Arc 5 (Great Sea) -- Undergoing Setup

[Wakerz140]

Rannulf

'Looks like they were gonna have a two on one. Not if I have anything to say about it.' He fired three quick shots, more to distract than to hit anything at this range, going into a four legged dash as he fired. As he neared the one with the sickly magic he threw a hard right punch at his chest aiming to impale him right off the bat.

[niveksirrah]

Rintaro Umeda

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zee1Mc2TPog

Of course, when you think things can't get worse they do. Rintaro took a moment to reflect upon this order among chaos, clearly their hate for the mystics was so great that they would think of working with each other in order to further their own goals. Rin though for a moment, what could have caused them so much pain and hate? That mattered little at this moment as they both came at him. The two of them were good, though had little training working as a unit. Their duel strike would have felled most even among the Sohei. It was lucky for him that he had gotten used to fighting off groups by himself at a young age. His eyes flashed a bit, anyone who was staring at them might have sworn that the right one had turned red just for an instant.

He side stepped the downward cut, still seeming to move fast even despite the heavy air around him. With barely a glance at the green clad warrior he deflected the two attacks. Though such an assault left little room for him for a direct and fatal counter attack. He did however have time for a broader move. Spinning on his heel he swings the blade in a wide arc, using the momentum from the slash to skip back a few paces to gain him some room. Holding his blade up this time he gave a little smirk.
"Ok, now once more with feeling."
Though he taunted them he could feel the heaviness catching up to him. Just how long could he fend these two off like this?

[Attaxer]

Ginkarai Hisei

Ginkarai's eyes widened as the Sohei deflected his attacks with ease, but the surprise at that notion, was incomparable to the surprise he felt as a wolflos pressed it's claw towards his chest, only to meet the blunt end of his blade.

The maku-slayer parried the wolflos out wide and felt the wide spinning blade of the primary opponent cut through his kimono, leaving a wide cut, but not hitting his flesh. Ginkarai took a deep breath and stepped back a bit and looked at the Wolflos and the skilled Sohei. " Damnable things." he said firmly resetting his stance, this time one primarily for defense. " My wild-eyed friend, we will have to end this quickly." he said firmly. The pressure of the air pressing down just slightly harder, the veins in his neck seemed to tighten as he did so.

[SilverLich]

Valan Danar

They were amazed that this warrior had managed to dodge the combined efforts of both Summer and their new ally. He moved with speed and grace he shouldn't have been able to if he had suffered under the same affects as Summer had. He parried Ginkarai's attacks, and launched his own at the pair. The fairies must have gifted him with some kind of power, how else would he be able to do that? Summer wasn't about to let him win, much less get away though, but fate had other plans for them. Three shots ripped through the air, of what they were not sure, but Summer had no intention of getting hit. He ducked to avoid them before glancing around for their source, the one he believed to be responsible now attacking Ginkarai.

This would not do, they weren't about to lose the only ally they had, the only one who possibly understood them, not like this. Despite their desire to end Rintaro's life, Summer turned to attack the newcomer, grasping the hilt of his katana with both hands. He was about to swing around and attack the wolfos, but Ginkarai seemed to have things under control. "Perfect, just you and me again, 'brother'" his words were filled with venom as he charged Rintaro, swinging down at him once again.

[niveksirrah]

Rintaro Umeda

He readied himself as he heard the gunshots. From where he was standing he could more or less tell which way they were coming from. He just hoped that no were meant for him because if he took the time to duck he would be cut down. The shots flew past them, chipping away at the stone bridge. The next thing he saw confused him a bit, as it seemed like a wolfos in armor charged from the direction of the gunshots. The beast attacked the warrior in green, drawing his attention. The man did not seem to like this as he used whatever dark powers he had to make the air even heavier around Rin. He gritted his teeth and held his sword up in front of him, blocking the strike from the one calling himself summer. In that moment he felt something, and he smiled.
"That blade doesn't belong to you."
The smile crept across his face, a sohei with a dead blade was even worse than the other one with the dark tainted blade. He pushed the mans blade back, then came at him the several fast swings. Sweat poured down his face as the dark magic was wearing him out. As such his last strike was sloppier than he had hoped and left a small opening.

[Mattwensley]

Anton Laar

Anton froze. Usually he could avoid people with ease, especially if they were mounted - he recognised the large bird-like creature, but didn't know what it was called - but his wounds must have been worse than he thought, and his mind was fogged with pain.

How long had it been since his last interaction with another person? 3, 4 years? That merchant near Cresent Island? Or was it the attempted mugging near the Lost Mountains? Either way, it had been a long time, and far from here - speaking of which, where was here? He looked around, but couldn't see any hills or noticable landmarks. The flooding around the Old Domain pushed him further east than he had liked, and from there he went south, because snowfall in the mountains made them even more treacherous. Somewhere around the Woods of Winter? The Eastern Woods?

He realised that he had been ignoring the young woman, which father would chastise him for. She seemed slightly strange, but of course it was more likely that he was merely out of touch with the modern world. "Good day, Lady. Um..." Was that right? Were those the words, and in the right order? He decided to press on regardless. "I am... of Vogjaro... no... Vigjaro. To the northwest of Hyrulia Kingdom. Wait - Hyrule Kingdom. As for what is wrong with you, I can't say?" Anton hesitated. "If you would, Lady, where am I?"

[SilverLich]

Valan Danar

His strike was blocked, followed by Rintaro claiming their blade was dead. How could it be dead, this was the only thing that was truly Danar's, while it was true that he and Summer didn't entirely understand the meaning of this, neither were sure if Winter did, their armor and had belonged to Father and the blade on Danar's back was his mothers, this katana was the only thing that truly belonged to them. "Don't be so self righteous you blind fool, this blade is all that proves our destiny is still our own!" Summer struggled to say as he parried every one of Rintaro's strikes as best as he could. He could not deflect all of them though, some got through, glancing off his armor or going past it and cutting him a little.

It wasn't long though before Rintaro began to slow, his last strike proof that whatever Ginkarai had done to him was taking its toll on him, and now was the chance to strike. "Now it's my turn!" he laughed as he deflected the last strike, returning the barrage of blows in kind, with all the power Rintaro had to use just to make his count, but without the weight holding him down, now they were truly deadly, and even faster too. The only problem was they were erratic, as if Summer didn't care how he killed Rintaro, just that it was done

[Avatar of the Ice Wolf]

Nerise

The Horonian woman allowed herself a short laugh, relieved that she managed not to make a complete fool of herself within the first instance of dialogue. The man seemed flustered, but he was far from his native clime and, judging from his question, completely lost. She gathered whatever confidence she had and responded to the best of her ability.

"You are in Holodrum, very close to Horon city."

Good, that was a simple enough answer. Now it was her turn to ask a question.

"Where were you supposed to be going?" she asked, rather forcefully.

By this point, there was nothing more she wanted to do than to move away from any and all living things and curse herself until the Goddesses themselves took notice. That question could be perceived as rude in four different ways, and didn't even touch on the subject she was actually interested in. During her time in Hyrule, she never left Kakariko. What she really wanted to know was what Vigjaro was like. If the conversation kept up like this, however, she'd end up driving him away with her unrelated prying.

[Mattwensley]

Anton Laar

It was like he had never left civilisation. He was really getting the hang of conversing again.

"I have no real heading. But they say that in the end, all sins are forgiven, so you could say my... uh... heading- no, not heading, objective? No, destination! That's right, destination, is 'the end'."

Horon? Was he this far east? Well, it wouldn't that hard to get back - unless the snow completely blocked the Dominion pass, in which case he would have to travel south, and through Ordona territory - risky, as the Ikanians were not exactly happy about Hylians in their lands, or straight west, through Huskus, Kokiri and Lizalfos lands. While the Kokiri were generally friendly to wanderers - and he liked them too, they reminded him of the children in Vigjaro - having to pass through the heart of their lands might not endear himself to them.

He snapped back to the world a few moments later, remembering he had not introduced himself, as father always insisted he should. "Thank you, Lady. My name is Anton Laar, and it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." He bowed slightly, although the cuts in his abdomen only allowed for a slight dip of his shoulders.

[niveksirrah]

Rintaro Umeda

​Rintaro blinked a few times as the crazed man spoke about the sword and his destiny. Had this man no idea that at the end of a Sohei's training the sword melded with the soul of the user? That it's vary shape can change to suit the wielder? That a sword that was a part of another soul would never feel right in someone elses hands? True
"A true weapon of a Sohei reflects one's own soul! Your's shows only emptiness!"
The man was confused that was for sure, But he was still very good as he launched his own assault. He blocked a few cuts to close, the blade slicing thin cuts across his arms in several spots. He was pushed hard, back up a few paces from summers insanely strong assault, he waited for an opening but one would not show itself, this man was really good and unaffected by whatever magic that was dragging Rin down. So he had to make an opening himself. He pushed summer blade away to give him a half seconded he needed. He stepped in and in a blindingly fast move drew his second blade straight into a slash, regardless if it hit the man or not sweat was pouring down his face and he would be hard pressed to recover from this stance in time.

[SilverLich]

Valan Danar

The blades of the Sohei reflected their souls? He had never truly completed his training, the Mystics had assured he never would, so that left only the prowess of a warrior that wanted nothing more than to slay whatever opponent, a killer with the mind of a tactician, and the man that could barely keep the two under control at times. They were fragments, pieces who were united by a single desire to destroy that which made them what they were. Before any of them could even speak though, Rintaro knocked Summer's blade aside, bringing a second blade from out of nowhere and wounding him. This is getting out of hand, I'm taking over,with that, Winter began to take control of the situation.

He clutched the wound with one hand and glared at Rintaro with nothing but hate and contempt. To signify that he was in control, his posture and stance changed, where Summer stood ready to strike at any moment, to do anything it took to win, Winter preferred to make every swing of his sword count, attacking with precision and power, aiming to kill their opponents quickly."If our blade reflects our soul, than maybe we should find another to complete our set" even the voice changed, where Summer spoke with anger and violence, Winter spoke in a tone that was calmly and carefully, and with hate sharper than any sword. With his blade in one hand, he brought it up once again, and brought it down even faster than Summer had.

[Avatar of the Ice Wolf]

Nerise

It took Nerise a moment to process the Hylian's words into a coherent thought. Upon piecing together what she believed to be his meaning, she entered into a daydream-esque state, speaking to the winds while failing to make eye contact.

"If you have come to find the end, then you came to the right place. Here is the end of civilization!" she proclaimed with outstretched arms, pacing back and forth in a small radius. Recentering her gaze on her dialogue partner, she nonetheless appeared to have an air of emptiness about her, as if she was conversing with herself more than anyone. "On the other hand, this place might be the beginning. In which case, you are in the completely wrong place. I can never tell which."

Snapping out of her random trance, she shook her head once and remembered the man's civil introduction. It would be uncourteous to not respond in kind. Taking a slight bow and extending her hand, she offered her greeting.

"My name is Nerise Linair. In terms of geography, I am from a small, nameless village on the outskirts of the Mothulus. The pleasure is all mine."

Now that formalities had been handled -- albeit, a little late -- she could return to business. She needed something quick and decisive, something that would buy her more time to extract whatever this man knew of Hylian civilization, that he may add to her limited resevoir of knowledge. Noticing the man's condition, she honed in on her opportunity.

"If I may offer, would you be willing to ride back to my village with me? I would venture the guess that the wilderness has not been kind to you lately. I should get you to somewhere where you can get properly cleaned up."

That didn't come out quite right; but then again, when did anything she said sound like how she planned it in her head? For now, it would have to do.

[niveksirrah]

Rintaro Umeda

A solid hit, good. Rin gave himself a small smile, though this was short lived as what came next took him by surprise. It was like an image being reflected in water, a rippling change. He was still the same, yet all together different in his movements. Even how he spoke had changed. Worse yet he seemed to have gotten even faster as the blade flashed down before him. He his arms were like lead, unable to block or parry he tried to sidestep it but only half succeeded as the blade tore down his chest, leaving a long and terrible cut. He staggered back from the blow, his vision blurring from the pain and the fatigue he already felt. He felt one of his knees buckle and he had to kneel down, using on of his swords to hold himself upright. Panting for breath he stared at the warrior with his bright green eyes, before he fell down on his face.

A moment passed and yet, something felt, strange.

"not bad."

The words came from Rin, as he pushed himself back up. Holding his head down for a moment as he got back to his feet. He looked up, his brown hair seemingly taking on a white sheen to it, his right eye was no longer green, but red as blood. The wound on his chest, while still open, seemed to stop bleeding. A smile crept along the mans face, one of dark joy.

"It has been a while since I have been awake"

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

As a sohei, nature affects him and he affects nature, the world around the bridge seemed to dim slightly, black vines with wickedly sharp thorns crept up up and over the sides of the bridge. He held his blades up, seemingly unaffected by the gravity spell or the wounds had had suffered before. He smiled again and spoke as if addressing a child

"Now the fun begins little one, Let me see what the changing of the weather can do."

The power the flowed from him was both familiar and strange. For Valan he could feel the power of a mystic but for Ginkarai he could feel more he knew what the power of a dark fairy felt like, and while this was not exactly what he felt like, it was close to it. The power was high enough that anyone who could feel the maku or other energies would feel his own from quite a ways away.

[Athreon]

Torgo, the ancient child


The midday sun shined high and bright over the Hororian plains as a singular figure crossed them. Some would see him and assume he was a child. The wiser would call him a Kokiri. But those who knew him best called him ancient. Four hundred years he had walked this earth, and he had been a warrior for most of it. Death was nothing new to the Kokiri. Nor was losing his friends. Nonetheless, he refused to give up on one friend in particular. Two months, he had searched for her. Two months without so much as a footprint to hint at her location. He couldn't even be certain she was still alive. But hope held out, even after all this time. If he could not find her in the East, he would search in the west. But the east made the most sense. She had often spoken of wanting to see Horon and it's surrounding lands. So why couldn't he find her? "I can track a butterfly across the forest and yet this stupid girl evades me!" He roared. He fell to his knees and hung his head. "No, not stupid. Brilliant. The most remarkable child I have ever had the privilege of knowing."

Deciding to push past his melancholy, he rose and continued walking. Drawing his bow, he lazily drew a green fletched arrow from the quiver on his back and fired it high into the air. Torgo thought back on his travels as he continued walking. He had been allowed a privilege that many Kokiri did not have, though few desired it anyway. He had been allowed to travel outside of the forest in the service of the Great tree on many occasions. Though he did not get to see the world as often as he would have liked, accumulating only four years worth of time spent outside, he savored every moment of it. Of course, this time had an effect on his body, making him look older than other Kokiri, which perhaps was fitting.

His reminiscence was interrupted, however, by the sight of smoke. Running over the next hill, Torgo took in the scene before him. A Horon village burning, people scattering around it, some trying to put out the fire, others screaming for their children, all looking horrified. Torgo knew there would be people stuck in the buildings, and they would need someone to get them out. Leaping to the side, Torgo reached out and caught the arrow as it fell back to earth and shoved it back into his quiver.

“What happened here?” Torgo shouted over the commotion, looking for someone who might be in charge. Instead a woman screamed to him, “That witch! She did this!” Witch? The ancient child had his suspicions about what beings could cause such devastation, but he couldn’t be sure. Throwing his bow and quiver aside, he rushed into the burning village, looking for survivors. Instead, he felt a sick feeling in his gut, and the sight that greeted him across the village put all doubts he had to rest. A humanoid female shape shifted into a large cat, picked up a child, and began leaving. Torgo began drawing his bow, only to remember that he had left it outside of the village. He immediately began running back to retrieve it when he heard a cry for help. Torgo soon discovered it was a man trying to get into a large burning house, screaming that his daughter was trapped inside. Evidently a large piece of wood was blocking the entrance, so the Kokiri climbed the side of the house and leaped through one of the few windows on the second story that didn’t have fire billowing out. Ducking low to avoid the smoke, Torgo spotted a staircase further down the room. He rushed to it, but the stairs themselves were on fire. He leaped forward, grabbed the side of the floor that stuck out and bypassed the stairs completely, landing lightly on his feet. Torgo quickly scanned the room spotting the child with her knees curled up to her chin underneath a desk. Running forward, he grabbed her arm and pulled her out from under the desk as a piece of wood fell from the ceiling and shattered it. Running together, they avoided debris and and flames as they made their way to the door. Once they reached it, Torgo grabbed the piece of wood blocking it and pushed it aside, badly burning his hands. Ignoring the pain, he opened the door and pushed the girl through, throwing himself out the door just as the house collapsed behind him. After reaching a safe distance, the father embraced his daughter and turned to Torgo, who was rubbing some Chu jelly, which he had retrieved from his pack, on his hands. “However can we repay you?” Torgo smiled, “By raising her with strong morals and virtues, including not burning men or women at the stake.” The Kokiri returned and retrieved his bow and arrows. When they asked him where he was going, he replied, “I have a beast to hunt.”

Even the foxes of the forest would not know that the Kokiri was traveling through. With speed and silence, Torgo ran through the trees, speeding ahead of the large feline. With all the quietness and agility of a squirrel the bowman dashed up a tree and into the branches, he drew his bow and waited for the cat to come into sight. As soon as it was near him, he released the arrow. It struck the ground a few inches in front of the cat’s head. Quickly drawing another arrow, he trained it on the shape shifter’s head. “That was a warning, dark one, I don’t miss. What are your intentions, and what do you want with the child? And don’t think attacking me is a good idea, I’ve fought your kind before.”

[SilverLich]

Valan Danar

They felt a collective joy when the warrior began to fall, one of the few feelings that the three could equally share, but once again, nature would not relinquish its warriors it seemed. He began to stand as if he were not wounded at all, his brown hair gaining a white coloring similar to Valan's own, his left eye changed color, and the most noticeable of all, his wound stopped bleeding. Winter took a step back, confused as to how he was able to go on as if nothing was wrong with him, but then the thorned ebony vines started to climb up the bridge, his blades were even unaffected by the gravity, and he could suddenly feel a power they hadn't felt in a long time. This was no mere Sohei, this one wielded the power of the mystics.

We've been given a rare opportunity, but it is one that may force us to use our full abilities, Valan observed, Winter smirking at the prospect of finally being able to kill someone with the power of a mystic in such a long time. "The weather changed the moment you cut us boy" Winter cut at some of the vines as if to prove to point you. "So let us see weather Winter should stay and freeze, allow Summer to burn you, or if Valan will be necessary to fight you" it was rare that Valan was even allowed, much less able to truly have control during a battle, but Winter surmised that all three of them would be needed against this man,

[Mattwensley]

Anton Laar

Anton took the girl's hand in his firm grip and shook it energetically. "A pleasure indeed". He hesitated. "But, I may have to decline. I am... in exile. To return to the realm of people would break this exile". He hesitated again. These were dangerous lands. "I will escort you to the outskirts of your people, and then I will leave you once more. It has been a pleasure" he repeated, still shaking the girl's hand.

[Avatar of the Ice Wolf]

Nerise

She was saddened by his words, and angry at herself for botching this chance. How could she have missed it? The mention of sin and forgiveness should've been a giveaway. Once more, she was proven to be foolish and ignorant. Still, she was nothing if not persistent. Despite her unwillingness to give in, however, she had little idea of what she could do at this time to change his mind. So, she released his hand, called her Hrok, and asked the first, most obvious question that came to mind.

"Why were you exiled? Can't be any worse than what I did."

[Mattwensley]

Anton Laar

No, no! Too close to the facts! Anton visibly shook. "M-my burden is mine to bear, Lady Linair, as is my exile. I do not know what you have done, but fear not! As my father, a priest of the Goddesses, always says, we shall be judged fairly before them. In the end, all sins are forgiven," he repeated.

[Avatar of the Ice Wolf]

Nerise

That did it. He mentioned his father was a priest of the Golden Three. This tidbit turned her impulsive curiosity into an obsession instantly. Summoning all of her knowledge of the Three, she went at it again, hoping to trap Anton in speech. Her body shook, and there was an unnatural urgency to her voice. It was apparent that she was both nervous and excited.

"That is a... comforting thought," she began. "But -" She lost her train of thought. She tried to cover it up with a false cough, but was unable to make it sound in any way convincing. Despite this misstep of rhythm, she tried her best to salvage the idea. "But if all sins are forgiven, then why are you taking this penance upon yourself? Why not go straight to the Three for absolution?"

She was making a lot of assumptions here and ran the risk of revealing her total ignorance. But it was a risk she had to take.

As she spoke, she grabbed the reigns of her Hrok and lowered it to the ground, preparing it for easy mounting.

[Mattwensley]

Anton Laar

This was something he thought over many times, but could never reach a satisfying conclusion. "It feels-" right? Was he going to say that he thought it felt right to live in the wilderness? He cursed his lack of a decent vocabulary. Nevise probably already thought he was a deranged old man - how old was he, anyway? Somewhere around 40? - she already appeared scared, although Anton was hardly an expert at reading people, and for the first time in decades, Anton felt the hot flush of embarressing himself in front of a pretty girl - one that must be not far from half his age. He managed to depress the feeling, and made another attempt at answering the question.

"I feel that I have not yet earned to right to face the Three. That is why I live this life - I will not harm anyone any more, and when the end comes, I will be able to approach Them. It is through hardships that my soul is scoured clean." He said, echoing a line from one of his father's parables. He never believed they would make sense. "If I live with people, I will only hurt them again, but I will not waste the life the Three saw fit to grant me, so I will see my days out, away from others."