Gracie has no idea what just happened with the one banshee wrecking the urn like that, but she feels like blood dripping into Dracula's ashes is a bad idea.
"Dyfres," she mutters, as her armor shimmers into being. Carefully holding the mask securely with one hand, she attempts to grab the banshee with the other, hoping to pull her away from the ashes.
Cesarina has a similar thought, and calls out to Max as she dissolves her chains of light. "Eldritch, take over handling Oz!"
She forms a dome of light around the vampire progenitor's ashes, hoping she's not too late.
Gracie grabs the banshee by the wrist, pulling the pale woman away from the ashes.
Cesarina's light dissolves from around Oz's Nightmare form and a dome of sunlight covers the ashes.
Thinking that Caesarina should have pulled that divine sunlight trick on the son of Dracula while he is totally controlled, Max shrugs and floats away from any obvious melee and flares magic from his hands, "Be bound by the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak, Oz!" Red ribbons reach out to attempt to bind the nightmare.
The Crimson Bands wrap around the Nightmare, insinuating themselves deeply into the nebulous form and wrapping around Oz's human form.
The Bull grabs the Hellcat with both hands and slams his great golden horned head into the creature's Hellfire form. Flames climb the Bull's skull, wrapping it in sulfurous fury as they attempt to overwhelm it, but the power of Light is stronger than Darkness.
The Hellcat dissolves into whisps of dire and smoke...
The banshee twists her arm with superhuman strength, breaking through Gracie's thumb and forefinger. She attempts to wrap her long clawed fingers around Gracie's throat...
Free from his bonds, the vampire Jakud dissolves completely into mist, attempting to vanish into his surroundings.
Using her size to her advantage, Gracie rolls out of the slender fey's grasp.
Cesarina digs her hemisphere into the ground and tries to scoop up all the ashes and pull them over to her.
Hopefully holding both Jakud, Son of Dracula, and Oz within the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak, Max attempts to knock out the vampire by crushing him with the crimson power of Cyttorak!
As she rolls away, Gracie's sword shimmers into her hand and she thrusts it at the evil fey, now that she is not bleeding as close to the ashes.
Cesarina digs her hemisphere into the ground and tries to scoop up all the ashes and pull them over to her.
Hopefully holding both Jakud, Son of Dracula, and Oz within the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak, Max attempts to knock out the vampire by crushing him with the crimson power of Cyttorak!
Jakud is bound, but for the moment resists Eldritch's magic.
As she rolls away, Gracie's sword shimmers into her hand and she thrusts it at the evil fey, now that she is not bleeding as close to the ashes.
Calesvol skewers the pale woman, dark blood pouring from the wound onto the stone, flowing toward the light of Cesarina's construct. Within the sphere, the ashes swirl in the direction of the blood, but the holy light keeps them apart.
"Maybe we should take our prisoner and move out of here."
Cesarina pulls the ashes to her and starts looking around for something else to dump them into.
As she does so, she starts investigating the room further, for any clues as to what is going on here. It seems deeper than just a vampire coup.
Thinking out loud, but also sort of addressing her thoughts to the squirming vampire captive: "The one thing I haven't yet figured out is what you expected to gain from all of this. Why attract this muchy attention to yourselves? Surely you didn't think your blackout of the country would go unnoticed and unpunished for long?
Jakud hangs in the Crimson Bands, shaken, disheveled, fangs bared in anger. He laughs loudly and maniacally, though a squeeze from the Bands cuts him off. "Oh my...You are even more fools than I thought. We did not create the darkness blotting out the sun. We were only taking advantage of it. And you are here fighting vampires. As if we were the biggest threat."
"Lovely. I cracked open his armor, Cesarina. You can destroy it with holy light when you're ready." The mage suggests while holding the Jakud and Oz within the Crimson Bands.
"Would you like the chance to prolong your miserable existence? As long as you keep talking, I will stay my hand."
She says, brandishing the glowing orb at Jakud.
"I am at your mercy, Christian. The plan for The Darkness that Consumes the World is my Father's, the ritual researched by him, the matrix laid in the ley lines and arcane places of his homeland. But we did not trigger it. There is another power behind that. Something powerful but diffuse. It's blood smells...different. Not of this world..."
Max offers to everyone, "Do you sense it? There is a flittering velvet darkness which whispers through the mask, licks over blood stained grooves in the floor, and caresses Oz's nightmare form."
"Let's deal with this vampire and get to the real threat."
"You sure have a weird way of saying things, Max. Anyway, can you kill the vampire to free Oz? Meanwhile if the mask is an issue..."
Grace holds the mask against a wall, and then careful not to stab her own fingers, thrusts her blade into it.
"Whether it be by your own sense of self-preservation or a shred of humanity left in your soul, you've likely helped save a lot of lives this night, vampire. May you find redemption in the fires of Hell, to one day rejoin the faithful." Cesarina says, then blasts the remaining vampire to ashes.
Max nods and after a reverent pause he offers, "right. So, that's done. Is there a cure for Oz, or should I return him to the Nexus?"
"We need to determine what is really going on here, as soon as possible."
"I know not what exactly ails Oz, and it would take time we do not have to diagnose and solution the problem. Perhaps it is best to sequester him in the Nexus, where he'll be safe and comfortable."
With consensus, Max will use his craft of Anog the Keymaker to dimensionally return and safely quarantine Oz in the Nexus.
"Ready?"
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Panel: Gracie stabs the Mask
Panel: Cesarina blasts Jakud to ashes
Panel: Max's portal sweeps over Oz, taking him to relative safety.
Panel: Darkness
Panel: Darkness with boxed text:
Grace in humans is that which The Divine has imbued with the power to regenerate and sanctify, to make pure. Grace is a gift unearned. Our Grace wields Calesvol. You might have heard of it. Arthur's sword. Used in The Battle by the Archangel Haniel. Haniel, by the way, is the Archangel of Grace. It's funny how things work out.
Anyway, a human embodiment of Grace striking something with a magical sliver of Grace is a powerful way to change the Nature of that something. And when she does it in the presence of someone channeling The Presence, another lesser member of The Host, and a nascent Master Mage, well, let's just say it is a powerful means of disrupting the unholy taint of an object.
Max had a moment to see it all come together, and he almost tried to do something about it, not that it would have mattered.
Cesarina was too focused on friend (Oz) and foe (vampires) to pay too much attention. But when the explosion tore through her holy construct and destroyed Dracula's ashes, she took notice of that. But that was her goal, right? So she was good with it.
The Bull of Heaven, well, let's just say its been a while since he has been kicking around with mortal magicians. He was too busy stomping and goring to worry too much about what was going on.
But all's well that ends well...
Only problem is, this isn't the end.
Max walks down the street from the brownstone of the Nerian Nexus. His destination was nominally to get a coffee and stretch his legs. He felt great and exhausted and actually had to remember to keep his feet on the sidewalk instead of walking on air which he could easily do. Serena had just portaled back to the Netherworld after spending three straight, luxurious days in Freedom City. An unconscious smile was plastered on his face.
Around last Christmas, the mage spent almost a month in the Netherworld settling the last major threat against its Master Mage. They had a solid week of running magical duels which worried him for their lives and honed his battle magic. But with the last rival imprisoned, Serena was finally able to relax. So, they finally started going on regular dates and even had time to party in New Orleans for Mardi Gras!
It was on that Mardi Gras trip when he imbued his first magic item without strong spiritually material properties, like his Amulet of the Seraphim, which was thousands of years old. He riffed on some battle magic to transform some plastic bead necklaces into communication devices, so they could slyly comment about other party-goers, which made the trip, so much more fun.
He added some medallions of Saint Jude to his kit to track some clients who had some minor magical issues which potentially could have been the Hellqueen starting over in Freedom City. The threat ended up being relatively easy, but the medallions worked like a charm. After he and Serena karaokeed Sunglasses at Night, he added a pair of nightvision Wayfarers to his kit. Then, he started collecting interesting tchotchke which he kept in a pouch like flask.
The thought of becoming the Master Mage always hovered right at the edge of his unconscious. It was still unclear how it happens when the position is vacate, but he knew the mantle was an incredibly heavy burden. He currently settled on the position of fate that the Master Mage will be identified when Earth's dimension most needs them.
A series of panels see Grace returning to Freedom City...
Greeted by Winifred with a kiss...
Checking in at the Nexus, doing whatever she can for Oz...
At work, tending to delicate seeds under a glow lamp which appear to be flourishing...
Seeing off the Celestial Bull to explore and understand the world he has return to...
Walking up the street to be greeted by the little--now a little older--child whom she had rescued so long ago when the horde of foes had tried to break into the Nexus. They take a selfie...
On Facetime with her gran in London, consulting a guide on herbalism...
Going for a morning swim...
Fighting a series of "armored knights" attacking a museum, who turn out to be robots...
Playing a video game where she can safely fight baddies without collateral damage...
Going for a walk, headphones in, listening to a bright Casio-beat contrasting with full piano undertones and a woman singing in a primal, yet tuneful, "Yeaah-eaaaah-eeaaaahhhh..."
Felt someone calling me into the howling of the wind
I heard the reflection of a sound echoing through my skin
And a distant drum rumbling under ground gently guides me on
Through my wild heart whispering to me
The sisters of Avalon
Sisters of Avalon
Sisters of Avalon
Sisters of Avalon...
It’s another beautiful day in Freedom City. Thanks to the efforts of brave, bold heroes like yourselves, the city enjoys a sense of quiet security. The citizens know that when evil rears its vicious head, the defenders of Freedom City will be there to mete out justice. But hark! A red telephone rings in a nearby phonebooth, its shrill buzz cutting through the peaceful silence. Of Course! That is how the Nexus manifests a call on the direct line to the mayor’s office. Evil must be afoot!
Once you move discreetly into the magic phone booth to answer, you hear a familiar voice on the other end, “Heroes! This is Mayor Summers! Something terrible has happened. Sandstone is robbing the First Bank of Freedom City! You must come at once!”
"Sandstone? That's unfortunate, Mr. Mayor. Will be in there in a few seconds." Max steps out of the magic phone booth and suits up by casting, "the Mystic Moon of Munnopor,” with illuminated runes circulating his wrists.
Dressed as Eldritch, the runes change color from purple to orange as he casts, "a Powerful Portal of Portheus to the First Bank of Freedom City!" A pinpoint of orange light expands into a circular mystic wormhole connecting the street to the bank.
The mage steps into the bank and wonders what's going on.
Gracie is walking through the employees' parking garage at the Botanical Garden when the phone booth pops up in front of her. Her co-worker, Clyde, waves to her. "Yeah, we know. I'll tell the boss."
She jumps in and takes the call.
She greets Max as she arrives and assesses the completely normal and as expected scene. "You know what's happening, Eldritch?"
The tall windows facing the street have been blown outward, allowing light and the sound of traffic to penetrate this normally quiet sanctum of finance, the First Bank of Freedom City. Inside, you see a scene of destruction: Terrified citizens huddle on the floor. A pack of goons dressed in sand-themed costumes point industrial sandblasters at the innocents, shouting "Stay on the ground!" Past the robbers, a massive, stony woman in a neon yellow outfit approaches the vault doors.
"No more than you Sir Knight, I suspect. I'm going to try to sleep her." Max replies to Gracie with a smile. Illuminated runes begin rotating around his wrists as he gestures and then whispers, "The Mists of Morpheus muffles minds."
"That's Dame Knight," Gracie chuckles. She nods and summons Calesvol, and points the tip toward the goons. She isn't going to go around "Slaying" human bank robbers. But practice and a lot of work particularly with the "light" aspect of her blade while fighting vampires has recently given her greater power in this respect--and greater control. A beam of light washes over the room, seeming nothing but bright and soothing to the victims of the crime, but potentially blinding toward those wielding the sandblasters.
Life, ironically, has been good to Gylfir this past decade. The priest may have shattered his body, but she hardened his spirit. No longer did he seek oblivion; instead he worked to ensure that none of his followers would have to face that fate either.
It took blood, sweat, tears...and a lot of money, but he was finally close to attaining his goal.
It had been a normal day, up to this point. Wake. Enjoy the pleasures of the flesh he'd been denied for centuries. Lead worship...and deal.
Moments away from signing the papers on his new piece of prime Freedom City real estate, it gets less normal.
"What is this? You dare incur the wrath of D-..." he stops for a moment, stymied. He'd discarded the name "Deadman" long before, and never bothered to adopt a new pseudonym.
"...I don't have time for this." he finishes, a bit lamely. "Kneel and you may yet be spared!"
A wash of power sweeps out from him, engulfing the criminals.
Only after does he note the presence of the Eldritch team, who may or may not find some familiarity even in his new appearance.
The mist wraps around Sandstone's head and her eyes spin.
As Calesvol flashes at the Sand Squad, their raise hands and weapons to their eyes, attempting to block the bright light. [ooc]
"Ahh, I can't see. We can't win against these heroes!"
And once The Risen shows himself, all of the villains agree. Sandstone takes her sand hands away from the vault door. She turns toward you and smiles a wicked smile, and you realize how stunningly attractive she is.
"Curses, once again I am thwarted. You've ground me down, do-gooders."
Grace frowns, as her wisps of memory strain to match the hard-nosed soldier to the costumed villain she sees here. "'Curses'? 'Do-gooders'? Alex, you drunk or something? Why are you doing this anyway?" Part of her is curious, part of her presumes Eldritch will try to restrain her sandy form with one of his spells.
She waves her sword toward the goons. "Alright, kneel down and put your hands up." She waves to a bank security guard to restrain them.
That's when looks over to the third party aiding them. "D... Deadman? What in bleeding hell is going on?"
She curses more, however relatively mildly, when Cesarina is not around.
"It's Mr. Hrongarsson these days, or Gylfir to my friends. Occasionally 'The Risen' but I've been trying to stamp that one out. I'm done with crime fighting, and never cared much for the fanciful names in any case." he says, then limps forward a few steps, cane *tock*ing on the marble floor of the bank.
Besides the fact that he's clearly not able to move very well, the former "Deadman" looks quite healthy to his former companions. His skin, while still pale, has the distinct glow of life, and his beard is well-groomed and braided, as is his hair.
The suit he wears is obviously tailored to his still-muscular physique, capped off with a raven-headed cane that serves as a fashion statement along with its more practical uses.
"My focus these days has been in...real estate. In a broader sense."
"I see not much has changed for you two. Still keeping the city safe from...bank robbers?"
Curses? Do-gooders? The weird speech sets off alarm bells. Max Looks at Sandstone with his Sight wondering if there is more than meets the eye.
"Real Estate? The mage asks Deadman, while multi-tasking. "Are you a realtor now? We've got new digs now, so are not in the market."