him, through Him. He was as stone, unbreakable. He was as void, untouchable. Even should the force blast Him into pieces, it meant nothing to Zoss, for He simply gave no care. What use is a head? The Hydra has seven. What good are arms and legs? The leviathan has eight. And so Zoss weathered the storm, breaking and reforming and enduring, all the while smiling beneath His helm.

With its passing, the King of Kings made His own show. Extending His right gauntlet, the Conquering King called forth a sword of white fire from the nothing. The sword of want, made manifest. A facsimile, a personification of but a concept, but a sword of immense strength no less, for Zoss had defined it so.

Planting it point-down in the stone at His own feet- mirroring His foe- He spoke.
"I am Zoss." He bellowed. "King of Kings. Master of the Multiverse. I have smote the Prime Angels from their dead world. I have ripped the 777,777 true names of God from the mouth of Metatron. I have crafted the God Key with mine own hands." And the King of Kings lifted His burning blade and leveled it at His foe. Beneath His feet, the ground turned to grey ash. Above His head, His halo burned blinding white.

"I am the Conquering King. And I will break you."

Click to shrink...

Zoss winds up having no need to endure the wave, as it turns out, due to Revolution Dawn of the Dragon Fist stepping in front of him and rotating, one foot planted firmly while swinging her arms against it over and over again. The massive knight scowls. "You are as irritating as my peers have always suggested, ma'am, although the arcane interference is new. No matter, for new obstacles a change in battle plan is always called for. Honox provides as his faithful Herald need, you see."

Revolution Dawn gives the impression of rolling her eyes at this, though such are not actually visible, as if she's heard it way too many times.

It is at this point that two massive, winged beasts, looking like a particularly bestial rendition of a dragon, albeit with flesh like molten stone, wing into view from deeper inside the endless burning wastes, one angling for Zoss and the other for Revolution Dawn- which, really, means about the same spot for now. The self-named Herald hefts it's sword into a defensive stance and marches towards the front, simply chanting "Honox!" itself, while a giant forms from ash and dust behind the battle line, holding it's hands above it's head and, slowly, forming what would appear to be a miniature star within...

Revolution Dawn glances at Zoss. "I don't suppose you can hit the giant from here? I swear, those giants are a pain, the blast zone..." Conspicuously, her forces are now retreating to cover when they weren't before. "Well, I can't let my troops take the hit. Doooon't worry too much 'bout them drake things, they're hard to kill brutes but haven't done anything more interesting than fly thus far."

 

[Vozen]

"Never in the War did I see such a power, but Maldurion has shown many, and paid little attention to-"

Those present can see the glow of fire through the grand icy wall. "Honox dares threaten my Territory. That... Is a first. Fight alongside me, if you wish, strangers, yet fight him I will, for beyond my pride as a Dragon, he has perked my interest. If he wants you dead, I shan't allow him to do so, for if he would deny me I would deny him, and would know of why he wishes such when I can. "

The Dragon roars a battle cry- literally- before moving, swimming towards the ice wall, blitzing from stationary to a couple hundred miles per hour in a scant second.

Faster than you might expect for something so big. Meanwhile, hundreds of frost covered crab-like creatures begin pulling themselves out of the ocean floor and swimming, somehow, after Leviathan of Frozen Depths, as the fishmen begin being organized by more of the same crab creatures which, apparently, can speak.

Click to shrink...

Kars hesitated for only a moment. Seeing an opportunity, he shifted his biology again. Several small holes appeared on the front of his torso, and six bone protrusions extended from his back. They shunted water at a rapid pace and send him after the dragon like a rocket. He reached near 80 miles an hour in little time at all.

Kar's fin-blade hands shimmered along the edges, as his 'Light Blade' activated. "Let's see how well this new world fairs against the likes of me!" He boasted, and charged forward intent on joining battle.

 

[Mina]

Honox provides as his faithful Herald need, you see."

Revolution Dawn gives the impression of rolling her eyes at this, though such are not actually visible, as if she's heard it way too many times.

It is at this point that two massive, winged beasts, looking like a particularly bestial rendition of a dragon, albeit with flesh like molten stone, wing into view from deeper inside the endless burning wastes, one angling for Zoss and the other for Revolution Dawn- which, really, means about the same spot for now. The self-named Herald hefts it's sword into a defensive stance and marches towards the front, simply chanting "Honox!" itself, while a giant forms from ash and dust behind the battle line, holding it's hands above it's head and, slowly, forming what would appear to be a miniature star within...

Click to shrink...

Names were such an important thing. Honox, Zoss, they were strangers to her either way, but the confrontation was a familiar one. Frau Totenkinder paused and evaluated the balance of power. She'd been on the right track before, but this force marshalled against them (using the collective lightly) was fearsome indeed.

Language was the key, but it was a long shot.

Her needles clicked again, filling the small room with a raucous clatter as she turned her attention to the minions. Working there, within the bounds of both competing realities of will she sought cracks she could slip her power through. Syllables would bend and twist under her spell, the chants breaking down in discord as 'Honox', was taken over by another, greater name.

ZOSS.

Conquering King.

The only name, no matter what they thought they said.

Let the Herald sing his master's glory alone.

 

[Genon]

A domain of Blood and Battle

A vast, blood red plane stretches in every direction, empty of landmarks.

Several figures find themselves upon it without explanation. Zoss, Frau Totenkinder, Kars, Bashivy-Kaal, Kushinata, Vanitas, Meti, Maya, and Vector all appear, and have a scant three seconds to take in each others appearances and consider the words they heard before their arrival;

"The battle... Must continue, you see. Fighting and blood... That is the way of things. What, then, was I to do, when nothing remained to challenge me? The answer became clear, in time. Find new foes. And if none are left to be found... Make them. Please try not to die too easily..." The same message, heard by each, though none yet know the others heard the same. Still, after the third second they are all present, quite abruptly, six are gone as something about reality twists. Meti, Maya, and Vector remain.

Those that remain have no time to settle in, either, as the red plains are disturbed by ripples, and armies of armored knights, viking warriors, samurai and ninja, elven archers and barbarous orcs and stalwart dwarves and much, much more, arise from the fields of blood... And indiscriminately lay into each other, in a chaotic, violent war that rages in every direction so far as the eye can see. Three blood red armored figures suddenly spring from the blood, each identical to the others, forming the points of a triangle surrounding those who remain, and in unison gesture with their longswords. "Welcome to the killing fields. I have high hopes for you, try not to disappoint me." They speak in eery unison, before each leaping for the nearest of the three, sword aimed to decapitate their target...

@Genon

@Estro

@Laplace

Click to shrink...

Vector was rudely interrupted from drinking a nice cup of coffee by being warped into a scene straight out of an R-rated fantasy film. It vaguely reminded her of Warblade Fantasy. Of course, given the bloody knight charging at her, she had little time to contemplate the message she had just heard nor the two strangers she was standing next to. Luckily, she had a near-incalculable power level, and as a consequence was able to see even a knight of this strength coming at her in practically slow-motion. She easily parried the decapitating strike with a Sauza Blade, and she didn't even seem remotely strained in doing so. With her free hand, she put her index finger under the knight's chin in a pointing gesture, purple light gathering at her fingertip for a fraction of a second before a fully-formed Death Beam would emerge and attempt to put a nice, neat hole right through the man's skull.

Meti sighs, and grabs the two intact swords of the new ones, shattering them like the first, before jumping up to use her yellowed foot nails to split their armour from crown to groin.

"Pree Asema, there truly is nothing new in the multiplicity."

The beggar tsked in disgust, landing in a sitting position, inspecting the damaged helm she'd hit.

Click to shrink...

Observing the elderly swordmaster dealing with the multiplying enemies gave Agatha time to prepare as she steeled herself for the man to split into two. If more enemies spawned, she was ready to activate Perfect Multiform and become as many soldiers as she needed to be, up to and including a one-woman army.

 

[Terrabrand]

Names were such an important thing. Honox, Zoss, they were strangers to her either way, but the confrontation was a familiar one. Frau Totenkinder paused and evaluated the balance of power. She'd been on the right track before, but this force marshalled against them (using the collective lightly) was fearsome indeed.

Language was the key, but it was a long shot.

Her needles clicked again, filling the small room with a raucous clatter as she turned her attention to the minions. Working there, within the bounds of both competing realities of will she sought cracks she could slip her power through. Syllables would bend and twist under her spell, the chants breaking down in discord as 'Honox', was taken over by another, greater name.

ZOSS.

Conquering King.

The only name, no matter what they thought they said.

Let the Herald sing his master's glory alone.

Click to shrink...

A shrouded figure in a cloak and wizard hat stands amid the flame. It gestures in a direction, and nods to an equally shrouded hooded figure, who simply... fades into the fire, as the wizard-figure begins chanting under it's breath while shifting it's hands through a series of signs. The visible effects are non-existent, from a mundane perspective.

From Frau Totenkinder's perspective, the effects are rather more obvious. The arcane forces throughout the fire begin aggressively walling her off, clearly directed by the enemy caster.

Who stands several miles behind the front. Troublesome.

Back on the bloody fields

Mathangi Ten Meti
---------------------------
Maya reacted as those who followed the Sword Law were wont: violence. She flicked out her sword, only an inch of blade protruding from the hilt, and cut her assailant in two, shoulder to hip.

This happened faster than any eye could track. The assailant dispached, Maya looked at her teacher. Odd. She could have sworn Meti had died on her 108th year of existance. But here she was.

Strange.

Click to shrink...

Meti sighs, and grabs the two intact swords of the new ones, shattering them like the first, before jumping up to use her yellowed foot nails to split their armour from crown to groin.

"Pree Asema, there truly is nothing new in the multiplicity."

The beggar tsked in disgust, landing in a sitting position, inspecting the damaged helm she'd hit.

Click to shrink...

The helm... couldn't have ever held a human head within. In fact, there's little open space at all.

Vector was rudely interrupted from drinking a nice cup of coffee by being warped into a scene straight out of an R-rated fantasy film. It vaguely reminded her of Warblade Fantasy. Of course, given the bloody knight charging at her, she had little time to contemplate the message she had just heard nor the two strangers she was standing next to. Luckily, she had a near-incalculable power level, and as a consequence was able to see even a knight of this strength coming at her in practically slow-motion. She easily parried the decapitating strike with a Sauza Blade, and she didn't even seem remotely strained in doing so. With her free hand, she put her index finger under the knight's chin in a pointing gesture, purple light gathering at her fingertip for a fraction of a second before a fully-formed Death Beam would emerge and attempt to put a nice, neat hole right through the man's skull.


Observing the elderly swordmaster dealing with the multiplying enemies gave Agatha time to prepare as she steeled herself for the man to split into two. If more enemies spawned, she was ready to activate Perfect Multiform and become as many soldiers as she needed to be, up to and including a one-woman army.

Click to shrink...

A nearby bloody knight begins clapping, as if in applause. Far more pressingly, the armies that sprung forth from the blood... Are being directed by more of the same straight towards the three women. The fighting between the armies has stopped. A massive shower of arrows, bolts, axes, boulders, and more volleys towards them in disturbing coordination.

As the light of the sun beats down upon them, the hostile forces seem to increase by the second...

 

[CV12Hornet]

A domain of Blood and Battle

A vast, blood red plane stretches in every direction, empty of landmarks.

Several figures find themselves upon it without explanation. Zoss, Frau Totenkinder, Kars, Bashivy-Kaal, Kushinata, Vanitas, Meti, Maya, and Vector all appear, and have a scant three seconds to take in each others appearances and consider the words they heard before their arrival;

"The battle... Must continue, you see. Fighting and blood... That is the way of things. What, then, was I to do, when nothing remained to challenge me? The answer became clear, in time. Find new foes. And if none are left to be found... Make them. Please try not to die too easily..." The same message, heard by each, though none yet know the others heard the same. Still, after the third second they are all present, quite abruptly, six are gone as something about reality twists. Meti, Maya, and Vector remain.

Click to shrink...

A great forest

Massive trees, taller than skyscrapers and wide in proportion to their scale, blot out all sunlight. The forest is alive with a cacophony of animal sounds. Then, quite abruptly, it isn't, things falling ominously silent... Before the death scream of something massive rings out, haunting and terrible.

Something quite dangerous hunts here, it would seem. This is where Kushinata and Vanitas find themselves, after a disorienting transition.

Click to shrink...

Beta Ray Bill staggers slightly, eyes wide and and his hands tightening their already vice-like grip on his hammer Stormbreaker. The travel between planes - twice! - had been instantaneous. There was no transition, quite unlike his experiences with both the Bifrost and Stormbreaker's own ability to travel between realms. One moment he had been aboard the Skuttlebutt, shepherding his people across the stars, the next he had been on that realm of blood red that reminded him far too much of the demon Surtur and his minions, and then another moment had deposited him here, in this forest. The power and control it would take to do such a thing...!

And that voice...

A mysterious being of immense power, plucking warriors from all across creation and dropping them in a strange landscape to do combat... this entire situation is entirely too similar to Thor's tales of Battleworld, and of his own encounters with the mighty Beyonder that arranged that event. Briefly, he sends a prayer that Asgard is watching his people, and that they might come to their aid if need be, and then he focuses on the suddenly-silent forest. If this is a Battleworld situation, then combat is the only option until he can learn more of the being that brought them here. And more, he must find allies, a decision only reinforced as a terrible scream rings out.

And wouldn't you know it, there is a human figure right near him, fairly radiating serenity and power.

The young woman smiled calmly at her newfound companion as she lifted a golden statuette in one slim hand. It depicted a human figure on its knees, in a posture of devotion. Even in the darkness of the forest, it gleamed with an inner light.

"My name is Kushinata, and I am a Saint-Warrior of Athena," said the woman, her voice like the sound of small bells tinkling. "I suggest that we prepare to defend ourselves."

The statuette unfolded like a flower, its pleats and plates flowing over her as if taking her into an embrace. The scent of lotus blossoms and sandalwood filled the air, and Kushinata's hands, now elegantly gauntleted, rose, palms forward, into the position of abhaya mudra, a ribbon of amaranth-pink silk draped across them.

Click to shrink...

"Well met, Kushinata," Bill responds, his voice rough and harsh and yet friendly at the same time. "I am Beta Ray Bill, ally of Asgard and Protector of the Korbinites. And I agree wholeheartedly, for the beast that caused that scream is sure to be nearby."

Already, Bill is on guard; he has been on guard for a very long time, with only brief respite in Asgard and New York. And so he sees the small statuette the woman carries unfold into some sort of armor, and smells the scent in the air, and is glad, for his new ally is ready as well.

But it is with a start and pang of worry that he realizes that Stormbreaker barely alerted him to the mystical forces clearly at work. And now, paying attention, he can feel the entire wood fairly saturated with magic. Stormbreaker's ability to sense such abilities would be sharply curtailed, if not rendered entirely useless.

"I hope you have some means of detecting this creature," Bill says. "For my own methods appear to be useless for the moment, and I would rather have a little bit of warning." Unconsciously, his hand slides down Stormbreaker's handle a few inches, the better to swing it fast.

 

[Terrabrand]

The young woman smiled calmly at her newfound companion as she lifted a golden statuette in one slim hand. It depicted a human figure on its knees, in a posture of devotion. Even in the darkness of the forest, it gleamed with an inner light.

"My name is Kushinata, and I am a Saint-Warrior of Athena," said the woman, her voice like the sound of small bells tinkling. "I suggest that we prepare to defend ourselves."

The statuette unfolded like a flower, its pleats and plates flowing over her as if taking her into an embrace. The scent of lotus blossoms and sandalwood filled the air, and Kushinata's hands, now elegantly gauntleted, rose, palms forward, into the position of abhaya mudra, a ribbon of amaranth-pink silk draped across them.

Click to shrink...

Beta Ray Bill staggers slightly, eyes wide and and his hands tightening their already vice-like grip on his hammer Stormbreaker. The travel between planes - twice! - had been instantaneous. There was no transition, quite unlike his experiences with both the Bifrost and Stormbreaker's own ability to travel between realms. One moment he had been aboard the Skuttlebutt, shepherding his people across the stars, the next he had been on that realm of blood red that reminded him far too much of the demon Surtur and his minions, and then another moment had deposited him here, in this forest. The power and control it would take to do such a thing...!

And that voice...

A mysterious being of immense power, plucking warriors from all across creation and dropping them in a strange landscape to do combat... this entire situation is entirely too similar to Thor's tales of Battleworld, and of his own encounters with the mighty Beyonder that arranged that event. Briefly, he sends a prayer that Asgard is watching his people, and that they might come to their aid if need be, and then he focuses on the suddenly-silent forest. If this is a Battleworld situation, then combat is the only option until he can learn more of the being that brought them here. And more, he must find allies, a decision only reinforced as a terrible scream rings out.

And wouldn't you know it, there is a human figure right near him, fairly radiating serenity and power.


"Well met, Kushinata," Bill responds, his voice rough and harsh and yet friendly at the same time. "I am Beta Ray Bill, ally of Asgard and Protector of the Korbinites. And I agree wholeheartedly, for the beast that caused that scream is sure to be nearby."

Already, Bill is on guard; he has been on guard for a very long time, with only brief respite in Asgard and New York. And so he sees the small statuette the woman carries unfold into some sort of armor, and smells the scent in the air, and is glad, for his new ally is ready as well.

But it is with a start and pang of worry that he realizes that Stormbreaker barely alerted him to the mystical forces clearly at work. And now, paying attention, he can feel the entire wood fairly saturated with magic. Stormbreaker's ability to sense such abilities would be sharply curtailed, if not rendered entirely useless.

"I hope you have some means of detecting this creature," Bill says. "For my own methods appear to be useless for the moment, and I would rather have a little bit of warning." Unconsciously, his hand slides down Stormbreaker's handle a few inches, the better to swing it fast.

Click to shrink...

Bill abruptly notices a completely unique and unfamiliar energy signature, creeping towards the pair slowly and erratically. The forest remains silent... But before a second can pass the two find themselves faced with a strange, wooden creature, shaped roughly humanoid, with extremely sharp claws... branches... fingers... or whatever you'd call them on it's hands. "You are new. New predators? More likely prey... An age without Dragons to prey upon, still unbroken, but you are a new thing I have never dreamed of, and that confuses me. Do the strange creatures know of the barrier? Perhaps they can break it. Perhaps I can feel the death of a Dragon again."

It stands there, silently awaiting a response. For all it's words and sharp claws, it doesn't have an aggressive or predatory manner, oddly.

 

[CV12Hornet]

Bill abruptly notices a completely unique and unfamiliar energy signature, creeping towards the pair slowly and erratically. The forest remains silent... But before a second can pass the two find themselves faced with a strange, wooden creature, shaped roughly humanoid, with extremely sharp claws... branches... fingers... or whatever you'd call them on it's hands. "You are new. New predators? More likely prey... An age without Dragons to prey upon, still unbroken, but you are a new thing I have never dreamed of, and that confuses me. Do the strange creatures know of the barrier? Perhaps they can break it. Perhaps I can feel the death of a Dragon again."

It stands there, silently awaiting a response. For all it's words and sharp claws, it doesn't have an aggressive or predatory manner, oddly.

Click to shrink...

It is as if a blanket has been ripped off, a surge of energy making Stormbreaker vibrate. Bill's eyes widen, and he turns in the direction of the approaching energy, approaching slowly and erratically.

@Kensai
"Prepare yourself," he hisses to Kushinata. "Something approaches! Something powerful!"

However, barely has he finished giving the warning before something else approaches first. It greatly resembles an ent, a creature that the Asgardians had encountered on occasion in their travels across the universe, and despite its sharp claws it doesn't seem aggressive. Still, the distant, still-approaching energy signature keeps him on edge, especially since the ent still fails to register over the ambient blanket of energy.

Still. Dragons? Somehow, Bill gets the feeling that they are closer to Jormungandr than anything else. And this being preys upon them? Still, it does not appear hostile...

"I am afraid I do not know of the barrier of which you speak," Bill states, indicating Kushinata. "We are strangers to this land, she and I."

 

[Estro]

A nearby bloody knight begins clapping, as if in applause. Far more pressingly, the armies that sprung forth from the blood... Are being directed by more of the same straight towards the three women. The fighting between the armies has stopped. A massive shower of arrows, bolts, axes, boulders, and more volleys towards them in disturbing coordination.

As the light of the sun beats down upon them, the hostile forces seem to increase by the second...

Click to shrink...

The sword fighter looked at their opponents, the massed horde flinging weapons at them. But they were insignificant and so Meti ignored them, safe in her ignorance. She thought back to her life and smiled, a grim thing.

Exhaling, Meti stood up. Something had changed about her, the woman changing from Vagrant in an instant.
You must practice death in all things.
Breathing in slowly, Meti let her terrible will suffuse her with its heat, the flame eternal burning bright in her breast. Steam weathed her feet as the blood beneath Meti's feet started to boil.
It is better you have a sword, but death must lie under your fingernails, if need be.
Letting her will burn away her thoughts, Meti raised her hand, fingers stiff. Her halo burst into existence as death infused every cell of her being.
When decapitating an enemy, it is severe impoliteness to use more than one blow.
Meti slashed her knife hand across her body, aiming to decapitate and cut from life the three armies.
To cut properly, you must continually self-annihilate when cutting.
No, That's wrong. She did that and did it ship it became more.
Your hand must become a hand that is cutting, your body a body that is cutting, your mind, a mind that is cutting.
Meti ten Ryo Cut.

 

[samdamandias]

"Never in the War did I see such a power, but Maldurion has shown many, and paid little attention to-"

Those present can see the glow of fire through the grand icy wall. "Honox dares threaten my Territory. That... Is a first. Fight alongside me, if you wish, strangers, yet fight him I will, for beyond my pride as a Dragon, he has perked my interest. If he wants you dead, I shan't allow him to do so, for if he would deny me I would deny him, and would know of why he wishes such when I can. "

The Dragon roars a battle cry- literally- before moving, swimming towards the ice wall, blitzing from stationary to a couple hundred miles per hour in a scant second.

Faster than you might expect for something so big. Meanwhile, hundreds of frost covered crab-like creatures begin pulling themselves out of the ocean floor and swimming, somehow, after Leviathan of Frozen Depths, as the fishmen begin being organized by more of the same crab creatures which, apparently, can speak.

Click to shrink...

Bhavishy-kaal hangs in the frigid water. "Honored Dragon, this is not yet my war. But if this Honox wishes me dead, would it offend you if I defended myself to the fullness of my abilities?"

Kars hesitated for only a moment. Seeing an opportunity, he shifted his biology again. Several small holes appeared on the front of his torso, and six bone protrusions extended from his back. They shunted water at a rapid pace and send him after the dragon like a rocket. He reached near 80 miles an hour in little time at all.

Kar's fin-blade hands shimmered along the edges, as his 'Light Blade' activated. "Let's see how well this new world fairs against the likes of me!" He boasted, and charged forward intent on joining battle.

Click to shrink...

"Showoff," thon murmers.

Thon tilts forward, heat distortions begining to ripple in the water. The water next to thons suit starts to boil, the expanding gas trapped and moved to thons feet before being allowed to take the natural course of action. Supercavitation and speed achieved through nothing but raidient heat and some gas channels. Bhavishy-kaal makes a mental note to continue refining this design if thon will be spending much time in water.

Consider, as an exercise:
Opposing assets, unknown.
Own assets: Thonself, one environment suit
Allied assets: One self-proclaimed Ultimate lifeform; one Dragon; 258 ice-crabs (Subject to change); Fishmen (assume noncombatant)

It follows, then, that the first priority must be to obtain more information. If the Fishmen are noncombatant, the ice-crabs will herd them away from danger.

Bhavishy-kaal reaches into the unfolding possible futures with requests for more information. Thon does not reach very far, after all, thon will get to observe things first-hand shortly.

 

[Terrabrand]

Kars hesitated for only a moment. Seeing an opportunity, he shifted his biology again. Several small holes appeared on the front of his torso, and six bone protrusions extended from his back. They shunted water at a rapid pace and send him after the dragon like a rocket. He reached near 80 miles an hour in little time at all.

Kar's fin-blade hands shimmered along the edges, as his 'Light Blade' activated. "Let's see how well this new world fairs against the likes of me!" He boasted, and charged forward intent on joining battle.

Click to shrink...

Bhavishy-kaal hangs in the frigid water. "Honored Dragon, this is not yet my war. But if this Honox wishes me dead, would it offend you if I defended myself to the fullness of my abilities?"


"Showoff," thon murmers.

Thon tilts forward, heat distortions begining to ripple in the water. The water next to thons suit starts to boil, the expanding gas trapped and moved to thons feet before being allowed to take the natural course of action. Supercavitation and speed achieved through nothing but raidient heat and some gas channels. Bhavishy-kaal makes a mental note to continue refining this design if thon will be spending much time in water.

Consider, as an exercise:
Opposing assets, unknown.
Own assets: Thonself, one environment suit
Allied assets: One self-proclaimed Ultimate lifeform; one Dragon; 258 ice-crabs (Subject to change); Fishmen (assume noncombatant)

It follows, then, that the first priority must be to obtain more information. If the Fishmen are noncombatant, the ice-crabs will herd them away from danger.

Bhavishy-kaal reaches into the unfolding possible futures with requests for more information. Thon does not reach very far, after all, thon will get to observe things first-hand shortly.

Click to shrink...

Frozen Depths Ablaze

One of the ice crabs approaches Bashivy-Kaal and answers for the Leviathan, speaking in a similar manner albeit less booming, saying "The war is everyone's war, like it or not, and always has been. And only a fool would begrudge any being for fighting their hardest for their own survival, and I am no fool." One might imagine the crab believes itself to be the Leviathan, or else that the Leviathan is speaking through it.

As Bashivy-Kaal is querying their own future selves, Kars is approaching the location of the briefly halted Leviathan of Frozen Depths. So while the ice melts open in front of the Leviathan, while it, in turn, forms a massive lance of ice, freezing the water by mysterious means, Bashivy-Kaal is learning some of what will come. The fishmen are always herded to form some manner of fire support, launching... Telekinetic? Bolts. Some manner of invisible force launching and striking their targets, projected from open hands. The crab things form the front line, and coordinate the forces as well.

Of course, Kars, the Leviathan, and Bashivy-Kaal all have the senses to see the blazing word through the hole in the ice wall, and the massive armored knight and countless goblin like creatures on the other side. The knight begins talking "My liege calls for the-" before being interrupted by a violent, massive impact from the ice lance, as the flame is extinguished, not by the flood of water, which seems to dissipate when it reaches the border of fire, but rather by no mechanism Bashivy-Kaal or Kars recognize, as the Leviathan charges forth and thrusts the lance at his foes over and over again.

Leviathan of Frozen Depths speaks in a tone of irritation. "Your liege has long held my ire, Herald, and I accepted the stalemate out of necessity! Do not think you can challenge a Dragon alone, and do not fool yourself into thinking I have waited without improving my forces! This time will be different, so swears Leviathan of Frozen Depths!"

Bashivy-Kaal and Kars approach the... Battle, as Leviathan strikes against many of the lesser creatures. The Herald begins chanting while attempting to parry the massive lance of ice with it's runed sword, and in the distance several giant figures appear amidst the flames...

In all futures the giants are ignored, massive nuclear blasts are released against the Dragon to significant effect.

 

[Mina]

@Dust and echoes

A small bird alighted upon Zoss' shoulder and trilled,

"Oh King of Kings, Conqueror Zoss, one who stand astride worlds, my mistress beseeches thee: some distance hence a foul sorcerer challenges her from that strange demense and cannot be assailed within its fastness. It would seem vast distances can be naught and the wills of gods broken by your hand, so this boon she asks. Strike deep, drive far, and lance a path that delivers a message to this charlatan and its master, 'THEY WILL FALL'."

 

[Laplace]

The helm... couldn't have ever held a human head within. In fact, there's little open space at all.

A nearby bloody knight begins clapping, as if in applause. Far more pressingly, the armies that sprung forth from the blood... Are being directed by more of the same straight towards the three women. The fighting between the armies has stopped. A massive shower of arrows, bolts, axes, boulders, and more volleys towards them in disturbing coordination.

As the light of the sun beats down upon them, the hostile forces seem to increase by the second...

Click to shrink...

"...Hmph," Maya grunted. It was like one of the thousand battles she had experienced in the Demiurge wars, all over again. There wasn't enough Art being thrown around, but hey, perhaps she'd kill enough to draw the attention of higher powers. Ah, she'd end up doing it anyway. Maya flicked a glance to her teacher.

Yes, she was still there. No, this didn't seem like a mad fever dream brought on by drinking Throne street-swill.

Such is life, she supposed.

Without a word, she took a few steps forward. And then another. On the third, she leisurly lifted her Maybe Sword into the air and brought it down, cutting a vertical rent for many meters forward.

Such is the art of Cutting.

 

[Dust and echoes]

Zoss winds up having no need to endure the wave, as it turns out, due to Revolution Dawn of the Dragon Fist stepping in front of him and rotating, one foot planted firmly while swinging her arms against it over and over again. The massive knight scowls. "You are as irritating as my peers have always suggested, ma'am, although the arcane interference is new. No matter, for new obstacles a change in battle plan is always called for. Honox provides as his faithful Herald need, you see."

Revolution Dawn gives the impression of rolling her eyes at this, though such are not actually visible, as if she's heard it way too many times.

It is at this point that two massive, winged beasts, looking like a particularly bestial rendition of a dragon, albeit with flesh like molten stone, wing into view from deeper inside the endless burning wastes, one angling for Zoss and the other for Revolution Dawn- which, really, means about the same spot for now. The self-named Herald hefts it's sword into a defensive stance and marches towards the front, simply chanting "Honox!" itself, while a giant forms from ash and dust behind the battle line, holding it's hands above it's head and, slowly, forming what would appear to be a miniature star within...

Revolution Dawn glances at Zoss. "I don't suppose you can hit the giant from here? I swear, those giants are a pain, the blast zone..." Conspicuously, her forces are now retreating to cover when they weren't before. "Well, I can't let my troops take the hit. Doooon't worry too much 'bout them drake things, they're hard to kill brutes but haven't done anything more interesting than fly thus far."

Click to shrink...

And the King was angry. And inside, The King felt only rage. Where once He sought to speak to this knight, now He sought only its destruction. Where once He thought to pry answers from it, now He wished only for its annihalation.

And the Scaled one spoke to Him, but the King only half listened, so deep was His rage. He grasped the Eternal Flame within Him, that everburning light of infinite power that made the universes and its races, that keeps the wheel turning, and He raged.

Winds of destruction tore around Him, the ground turned to ash, fires blew out. In His hand, the sword of white flame and lightning and thunder became a spear, and with a roar He launched it at the distant giant, an extension of His will in the burning field, Zoss rage incarnate, foe-seeker, heart-piercer.

And as the weapon flew true on its path, from the void Zoss drew another Sword of fire and lightning and thunder, and it writhed in his grasp like a tongue of flame, and it was sharp and straight as the finest blade. And with this blade He stabbed at the sky, and at the beasts that flew there, and in His anger He made to Cut them into pieces, for distance meant nothing to Him, such was His anger, such was His conviction. Armor was nothing, belief was nothing. Zoss fought the battle one the plane of the mind as on the plane of flesh, burning a path through the resisting walls for His sword to Cut.

@Dust and echoes

A small bird alighted upon Zoss' shoulder and trilled,

"Oh King of Kings, Conqueror Zoss, one who stand astride worlds, my mistress beseeches thee: some distance hence a foul sorcerer challenges her from that strange demense and cannot be assailed within its fastness. It would seem vast distances can be naught and the wills of gods broken by your hand, so this boon she asks. Strike deep, drive far, and lance a path that delivers a message to this charlatan and its master, 'THEY WILL FALL'."

Click to shrink...

And then the bird found its way to Zoss, and into His ear it whispered the will of its master. Zoss was getting tired of following the direction of others, and yet, in His anger He obeyed.

With He planted His feet in the earth, both in the plane of flesh and the plane of spirit, and He channeled His rage, and He channeled the Eternal Flame and he reached.

Out into the fire, cutting His way through the walls and defenses and burning hellscape. While Zoss stood still, His will focused, and flew like a javelin, cutting and piercing through and through and through until it reached the distant sorcerer, and grasped him by the neck and pulled.

 

[Terrabrand]

@Dust and echoes

A small bird alighted upon Zoss' shoulder and trilled,

"Oh King of Kings, Conqueror Zoss, one who stand astride worlds, my mistress beseeches thee: some distance hence a foul sorcerer challenges her from that strange demense and cannot be assailed within its fastness. It would seem vast distances can be naught and the wills of gods broken by your hand, so this boon she asks. Strike deep, drive far, and lance a path that delivers a message to this charlatan and its master, 'THEY WILL FALL'."

Click to shrink...

And the King was angry. And inside, The King felt only rage. Where once He sought to speak to this knight, now He sought only its destruction. Where once He thought to pry answers from it, now He wished only for its annihalation.

And the Scaled one spoke to Him, but the King only half listened, so deep was His rage. He grasped the Eternal Flame within Him, that everburning light of infinite power that made the universes and its races, that keeps the wheel turning, and He raged.

Winds of destruction tore around Him, the ground turned to ash, fires blew out. In His hand, the sword of white flame and lightning and thunder became a spear, and with a roar He launched it at the distant giant, an extension of His will in the burning field, Zoss rage incarnate, foe-seeker, heart-piercer.

And as the weapon flew true on its path, from the void Zoss drew another Sword of fire and lightning and thunder, and it writhed in his grasp like a tongue of flame, and it was sharp and straight as the finest blade. And with this blade He stabbed at the sky, and at the beasts that flew there, and in His anger He made to Cut them into pieces, for distance meant nothing to Him, such was His anger, such was His conviction. Armor was nothing, belief was nothing. Zoss fought the battle one the plane of the mind as on the plane of flesh, burning a path through the resisting walls for His sword to Cut.

And then the bird found its way to Zoss, and into His ear it whispered the will of its master. Zoss was getting tired of following the direction of others, and yet, in His anger He obeyed.

With He planted His feet in the earth, both in the plane of flesh and the plane of spirit, and He channeled His rage, and He channeled the Eternal Flame and he reached.

Out into the fire, cutting His way through the walls and defenses and burning hellscape. While Zoss stood still, His will focused, and flew like a javelin, cutting and piercing through and through and through until it reached the distant sorcerer, and grasped him by the neck and pulled.

Click to shrink...

As the terrible spear of doom sears through the fire, obliterating the flame itself as it rockets forth, the Herald seems visibly alarmed. The great giant attempts to dodge to the side, stumbling out of the way, but it cannot move fast enough to evade the strike, and so it is pierced, and cast down, and destroyed utterly.

And as Zoss strikes at the creatures in the sky, they take terrible injuries, and yet their flesh holds even in the force of his attacks, though deep wounds indeed appear, and they swerve, veering back towards the tainted lands eternally ablaze, seeking to return to the flame for unknown reasons, as they endure with no sign of fear the terrible punishment... save perhaps the fact they are retreating.

However, as Zoss attempts to extend his will forth, the Herald of Honox abruptly slams it's sword in between Zoss and the Warlock, and the runed blade stands as an immutable barrier to this attack, no matter how focused Zoss's will is, for it is carved with great runes of power and those runes do the job for it's wielder, a wielder who is now carving runes into the flame himself with his off hand, and flowing from those runes, does the fire turn blue, and thick, and cold...

And far away, Frau Totenkinder finds her door abruptly slashed apart by a cloaked and hooded figure, before the creature lunges with a rune covered longsword, as it's rune covered cloak billows behind it... The blade and garment alike pulsing with arcane power abruptly, even though the figure went undetected until now.

Back at the front, Revolution Dawn of the Dragon Fist seems to frown as she considers the situation. "Well, that's the Ravagers retreating, fer now, but they'll be back in perfect condition if we let them go. Still, the giant is dead, so my troops can help... You know, this is a far larger force than Honox typically throws at me, and I can see more streaming in from the backlines, which is hardly reassuring. I think Honox means to drown us in bodies, and that simply won't do. Wyrms it is."

The creatures of the city begin lining up near the city, with a handful of Revolution Dawn's lesser copies- Wyrms?- organizing them as some of them begin employing some manner of invisible magic to bombard the enemy. The rest of the Wyrms present charge forward into the fire, smashing their way into the ranks of the goblinoid creatures and charging straight for the Herald. The Herald tssks audibly.

Revolution Dawn begins steadily walking forward, with clear purpose and a will as iron as any king, and as she approaches the flame and the chanting creatures fall, the flame begins receding, and cavern walls growing into existence, narrowing the access the foe has to her lands.

 

[Mina]

And far away, Frau Totenkinder finds her door abruptly slashed apart by a cloaked and hooded figure, before the creature lunges with a rune covered longsword, as it's rune covered cloak billows behind it... The blade and garment alike pulsing with arcane power abruptly, even though the figure went undetected until now.

Click to shrink...

There was a deafening silence for but an instant as Frau Totenkinder's needles fell still and she eyed the oncoming assassin.

Then the room exploded and sound returned with a hellish fury. Suddenly too large, exceedingly too large for the room, the witch slammed back at the blade with scaled talons. The building disintegrated around them, mortal material pushed aside by sorcerous bulk and force.

The frau loomed over her little intruder, the air around her monstrous, leviathan form filled with scintillating magic. Not quite a beast of the air, nor of the sea, draconic but fundamentally wrong, she grinned with diamond fangs and stabbed.

"You'll be useful with a little less vigor in those limbs poppet...shan't be needing those naughty hands either..."

 

[Terrabrand]

There was a deafening silence for but an instant as Frau Totenkinder's needles fell still and she eyed the oncoming assassin.

Then the room exploded and sound returned with a hellish fury. Suddenly too large, exceedingly too large for the room, the witch slammed back at the blade with scaled talons. The building disintegrated around them, mortal material pushed aside by sorcerous bulk and force.

The frau loomed over her little intruder, the air around her monstrous, leviathan form filled with scintillating magic. Not quite a beast of the air, nor of the sea, draconic but fundamentally wrong, she grinned with diamond fangs and stabbed.

"You'll be useful with a little less vigor in those limbs poppet...shan't be needing those naughty hands either..."

Click to shrink...

The figure silently signs a complex message with it's free hand, in a flurry of motion, and the world around it bursts into flame as reality seems to twist, at the same time as the figure deftly dodges to the side with inhuman speed, continuing to do something with it's free hand while taking an opportunistic gauge out of Frau Totenkinder's transformed face with a swipe of it's blade.

Within the region of fire, more of the mouthless, knife wielding goblins appear.