As Markus heals him, Xanderghul can feel his mind begin to un-cloud, and he is once again able to visualize his strongest spells in his mind's eye. Concentrating, he calls upon his reserves of magic, drawing necromantic energy into his fist. Casting the spell, he squeezes his fist, trying to shatter the creature's bones... but he feels greater resistance against it than he ever could have imagined.
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With the beast being pressed back by her allies, now all bolstered by haste as well as her divinely augmented heroism and both her and Ary's exhortations, Isilme decides to press the attack. In time to the cadence of her voice, she reaches back gracefully, plucking an arrow from her quiver, nocking it and firing it off to punctuate each of her sentences. ""The Beast of Drezen thought itself clever // the Beast of Drezen thought itself keen // the Beast of Drezen walked into a trap and soon found his bones stripped clean. // One by one the heroes pressed, their blades cut to its core, // and Soltengrobbe's fearsome response? But a whimper and a roar."
Across the ruins of Drezen her story travels, the two verses punctuated by the cry of pain and roar of surprise and frustration of Soltengrobbe, followed by the bleats of the goat head as she and the others continue to lay into it.
Despite the Beast's attempts to fortify itself, it is still unprepared for the terror of blows raining down from Hinagiku's fists and kicks. Bolstered by bardic magic, guided to the right spots to strike by her Commander, and blessed by the Master of Masters himself, she nearly pummels the goat head unconscious.
"I'll give you some more space to maneuver in a moment, Val. קעצל, קעצל! Keep up the pressure on the goat head. קעצל! Hurry, we don't know how long until it breathes again." she says, as she brings Radiance around in a deadly arc that leaves the Beast vulnerable to her friends' follow-up. Golden motes fly out of her blade and into Xanderghul, finishing what was left after Markus' spell.
Valaria and Ehren are up!
Val narrowly ducks and weaves, barely managing to get her dagger in when the beast tries to tear a chunk out of her. "Don't need to tell me twice!" She calls out as she feels more magic settling over the party to push their physical prowess higher and higher. "Let's put this thing down." Her daggers sing through the air, slashing at the goat head over and over again.
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Valaria quickly sweeps in, following up after Ary's deep strike to quickly chop off the rest of the goat's head in one fell blow, leaving Soltengrebbe dumbfounded at the wound delivered. She then turns and wheels on the dragon's head. With a classic and elegant motion, her left blade slides into her foe's neck... once... twice. But when she withdraws, the wound has healed partially over. From the opposite side, Isilme fires off three arrows, but fails to penetrate deeply enough to harm it.
Roaring, Soltengrebbe bashes one claw across Faith, pushing it aside to create an opening for its other. Meanwhile, the dragon head snaps at Valaria, but she dodges underneath it at the last second. She then strikes upwards... although her movement was delicate, the wound left behind is grisly... the dragon shrieks, a high-pitched, horrible noise, and then clumsily attempts to fly upwards and away from the heroes, blood dripping from its many wounds. But Soltengrebbe has never had to try and fly without the aid of one of it's heads, and it cannot move very far...
Round 3!
The heroes are up!
Val makes a swipe at the chimera as it attempts to lift away from them, but her daggers do little more than glance off its hardened scales. She clicks her tongue and lets the starknives fall, fanning out half a dozen daggers and launching them at the underside of the white scaled head.
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Though her arrows do little to the beast, Isilme is nonetheless bouyed by the death of the goat head and the brutal wound dealt to the dragon head by Val. Continuing her impromptu performance for the city, her voice carries her excitement at their minor, but important, victory to all who were listening. "The Beast of Drezen thought itself clever // the Beast of Drezen thought itself keen // the Beast of Drezen walked into a trap and soon found his bones stripped clean. // The heroes pressed their luck, star-knife slashed across its throat // And 'fore the Beast knew its fate, its heads were down a goat."
Not bothering to waste any more arrows for the time being, she instead augments her performance by scribing 'आतंक' in glowing letters before her, the divine rune drifting up into the air before her and enhancing the Chimera's new-found sense of mortality.
"ווי קען דאָס זייַן, סאָלטענגראָבבע? די וועלט האט פאַרלאָרן אַלע זינען!" she calls out to the chimera, taking advantage of its distance from the others and its sudden weakness to attack its mind with confusion.
Ehren is initially frustrated beyond belief by his summon's cowardice. What reason did it have to flee? After all, they were winning. Witnessing the grievous wounds inflicted on the Beast, he steps out from the ruins of the building he was in, emboldened by their success. When the mythic chimera takes flight, the archdruid raises his hand and attempts to call it back down to the earth. Initially the spell fails to penetrate the Beast's defenses, but with the goat head gone, Ehren knew that it could work.
He tries again, sowing its mind with a reminder of its humiliating defeat at the hands of Vard Rockgrinder. Soltengrebbe had a responsibility to fight them until the end, even if that meant its own death.
Hinagiku is still dodging claws and fangs from right underneath Soltengrebbe when he starts flapping his wings. Taking advantage of the fear and confusion, Hinagiku jumps up, grabbing onto the dragon neck and swinging her whole body upward in an arc striking the dragon head with her knee.Falling lightly on her feet when she lets go of the neck, Hinagiku sprints after the beast and, seeing it is aloft, she lobs the flask of alchemist fire she had been holding toward the dragon head.
"No, קעצל, Down!" Ary yells as Radiance brutally arcs through the dragon's neck as the thing attempts to take off.
She continues to try to work her way around the beast, hoping to pin it in, she doesn't continue to taunt it, now that it has few ways to get away, instead calling out to her allies. "Almost there. Press the assault!" Her sword comes around in a glimmering arc, once, twice, and then bites deep into exposed flesh, before she steps into the first shield-swing of the fight with bone-crunching strength.
Soltengrebbe fights against Ehren's mental intrusion, awkwardly flapping its great wings in an attempt to get away. Hinagiku grabs onto its neck and knees it on the under-side of its chin. As she jumps down, the dragon head whips around... straight into Radiance's golden arc. The blade slices through its neck, and the second head falls. The Beast falls to the ground with a thud and runs in the opposite direction, down the street, trying desperately to get away.
Ary, Hinagiku, and Valaria are up!
"Box it in! Don't let it get away!" Ary calls to the others. "Keep pressing the assault!" she then takes off at full pace - bolstered by Isilme's spell, concentrating on the maneuver that had spelled the creature's death once already.
As Ary's mighty blow severs a second head from the beast, Val grins and rushes to keep pace as it desperately tries to escape from their attacks. "You're going nowhere!" She leaps in close and attempts to drive her blade into the monster's body.
Hinagiku is still dodging claws and fangs from right underneath Soltengrebbe when he starts flapping his wings. Taking advantage of the fear and confusion, Hinagiku jumps up, grabbing onto the dragon neck and swinging her whole body upward in an arc striking the dragon head with her knee.Falling lightly on her feet when she lets go of the neck, Hinagiku sprints after the beast and, seeing that he is fleeing, she dives for one of its legs, putting herself within it’s sole remaining head, but that did not matter, they needed to stop it. However, her dive is miscalculated, she slips on the ground ending up right under one of the monster's paw. As it's about to stomp her, Hinagiku hear's Ary rallying cry and rolls to the side, barely avoiding the danger. Now right next to the beast's leg, she wraps her own legs around it and tries to bend it backwards, but the beast is unnaturally strong and resists. Calling upon the very force of the ley, the monk perseveres, slowly starting to glow as wisps of the ley become visible around her.
Empowered by the power of the ley and Ary's cry, Hinagiku pulls the chimera down to the ground. It crashes against the nearby building, debris and splinters raining down on the three warriors. Valaria rushes in next, loosing a strike that hits the chimera dead center.
Xanderghul reviews his options. Though he was disappointed that his spell had failed to connect and somewhat elated that they were doing so well against the creature so quickly, he knew that the battle was only one-third over. Xanderghul also knew that he had few tools for truly affecting this battle in a major way until it was either crippled with dread (and also literally crippled) or unless he and his "friends" had to make a quick getaway.
So, he pulls on one of his tried-and-true tricks. Despite its low power, his binding shadows slowed a creature considerably. He hurls a ball of shadow at Soltengrebbe, entangling it.
Whether his attempt to ground the Beast failed or not, Ehren saw little reason to let up. If it managed to escape now, then it would just hide for another thousand years before a newer hero inevitably killed it. Slaying Soltengrebbe now would spare it from being humiliated a third time.
Once again Ehren draws on the power of the ley, but this time he also draws on his own mythic power. The archdruid recreates the very same spell he opened the battle with, only this time, it burns much hotter.
Soltengrebbe roars and stands up, rolling out of the way of Ehren's explosion, unable to do much more than that due to the pain of its lost heads. It crashes through the building in its confusion, causing debris and splinters to rain down amongst the three warriors.
Round 4!
The heroes are up!
Ary is surprised by Daisy's ability to bring the beast low, but that doesn't cause her to falter.
As the beast rises, Ary brings Radiance around in a spiraling arc, cleaving flesh from bone and leaving it with little recourse. In short order as it turns to flee in the only direction available to it, her sword comes around in a desperate lunge.
Val makes a few quick slashes as the chimera attempts to escape, but her daggers do little more than swipe through air as the beast's flailing makes even staying close enough to strike a difficult matter. However, she does manage to close in again and make another stab at the Beast's fleeing form.
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"The Beast of Drezen thought itself clever // the Beast of Drezen thought itself keen // the Beast of Drezen walked into a trap and soon found his bones stripped clean. // The Beast tried to flee, cowering as it did with Vard // But soon the only head left was that of the le-o-pard."
With the beast scrambling around in a panic, sending debris flying, Isilme has trouble aiming her next shots at Soltengrobbe.
Hinagiku, her legs intertwined with Soltengrebbe’s stays anchored to him as long as she can. She twists and turns, trying to tear one of its tendons. Yet, the beast is so strong that it lifts it's leg off the ground before suddenly bringing it back down, threatening to trample Hinagiku. With a tumble the monks rolls to the ground to save herself. With agility, she ends her roll on her feet, takes a step forward and unleashes a series of kicks on the back of the fleeing beast of Drezen.
The heroes maintain their relentless advance, though Ary and Hinagiku find it difficult to discern exactly where the monster is with Xanderghul's writhing shadow upon it. Now partially hidden in the rubble of a broken house, the circumstances around them demand a precision strike and Valaria has just delivered just one...
The Heroes are up!
"Hey, Xander! Those inky black things you keep throwing that I can't see through are -really- getting in the way!" Ary calls back to the wizard. "So, please do us a favor and stop!"
She races to the other side of the Beast, hoping to cut it off. "I've got it from this side. Focus on bringing it down." she says, waving her blade broadly in front of it to keep herself as an obvious threat. "Just a little more, guys. We've got the heads for most of its motor functions taken down."
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Xanderghul starts to follow, but then he is insulted, so he simply crosses his arms, rolls his eyes, and hangs back. The others had it handled anyway, and if what he tried to do wasn't appreciated, well... he didn't have to waste his magic on this creature.
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Soltengrebbe turns and flees into the crumbling building, so Hinagiku launches herself onto the monster's back. Landing near its pelvic bone, she aims her first kick straight into the monster's kidney. The flesh immediately turns purplish-black as the organ ruptures into gore beneath the surface. She doesn't stop, running up its spine, launching two additional blows at chakra points taught to her by her sensei - places where she knows she can disrupt the body's flow of energy, its chi, to devastating effect. Backflipping off of its neck, she whirls her last kick into the snow leopard's face. The solid impact sets her foe ringing like a bell that has tolled its last, and the monster collapses into the dirt with a thud, sending a shockwave of dust rolling over Valaria and Ary behind it.
--
Combat ends!
Dirty and covered with a faint sheen of sweat from their exertion, the heroes survey the aftermath of their battle. Then slowly, a loud applause echoes from the tower on Paradise Hill beyond. They can hear the cheers of the soldiers gathered on the roof-top that were watching the battle. The Beast of the North would fly no more.
The spires of Citadel Drezen still loom to the west. Somewhere within is the legendary Sword of Valor. But with their soldier's joy echoing in their hearts - they can feel their chests swell with pride... and something else. Something more. And for at least a brief moment, they feel like there is nothing in this world they couldn't do.
You feel a pang of pain - like a sudden headache in your temples - and suddenly your vision is clouded with hundreds of words rushing past you, faster than you can comprehend. Struggling to make sense of it all, you're left reeling for a moment. Squinting your eyes, you try to read them, to understand what it is that's happening to you.
Then... you realize the words are actually your own. The words inscribed into the journal tucked safely into your pack, telling the stories of you and your friends. Elan. Aravashnial. With much effort you concentrate, your eyes watering some from the willpower spent, and you regain some power over it. As you work it becomes easier, like effortlessly skimming a book, rather than a ceaseless flood of information. You reach the last page of your journal, and you see two words:
"बल. भाषा."
They are the celestial runes for Strength and Language. The runes are penned in what is unmistakably your own handwriting... but you do not remember writing them there.
Congratulations, the heroes are now Tier 2 Mythic heroes!
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Isilme is overwhelmed completely by a sense returning that had long been gone. To any other mortal it could only be described as having their sight restored after ages of being without it. She instinctively felt the presence of each and every scroll within her packs, and with a little focus could tell their contents apart. The sense was still dull... cloudy... she could not reach out far with it as she once did, but just to feel the presence of the writings was exhilarating to her. The runes she discovers in her journal as she finishes reading it are something else, however. Their form resonates with meaning beyond anything else within the book. Something she would need to look into later when they had a chance to rest.
Looking at the fallen Chimera, Isilme can't help but feel pride at their accomplishment. Working together they had outsmarted the cultists and led the beast to its doom without any aid from the rest of Drezen. The cheers echoing down from the tower behind the group told her all she needed to know about the crusaders' feelings on the matter. The battle they had witnessed would instill them with the courage and fortitude to make it through the remainder of the hard fight ahead.
Feeling that her poem needed a grand finish, she scrambles onto the roof nearby turns midway between the citadel and southbank. "The Beast of Drezen thought itself clever // the Beast of Drezen thought itself keen // the Beast of Drezen walked into a trap and soon found his bones stripped clean. // Soltengrobbe was panicked, and raked at his foes // But his claws found no purchase, he was soon in death throes. // Despite all of his power, despite all of his pride, // for all of his boasting, he just up and died. // So cultists pray to Deskari and cower in your tents // Like your forces in Mendev, you'll all soon be spent."
As she finishes, she climbs back down, takes a deep breath and sits to take a moment to truly appreciate what they'd accomplished. Ironically, due to the fact that clarion call could not be dismissed, she would be spending much of the next half hour in quiet contemplation so as not to be heard across the city discussing other matters of import.
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One of Valaria's hands comes up reflexively to shield her eyes as the Beast of the North slams into the ground. The dust stings for just a moment, but she when it clears, a wide grin splits her face. She can feel the warmth grow in her chest and finds her own wild cheer of victory mixing with the distant shouts of the soldiers watching from a safe distance. They'd fought a powerful foe head-on, a legend in its own right, and put it down. For just a moment, she was absolutely certain that they were going to win and she could already picture the Sword of Valor perched atop Drezen's citadel. "That's how you do it Daisy!" She threw an arm around Hinagiku, grinning wildly at the one who'd struck the final blow.
The tiefling is so caught in the rush of the moment, she hardly notices that the cold northern air seems warmer and the sun just a tiny bit brighter. Her birthmarks shine softly with golden light for a few moments, almost like they're reflecting the sun. Abyssal runes snake up the back of her neck, a new series of symbols adding themselves to her skin. Солтенгреббе
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As usual, Xanderghul was right, and he watches from afar as his friends fell the Beast of Drezen. Warm feelings in his midsection aren't typically something that he's used to, but he does feel a certain pride that he and the rest of the group were about to accomplish something truly legendary. In fact, that already had accomplished something legendary.
As he concentrates on the aftermath of the battle, he begins to see something. Little tiny motes of energy, each with its own unique shape, flow outward from different sources in many directions. From Soltengrebbe, an ebbing flow of energy flows directly into himself and the other members of the group. From Hinagiku, a laser-sharp point of energy flows from her, washing over the dead chimera. As she realizes its fate, the energy redirects and flows inwards into herself. From Ary, a web of energy connecting her with the rest of her squad. From a celebrating Valaria, energy being sent outwards in every direction. Around Isilme, energy flowing from... seemingly nowhere into her own form. Ehren, grounded by a connection through his feet directly into the earth, woven in a complex tangle directly into the ground.
Xanderghul squints, trying to focus on this energy. A nearby wisp floats by, and Xanderghul reaches out to touch it. His finger passes through, but not without a hiss. The wisp warps and twists around his finger and changes course. Humming, he purses his lips.
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As the beast of Drezen, the massive chimera Soltengrebbe, collapses and slides a feet on the ground from the sheer momentum of its escaping run, she is ridden by Hinagiku hanging on to the leopard’s mane. And, when it comes to a halt, the vulpine figure of the monk is slowly seen unfurling itself, straightening up, to stand upon the fallen creatures back. Atop this once living hill of a creature, Hinagiku brings her folded arms at her shoulders height, palm facing down right in front of her chest, and slowly bringing them down to her hips as she exhales. Eyes closed, she savors this moment where the whirlwind of battle subside leaving a calm emptiness within her mind. Yet, as she closes all her senses, something usual occurs, though she peers into the darkness of her eyelids, she sees. She glimpses at the fine threads of life itself. She glimpses as the harmony of the lines of the ley flowing through the world, flowing around her. Not only do they flow around her, but they follow the tips of her fingers as they reach her hips. And when she lifts a hand to her face and sees the thread move, pulled by her body, as if the world was one infinite ocean, just like her inner self, on which she could create ripples, ripples deeper than she ever imagined.
Hinagiku opens her eyes just as Valaria wraps an arm around her shoulder. The monk turns to her, with a wider smile than the tiefling had ever seen (though, on her vulpine lips, it appears strange).
”Sol-ten-grebbe… Mrs. Valaria… the name of our foe inscribed itself onto your skin!” Hinagiku says, her concern mitigated by their success.
Unable to find anything else to say, Hinagiku remains silent. And, when she sees Xanderghul and Markus still ways away, she motions to both of them to join. They couldn’t have the wizards stay away from the group at such a time.
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Xanderghul is just awkwardly standing there, looking at his own hands like he's high.
When Hinagiku waves at him, he shakes out of it and walks over to the rest of the group. "A sweet-ass victory," he says. "I'm sure we'll all have to endure dozens of retellings of this by both Valaria and Isilme for years to come."
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Towards the end of the battle, Ehren could not help but to wonder whether the cowardly chimera was truly the monster of legend they thought it was. There were a few close calls, but his friends had otherwise been quick to cut it down to size. As he watches Hinagiku fell the Beast in a display of unparalleled skill however, he realizes that there was a truth he had allowed himself to forget. It was not that Soltengrebbe was undeserving of his mythic reputation; it was that he and his friends were themselves destined to become the stuff of legends. Taking that lesson to heart, Ehren walks toward everyone with a broad smile on his face.
With every step Ehren takes toward his friends, he could feel more and more of the land's energies seeping into him through the soles of his feet. In the past, whenever he consciously drew from the ley, the rush of power he experienced always lasted for only a brief moment, vanishing the instant he used it. But this was something entirely different. Ehren could feel the ley permeating his very soul, transforming him in ways that just a few months ago, he did not even think possible. Oh, how naive he had been.
The archdruid reaches out to lay a hand on Soltengrebbe, feeling a small swell of pity for the beast. An ancient legacy, brought to an inglorious end.
"There will be many more songs about us," he says confidently, pulling away from the snow leopard head. "The skalds will see to that. For now, we need only continue to triumph. The rest will follow."
Valaria jerks back in surprise and looks down over her exposed skin, trying in vain to see the back of her own head for a moment before realizing where the letters must be written. "That's a new one," she says under her breath, reaching back and gingerly touching the spiraling abyssal letters. The skin feels abnormally warm to under her fingertips for a split second and she winces at the sensation. Fire seems to burn through her veins for a moment, a wild, destructive flame that makes her muscles sing with untapped potential and her heart race. "I guess that saves me the trouble of having to write the victory down," she jokes as she manages to find her breath again. Then she hears the wizard approaching and manages to get her grin back on. "Without a doubt."
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Ary rolls her neck, looking up into the sky to see if there were any drakes about, ensuring that she knew what the foe was planning, if anything. While the others were rejoicing their victory, she was already preparing for what was to come, and was reaching for her bow, just in case.
"For once, I say we definitely don't leave the body behind. We could likely make some interesting armor out of this... for the Archdruid." she says, turning to Ehren with a small wink.
"And Xander... sorry. It's just, have you ever been about to cut the head off of a giant beast, and then drag your sword through its side while its flank was exposed only to find that you'd missed because you couldn't see, and suddenly you were imagining it charging your wizard friend and devouring him with no real way to protect him..?" she asks, offering him a brief smile. "Honestly, I just... don't know what I can do to deal with you doing that. I guess practice each morning blindfolded..?" she offers, but trails off, chewing her lip. Something else to think on.
"A good end to the story. Excellent use of meter and rhyme, Isilme." she adds, "I think about a quarter of your audience loved it."
"Thank you, Markus, for sticking around and keeping us safe, and for sacrificing Arta's pet to ensure our victory." she says with a nod. "And you as well, Val, on doing most of the work in breaking through its defenses and keeping it tamed."
Looking to Ehren, she adds "Good job on pretanning his hide." she says with a wry grin. "And to you on finishing it off, and tripping something nearly a hundred times your size, Daisy."
She looks back to the sky to the west, and shrugs. One step forward, a few more to go. "Everyone ready to get this thing back home?"
"For me? The Archdruid barely lifted a finger," Ehren replies with an incredulous chuckle. He shakes his head, looking to Ary, Hinagiku, and Valaria. "The three of you did the hard work, so you're the ones that should be claiming trophies. Look, there's even one head for each of you."
He points out the two heads that were already lopped off of the chimera's body, as well as the one still attached. "The goat for Valaria, the leopard for Hinagiku, and the dragon for you, Ary. Hm. I suppose this makes you a one-third dragonslayer."
His tone suggests that he is mostly joking. Mostly.
Val chuckles and shakes her head. "I just did the grunt work. Besides, I'm not entirely sure what to do with the head of a goat. Maybe I could have the horns carved into something interesting..." She tries to keep a straight face, but doesn't quite manage it.
"Horn shoulderpads?" Ary suggests. "I'm totally moving the Loumises up here when we win, if they're willing. I figure we'll give them a ton of business. They'll figure something out." she responds with no hint that she's kidding at all. "Seriously, though. An archdruid in white dragonhide makes a statement. I'm not sure it's your sort of statement, but it's a statement. I'm not sure we'd have any leatherworkers capable of that, though."
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"We can just tell everybody that we defeated it together, using the power of friendship," drawls Xanderghul sardonically.
"Didn't we, though, Xander? Didn't we?" Ary quips.
"Yeah, right," he agrees.
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Isilme laughs at the sight of her friends talking about the beast's corpse like they were anywhere else in the world. The riotous laughter bounds through the ruins before she catches herself. The sense of accomplishment and joy that came with having successfully bested a beast of legend like this--and handily at that--buried any of the concerns that came with being in the middle of demon-occupied Drezen. And for her part, Isilme agreed. This moment was for their celebration and nothing else.
She goes to answer Ary directly, but pauses and merely nods and smiles sincerely, looking pleased over all. She then walks up and grabs Val and Ehren by the shoulders, pulling them into a hug. She hobbles with the two over to Xanderghul, stopping to mischeviously ruffle his hair before ditching the other two and giving Hinagiku a hug as well. Finally, turning to Ary, she places her hands on her shoulders and whispers "Thanks," as quietly as she can, the sound still almost too large to be contained in the space between them. She gives an extra pat on Ary's shoulder and jumps atop the beast gracefully, looking back down at the others.
In the end she was pleased with her contribution to the fight. It was true that she'd barely harmed the beast herself; Most of her arrows had merely bounced off its hide. But just as Hinagiku had brought down the beast in the end, Ary and Val had taken it apart one slash at a time, Ehren and Xanderghul's magics had singed and weakened it, so too had her magic aided in bringing it down. No, she couldn't protect any of them from the Beast or any threat like it personally, and after witnessing this battle, she wasn't certain they needed it. Val, Ary and Daisy were already better at fighting than she had ever been. The magic Xanderghul and Ehren called upon was stronger than any she had ever mastered, and likely ever would have.
Nurah's comment that she was all talk was true, but now it didn't sting quite so much. Words were what drew the beast here, what convinced Joran to share what they needed to know to accomplish this. Her words had strengthened her allies, just like Ary's had kept her together in her moment of fright. And perhaps she'd forgotten just how integral they were to her. Even now she could feel the writings around her as a comforting warmth. Words had returned to her in a way she hadn't dared to dream.
Her friends really didn't need Lleuad-a'r-Sêr, no. That had nothing to do with power or magic or the ability to protect them. They didn't need Lleuad-a'r-Sêr because that wasn't who she was anymore. Val, Ary, Hinagiku, Ehren, and even Xanderghul... they depended upon and trusted Isilme, who she was now, their friend and companion. Maybe it was ok to admit she needed them too, far more than she'd ever needed Elan and Ai'sintar in days past. To Lleuad-a'r-Sêr they would never have been more than allies. They were much more than that to Isilme.
As she looks back down at the others, she smiles gratefully, her eyes starting to blur and water. She really couldn't ever remember having felt this way before, she thinks, as the tears stream down her face. Turning away, actually embarrassed for once, she slides down the other side of the Beast and leans back against it, closing her eyes and losing herself in the feeling.
”It wasn’t one more than the others Mr. Ehren. We all playe our role in this battle, every one of us. Not to diminish anyone, but if it had only be Ary, Mrs. Valaria, and Myself, I doubt the battle would have gone so well. Somehow, I feel like our destined are truly all intertwined. ”
Still, at Ehren’s suggestion, Hinagiku looks back down upon the beast. Was there anything that could be done with its body? No… no, it was a living being, it should be given the respect it deserved in death. Hinagiku’s smile slowly falters as she thinks upon the creature they had slain. Though evil, it was not demonic, and as such might have been set on a better path, if only there was more time. Moved by these thoughts, she kneels upon Soltengrebbe’s back and lays a hand on its leopard head, wondering what she might glean of its past.
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"Regardless. I think you saved my head a few times in there, judging by the Beast's aim, Xander... so thank you for that."
"Well... we should really get going, I guess. Enough elation for the time being. Someone wanna grab his other heads?" Ary asks as she moves over to the dead body of the beast, shoving on it slightly. If Daisy could trip it, that meant that maybe... she nudges it a little towards Isilme, then nods, moving over and kneeling down, hefting the remainder of the dragon's neck over one shoulder like a tremendous coil. She continues to pull, dragging the remains of the beast up onto her shoulder, bringing the weight of it onto her back and shoulder before shoving herself upwards, muscles in her legs straining beneath the weight. And just like that, the majority of the creature is supported on her shoulders.
"Not a chance I'm leaving this out here for the enemies to scavenge." she adds, as she begins the arduous trip back. If Ehren were capable of bolstering her strength, the trip would take nearly no time at all. She would have to rely on the Beast's hide to prevent it from falling apart. That would also make the creature particularly difficult to work with, later... if they had the right tools at all.
* * *
Once she reaches the tower, she kneels, just as she'd done before and slides the beast off of her back, bodily, before standing, and twisting her ring with an intoned "I will shine in her legion.", leaving her looking pristine, if a little grazed from the ordeal. She stands, slowly to her full height, letting herself feel her muscles loosen, unclench her sword hand, close her eyes, slow deep breath... and then exhale.
There was still much work to do, but there was plenty of time... as long as she ignored the food issue. That really pressured their timetables. Oh well. She runs her hands through her crop of hair, letting it flow freely through, before finally letting the pageantry of their arrival move her more thoroughly. They’d left heroes, and returned something more. The open field between their staging ground and the tower had been a good idea that had paid off in dividends for morale. She waves to the soldiers, smiling, but it’s clear she still has a lot left to do in the day, as she moves off towards the tower. As she moves past her soldiers, Xanderghul is able to see her ley energies ebb and flow with the men, lancing out to touch them for brief moments as she looks to each soldier, though one particular strand snakes its way in the direction she is traveling, unerringly.
Copious amounts of notes exist on each member of her army - at least those who she had had time to grow to know. Perhaps, most importantly, a list of names which, while reflected in the book about her soldiers, stood alone. Ary had kept each Crusader Cross of the fallen, and had written a small letter to the person's closest family member. She did not have one for Bethil, suggesting that she had already delivered both. She does have Anevia's and Irabeth's still.
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Isilme heads up with the others, biding her time until the spell is gone. She watches in amazement as Ary single-handedly carries the massive creature up the hill to the tower where their army awaited them. There was no doubt that there would be stories told about this day, and Ary carrying the beast alone to the top meant that, like Iomedae, she would wind up with stories being told of her contribution directly.
As she walks by each of the soldiers lined up to greet them, she notices something strange for the first time. While some had writings of some form or another, each and every one of the crusaders had the name of their kin on their crosses, along with other snippets, like her own. It stood out like a glint of light on each one, making for an interesting sense of uniformity among them despite the vast differences in race, ethnicity, age and gender amongst the troops. She doesn't read them directly, knowing the notes to be private, but just noting their presence is a comfort.
She heads into the tower and finds a quiet corner in which to study her journal, setting her pack down and leaning back against the wall. Reaching out, she pores through the pages mentally, leafing through them as if she held the book in her hands. There, at the end she finds them, 'बल. भाषा.', the runes for strength and language. She knew them, not in the way one understands a word, but in the way one knows a friend. The strength rune represented so much more than just physical power, it was an embodiment of what a Raelis's strength was, where they drew it from, how they could call upon it. It spoke of limits and surpassing them, of control and release, of the how and when a Raelis could use them. It was, in essence, a fragment of a divine description of a Raelis. But one piece of the whole. The rune for language, similarly was another, speaking of knowledge and fluency, the ability to read, speak and comprehend anything.
She had already imparted some magic by scribing runes in the air. She could enhance her heroism or replicate the effects of her performances by doing so. But these were different. They didn't respond the same as the runes she used to embolden her allies, however, as she quickly discovered attempting to trace one of them in the air before her. Trying again, she reaches deeper, pulling upon the divine spark deep within her, just as she did when she enhanced her magic. This time she could feel the power flowing briefly, but not enough for her to trace the rune. The sensation was almost as if the rune was too elusive to force power into it. Instead, it would need to be anchored somehow.
Giving it one final try, she instead begins to focus on drawing her divine power up within her and sectioning it off. Maintaining focus on that partition, she begins tracing the rune directly on her own skin. As her finger makes contact, she feels the tip as if it were a hot iron searing into her skin, causing her to recoil from the heat reflexively. The lingering glow fades quickly, and before long Isilme begins again, this time prepared for it. Within moments she finishes tracing 'बल' on her arm, the runes glowing brightly on her pale skin. As the runes begin to fade, her skin begins to change in color, moving towards the more brazen color she'd had as a Raelis, accompanied by a flood of strength noticeable almost immediately as a feeling that her armor had gotten lighter.
When Isilme returns outside, it appears as if she's spent several weeks in the sun, her complexion having changed several shades darker. She carries her gear with seemingly less effort and is obviously quite pleased with herself.
She finds the others, looking to see what the plans are. "Well, shall we see about assaulting the south bank with our catapults? Or did you all have something else in mind?"