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Post by Jove on Dec 4, 2008 0:04:06 GMT -5
(Sorry about that. >_>)
"You're Jakie, right?"
"That's right. I'm afraid I don't have any magic of my own, and my ninja skills are mediocre at best. Still, I hope I can be of some use to you, Hunter-kun."
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Post by Celestial on Dec 4, 2008 17:22:34 GMT -5
"I do! But I can't cast it unless I know Cylak's aura! And thanks, I'm not really hurt...just a little shaken up. Wait, if we're lucky, some of her aura may be on the photo somehow..." Kat said and Celestial's heart lept. She did not want to hunt Cylak down or go on a wild goose chase through these caverns full of Mageri.
"But then I have no way of telling if it's hers or not, since I've never met Cylak. Urgh, I feel so useless." added Kat sadly. Celestial cursed in Draconis and covered her mouth almost immediately. Guilt swept over her for saying things like that.
"Kat, you have to try. Track the aura you feel is closest to you which is not Cat Assasin's, that one will almost certainly be Cylak" she said, looking out for NPC Mageri that might come their way.
"I'll stand guard if you need to do something fancy that will take a while"
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Post by Kat on Dec 4, 2008 19:41:51 GMT -5
Castor groaned, tossing his spear aside. Pollux did the same and said, "He's right. Let's try a different approach - "
"You two are useless!" Evandra cried, shoving them both aside. The two blundering guards didn't even try to resist, and stood well away from the rest of the Mageri. They may have armor, but they knew that it was not enough if they were facing enemies capable of magic. The second-in-command faced the strange ninja cat and declared, "Very well, show us. But you won't live to tell everyone about your exploits here in the headquarters of the Mageri!"
"Pollux, we have to do something," Castor whispered.
"I know, but what?"
Evandra seemed to answer that question for them. "Attack! Whether he's dead or alive at the end of the day, I want him out of our way!" Her silvery sword reappeared in her hand, bigger and broader than before, and she began striking at her enemy as much as she could, as far as she could reach. "You can't keep your fancy spells up for long!"
"I don't know!"
Pollux sighed. "That's what I was afraid of. If only we could find the two who escaped...and take them to the Leader...wherever his office is..."
* * *
"Althius, who do you think would be helpful to bring along?"
"Right now, I'd say just about anyone would be dang useful," said the redhead, shrugging. "When we go, see how far your teleportation can take us, then I could try to infiltrate the Manor on my own and see what kinds of defenses it has...and what kinds of illegals are in there. Though I don't think we can take Lireo; she's with the Leader, and she could help him when the prisoner tries to escape or something."
The Leader nodded. "Yes...I think it would be best if she stayed with me. Anyway, you two should go now. I can handle things on my own here, and Evandra is leading the rest of the Mageri against the invasion, I'm sure. I left her in charge. You may go."
At his command, Mundus and Althius vanished, only to reappear in another corridor far from the Leader's office.
He then returned to Cylak. "My friends will help find your friends. There is nothing to worry about."
But deep down inside, deep in his shrouded heart, worry was beginning to form. It had begun when Mundus brought the news about the illegals breaking into the Mageri headquarters. If a cat and a dragon could infiltrate them, there was a very high possibility that more would come in and thwart his plans.
They had to be stopped.
At all costs.
* * *
"Kat, you have to try. Track the aura you feel is closest to you which is not Cat Assasin's, that one will almost certainly be Cylak"
"Now that you mentioned it...if I can't feel the aura, then it's not Cylak's. If I can, then we just have to follow it and we can find her! Now why didn't I think of that?" It didn't take long for Kat to smile again as her staff shrunk back into a wand, which she placed upon the photo. "I need some concentration. If it's not too much trouble, watch my back. And the rest of me."
She closed her eyes, feeling the many pulses of magical energy around her. Though the Mageri detested some types of magic, that didn't mean they weren't mages. Kat felt many trails of varying intensities and forms all around her, most of all Celestial's.
Focusing on the pulses that came from the photo, she began tracing them, trying to find them in the corridor of so many auras.
It was like finding a different piece of hay in a haystack, and matching it with the hay they already had.
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Post by Vyt: Down, but Not Out on Dec 4, 2008 20:00:52 GMT -5
Waves and waves of anger accumulated inside Cat Assassin's mind, silently waiting for a single trigger for them to release the feline's true power. The last time the cat experienced this was during the last hour of his stay in his own world, where they had to keep a certain conscience-lacking mastermind from unlocking SILE's powers to annihilate the Animalia world. He poured out so much of his life in keeping her from collapsing back to "3715"...
Cat Assassin never thought it would happen again, but it had begun once more.
Steam started to rise up from the feline's body as it heated up suddenly. Everyone outside the Signum Sanctuary was oblivious to the violent discharge of energy amassed into red curved lines surrounding the cat. Cat Assassin's red eyes had begun to sparkle its ominous color, as he slowly lost control of himself.
"You humans shall pay triple for whatever you have caused to Cylak."
Instead of dissipating back to its owner, the yellow energy wall around Cat Assassin exploded inside the room, leaving a significant amount of light to blind anyone caught unaware. Together with this was the escape of the heat from the feline's body; everyone could then feel the anger that bursted out of the usually cool-headed cat. Cat Assassin's arms reached for the two guards, and without any exaggerated movements swiftly pushed them towards the walls of the room.
Cat Assassin simply looked at Evandra, his eyes piercing hers with intimidation. "I will not kill you, but I shall let you experience what it's like to be dying..."
"... And bring you back to experience it again."
Cat Assassin rushed off towards Evandra, the heat around him repelling the others from blocking his path. If she wanted him dead, she would have to fight for that right.
--------------------
The four spirits had their glows amplified by something unknown. It was as if someone had been trying to spot Cylak and mistook their souls as her life force. They became clearer to everyone around Cylak, their new translucency now present to the Leader.
Cylak looked at them with amazement. "Mana! Nakaw! Regna! Dexter! You're... visible!" she exclaimed.
"Huh, what?" spoke Dexter. Even his voice were tangible enough to be heard, despite being echoey and slightly garbled.
Mana took her time to examine what had happened. "Someone tracked us, Cylak. This is a tracking spell used to find auras of the living... But I never knew it would work well for the dead as well," she explained.
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Post by Omni on Dec 4, 2008 23:52:00 GMT -5
"Wait, Omni!"
Omni slowed down to look back at PFA, returning to her previous pace when the Ninja caught up. "Yeah?"
"Um, you said something about learning spells?"
Omni nodded. PFA paused, as if deciding what to say next.
"Well, I was just wondering if... um... you see, I... well... I've kinda got this... uh, I've been trying to learn this magic kind of thing... and well..."
This was a bit of a surprise to Omni; she didn't remember PFA ever being interested in learning magic before. "Oh? What kind of magic? There are mages and books here that could help with all sorts of magic, so they're more than likely to be able to help you.
"At the moment, though, I'd like to make a Manor-wide announcement about it," Omni said as she turned into Ikkin's office, which was beginning to look a bit dusty. Omni had no idea what was where. "If you could help me look for anything that looks like it might have a spell for that, I'd appreciate it."
----------
By now the character had managed get in, with still no response from the Manor. Looking around, the character tried to remember what was where before continuing down a hallway.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2008 15:22:23 GMT -5
"That's right. I'm afraid I don't have any magic of my own, and my ninja skills are mediocre at best. Still, I hope I can be of some use to you, Hunter-kun."
"Well, we can try and get to the Mageri. They may even be coming here, we might actually intercept them." Hunter took out his staff. "I'm well prepared. I can help you too, I can cast a shield spell and a haste spell, which could be crucial in combat."
~~~
Mundus, at the leader's command, teleported away from his office. "This is nearer to where the illegals broke in. If the fight is still going on, tons of Mageri will be here, if we won, Mageri could be lingering anyways. After we gather up a few other people, we can begin marching on the Manor."
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Post by PFA on Dec 5, 2008 19:17:39 GMT -5
"Well, it's kinda hard to explain..." PFA said in response to Omni. "Kinda like light and dark I guess..."
PFA absently started looking around through the stuff in the room, since Omni had asked for her help. Though PFA had honestly no idea what she would have been looking for, and she didn't really know how to tell. Maybe she'd be able to find something though... like a magical megaphone or something.
"I don't really know what you would even call this kind of magic I'm using, actually... do you know much about magic and how to classify it? Or do you know someone who does?"
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Post by Kat on Dec 5, 2008 19:40:03 GMT -5
But before Castor and Pollux could put their half-baked plans into action, they were shoved aside - much harder than before, and they both crashed into the wall, too dazed and too sore to wonder what was happening next.
"It would be such a waste to kill you, with all the magical power you hold," said Evandra coolly. Her free hand began to glow silver, and threads of magic coalesced to form a shield. "As much as possible, we would like to take you alive. But if we must kill you...we still have your friends. We will find them. Unless of course, you would rather join us? You could become a valuable member of the Mageri."
Cat Assassin charged, and so did she, sword and shield raised.
* * *
"Someone tracked us, Cylak. This is a tracking spell used to find auras of the living... But I never knew it would work well for the dead as well."
"Auras spring from souls, not bodies. That is why as long as the soul lingers, its aura can still be tracked."
The Leader's lips curled into a small smile as he watched the souls slowly materialize and heard them speak. Masking his shock and slight fear expertly, he said, "Whoever has found your auras will not find this office so easily, however. Now, I would like to take this time to get to know all of you."
He didn't have to ask who was tracking them - the illegals Mundus had mentioned were surely behind this. But then...if they had the time to track Cylak and the souls, they must have gotten past Evandra. He twiddled his thumbs and hoped that Evandra and the other Mageri were all right...perhaps they could catch the illegals before they figured out where his office was. If they even figured out how to predict when and where the office would move each time...
Should he call Mundus and Althius back? By now, they were probably raising an army to march towards Mage Manor...
Then again, the chances of finding his office were slim. If the illegals managed to zero in on Cylak, they would have to move fast before the office could shift again.
* * *
"This is nearer to where the illegals broke in. If the fight is still going on, tons of Mageri will be here, if we won, Mageri could be lingering anyways. After we gather up a few other people, we can begin marching on the Manor."
Althius was about to ask what would happen if they lost, but decided against it. The headquarters was full of Mageri; how would a handful of illegals manage to win against them?
"Right," he said. "But wait...I hear something...something down this hall." He pointed west.
* * *
Kat opened her eyes.
"I found them. North."
But when she heard some distant footsteps, she froze, her wand growing back into a staff.
"Someone else is here."
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Post by Jina on Dec 5, 2008 20:11:14 GMT -5
Nija trudged along the mud. She would have liked to fly, but sticking to the ground was going to be pretty important for now.
So... which way... It might help if she knew where she was, but that couldn't be helped.... Ah, a building. Good, she could do with some rest. And if it was a dangerous place them, well, she could cope.
She went up and knocked on the door.
((Yes, the building is supposed to be Mage Manor. And if someone there could hear me and come open it, then that;d be great =P))
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Post by Celestial on Dec 5, 2008 20:38:36 GMT -5
Celestial waited as Kat cast the spell. Aside from a magical tingle in the air and the feeling of being probed, there was nothing out of the ordinary. The battle was muffled outside the door as if it was happening in a dream. Nobody came up the corridor but this terrified Celestial. Something was going to happen. She willed Kat to hurry up and finish the spell.
After what seemed like ages, Kat finally opened her eyes. She had found them.
"North? We better go" Celestial said, getting the eerie feeling of somebody watching them. This feeling was confirmed by footsteps. Kat's wand grew into a staff.
"We mustn't let them know we know they are around" Celestial said, her air magic building up around her hands, creating wind where there was none. It grew like a hurricane, drinking in the surrounding air until both of them could barely breathe. All around the thick ball became almost like a black hole.
Celestial could not hold it any more. She released the air in the direction of the footsteps, turning it into an unstoppable wall of chaos and air currents that mowed down anything in their path as robbed them of breath. It was a powerful offensive weapon but in the end only served to gain time. Yet time was a precious commodity, having some or having none meant the difference between life and death.
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Post by Vyt: Down, but Not Out on Dec 5, 2008 21:27:59 GMT -5
Cat Assassin hissed loudly at his enemy's sudden invitation to join the Mageri. If he were any more conscious, he would've registered to his mind that she was indeed part of the Mageri, but that only made him angrier than ever. His enemy had drawn her weapon up, telling him that she was prepared to take any punishment from him.
And swiftly he would bring that to her.
Cat Assassin's feet were empty, but a second later they held out violent energy from within the feline. It pressed enough force to make small curvatures with each step, yet gave him enough to even defy gravity. With his nimbleness, Cat Assassin vanished in front of Evandra.
Actually, he did not vanish. The steam surrounding him had warmed the atmosphere of the room, fogging up the room. That, along with his natural speed as a cat, tried to confuse the human on his whereabouts.
"Do not ridicule me, human! You will not be able to search for my friends."
Cat Assassin had already jumped over Evandra, and was behind her when he spoke. He delivered another roundhouse kick, but it was exceptionally faster than the last time. "I know my friends, and they know me. They did not leave me here for no good reason," he bragged out.
---------------------------------
All the four souls reacted very awkwardly to the Leader's request. They had never experienced being seen by anyone else beside Cylak, and now a potentially dangerous man was conversing with them. "We do not speak on the likes of you, human," spoke out Regna, who among the four had the biggest hate for the blunt-eared.
However, the same spell had inflicted a rather temporary state upon them. Slowly, the four balls of glowing unknown spread out towards the ground, reforming to a translucent copy of their living image before they died.
Dexter reformed as an archer squirrel, standing tall and proud like the officer he was in his past life.
Nakaw stood out with a full mask on her face, leaving her fox body with only thief tights and shirt to cover.
Regna came out as a barbaric wolf, naked with only the markings on his whole body to prove that he lived with nature herself.
But what surprised even Cylak was Mana. She was a full human clad with a cloak over her simple dress.
Mana sighed. "I guess this is the side-effect of that tracking spell. Someone put in too much effort in it," she added.
There they were, the four souls of Cylak, standing in front of her. The young soul seeker smiled with glee; it was the first time she had ever seen them in their "bodies".
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Post by Kat on Dec 5, 2008 21:45:31 GMT -5
"Cele - " Kat gasped. It was like all the breathable air was being sucked away, and she could barely speak. The feeling was akin to being underwater, but at least Celestial would soon be done with the spell, and they could breathe properly again.
Then she let loose with a barrage of fierce air currents that went down the hallway the footsteps were coming from. Kat could feel the floors underneath her feet tremble slightly with the force of the wind, and was almost sorry for whoever was looking for them.
Almost.
"Thanks," said Kat, giving Celestial a thumbs-up sign. "Nice. Now let's go!"
And with that, she ran through the north corridor, feeling the aura slowly grow stronger. They were getting closer. Now, if their quarry didn't go anywhere...
* * *
"What the - "
Althius was caught completely off-guard. He held his arms up to his face and shut his eyes tight as a windstorm knocked him off his feet and sent him sliding backward several feet.
"Someone's there!" he shouted, still flat on his back and breathing heavily. "And I highly doubt it's another Mageri."
* * *
"We do not speak on the likes of you, human."
The Leader merely chuckled, though deep inside he wanted to blast this particular soul into his next incarnation. Keeping his pleasant disposition, he watched as the souls began to take more definite forms. Somehow, he expected that they would all be animals, just like Cylak...
But not the fourth.
"I guess this is the side-effect of that tracking spell. Someone put in too much effort in it."
"I must admit, you're right," the Leader agreed with her, not knowing whether he should ask why she was a human unlike the others. "The tracker is getting closer, but he - or she - won't find us. Now then, this is quite interesting. I am conversing with four souls. It would be quite an interesting story...how you all met Cylak and started traveling with her. I can tell you have been with her for quite a while now."
In the back of his head, he was already making mental notes about their prisoner and her friends. He would remember who was who, who looked like what, and who might have certain skills.
"You may call me sir, or mister, or even human," said the Leader, giving Regna an unfathomable expression. "I'm sure you have heard that I am nameless, possibly unlike you."
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Post by Vyt: Down, but Not Out on Dec 6, 2008 11:02:00 GMT -5
Half-ignoring the Leader, Cylak looked at Mana with much awe. "Wow, Cylak... You look beautiful..." she began to stutter when she continued. "Well, I know you were a human then, but... wow... I haven't seen you wholly! I wish I could be like you."
Mana shrugged the admiration off; she was used to receiving that from a lot of men back in her days. "Believe me, you don't want to have this kind of burden. It's just inviting lust."
"Pfft. You humans and your lust. I can't stomach even seeing humans play around with your lips," Regna called out, remembering that he was the only one out of the four who lived among the humans before their extinction. "What's that called... ki...ssing," he hissed out.
Dexter and Nakaw looked at both of them with confusion, yet watched them fight like puppy-loved deniers. "Uhh, guys? Human still in front of us?" the archer spoke out.
As if in spontaneous reaction, Mana and Regna stared back at the Leader in utmost indignation. "Cat Assassin... Do you know that he also has no name? What makes you think you're alone and unique?" hissed Regna.
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Post by Omni on Dec 10, 2008 23:23:07 GMT -5
"Well, it's kinda hard to explain... Kinda like light and dark I guess...
"I don't really know what you would even call this kind of magic I'm using, actually... do you know much about magic and how to classify it? Or do you know someone who does?"
"I can identify various kinds of magic just from the aura. However, other than when it's fairly obvious, I'm not sure how well I can help you. Again, there are lots of mages here. Odds are one of them can help you in one way or another."
Omni continued digging through the stuff in the office. Come on… there has to be something…
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Post by Kat on Dec 16, 2008 7:10:36 GMT -5
"I never mentioned that I was unique for being nameless," said the Leader, still keeping his calm. "Now then, we have quite a lot of time; it is enough for me to listen to everyone's stories." He leaned casually against his enormous desk.
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