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Post by Lady Summoner Adiona Duer on Mar 5, 2009 18:08:43 GMT
Her shoulder length white hair wrapped around her slender shoulders as she closed the door to Bevelle temple, looking up into the bright blue sky a frown formed on her face. Adiona was not one for the sun or light not anymore, placing her summoner's stave into its holster on her back she took her first step on her pilgrimage. There was no crowd well a small one but they were the priest's and priestesses of the temple, they knew her manner and personality well enough not to cheer or applaud. It was a great thing to do...to become a summoner...to take on Sin. Adiona though did not have Gaia's well being in her mind, this was a personal mission one which she would complete...alone if necessary. Glancing around Adiona simply bowed making the sign of Yevon to the others before turning her back to them, the road ahead would be perilous and difficult but that made Adiona strive on more. The silver Yevon pendant around her neck swayed as she walked away from her home in Bevelle temple, her first stop would be Besaid to start at the beginning. Yes Adiona would be back tracking on herself but the desire to leave Bevelle was stronger, besides the fayth in Bevelle was said to be a strong one...much more power than Adiona could handle right now. A quiet sigh escaped her lips as she began her slow walk to the outskirts of Bevelle, really an airship would have been enough to get her to Besaid but...well perhaps at the back of her mind Adiona wanted to physically walk out of Bevelle. Her attire was simple but personal to her, a long straight black skirt with flat black knee high boots. Her top again black but stitched in were the symbols of Yevon in silver, no sleeves but wrapped around her arms were silver armlets. Her clothes screamed evil but that was the only colour and style she was truly comfortable in, her eyes through the years had seen summoners wearing much less.
Adiona's breathing slowed in rate as she approached the exit to Bevelle, stopping for a moment she sat herself down on the grass under the shade of a nearby tree. Sitting with her legs outstretched Adiona watched as young children ran by playing, adults and the elderly walking past. None knew her name or what she was doing...not yet anyway. After she acquired her first aeon at Besaid temple word would spread fast, it was then it crossed her mind she was setting out alone with no guardians. Quite the bold and dangerous move as summoners were quite vital to the defeat of Sin, she would be open to attack. Adiona though shook this thought from her mind her dislike of other people was too strong to let herself open up to her 'guardians', shaking her head lightly the young summoner leant back further under the shade. Her mind racing through her past like that one student she had wanted to spar against, of course her teacher paired her up with someone else. It was perhaps a lucky move as that student killed his sparring partner, Adiona remembered that she wasn't surprised at hearing that or that he had been kicked out. Laughing quietly to herself Adiona decided to stay put for a while longer, her head though told her to race onward to gain the aeons as quickly as possible before another summoner did. True Adiona wanted to be the one to defeat Sin but...even if she didn't do this time around she would get another chance in ten years....Sin always came back.
Time had slipped by since the guardian had went into secluded training, wanting to master the use of his particular and strange weapon, twin scythes attached by a long chain. He had made a long trek from Yevon to a place where summoners often began, where it was known that a few great summons came from. He had been in the village for a few years, but had heard of a summoner growing up. He didn't care to see her, but people were curious about him. He had three long scars across the right side of his face, along his eyes, though that was just skin deep and he still had 100% use of the eye thanks to a healer. He often went out on long training spurts over those past few years and came back, sometimes heavily beaten, not even hurt, and other times between the two. Either way, he never accepted help and would to heal if he was hurt or was out the next day.
That was two years ago. Now he watched as that summoner that they had spoken about was out of the temple. She certainly dressed strangely, looking pretty dark. Not that he could say much for his own black cloths. He wore a hakama, a four piece clothing set that consisted of a white short, cotton, an over shirt that had rolled back sleeves over the white shirt that was thinner and made of a thick silk, a belt that was wrapped over pants that opened up like a thin woman's dress. For feet, he wore tabi, socks that separate his first toes from the other three. Next was the zori that he wore on his feet as to be unlike shoes. Strong, woven rice straw that made something like a sandal. And what really made him look more evil then anything was his weapons; a pair of twin bladed scythes, the handle three feet in length and made of metal. The pair of scythes connected by a twenty foot chain that anyone who had not seen him use the weapon could not guess what they were for. The chain was used, when not in combat, to hold the weapon to his back. A strange few features on his face was a tattoo that ran from the left side of his face that began a little lower then half of his ear length from under his hair and went to just before his right eye. And then there were square like numbers on the left side of his face, 69. The numbers were from the guardian that had died saving him from the large fiend. His name, however, was lost to time as yet another summoner dying on their attempt to kill sin.
Walking along the dirt road after her as he seemed to just stare, Shuuhei released a sigh before stepping up to the summoner, who had positioned herself below the shade of a tree and asked, "Are you Adiona? The one who became a summon to kill Sin?" He knew a lot about being a guardian, but ultimately, it would be Adiona's choice, if this was her or not, if he could be her guardian. If she was, should would find that he was almost blindly loyal, perhaps a flaw on his part, but all he wanted to do was kill Sin and bring ten years of peace. Over which time he would simply perfect his skills even further. He had mastered the use of the weapon, but perfection was something he did not seek to fully attain, because that would be the top. There would be no way to go higher then that.
Steps in the water. The ripples moving outwards as he watches slowly his reflection fade to nothing. The rain begins to fal and the ants scatter into their homes, hoping to avoid the sudden down pour that comes from the heavens. He knows. You can never avoid it. His sword by his side, his one true companion over the harsh realities of the years, his claw, sharp and ready should he meet any resistance whilst on his trip. Bevelle. Did he consider this place home? He had been born here. Weak be sure, but he had been born. Taken to the sunny steppes of the Bevelle isles to increase his health. Ensure his chances of survival through the years of infancy. Perhaps it would have been better had they stayed. They’d still be alive. There were memories here. Horrible memories. Sleepless nights, buried in books of magic. Days spent training with a sword. There was no rest in his life, and his facial expressions showed it.
“ 500”. The man said to him, snapping him back into reality. He was a greedy man, fat in not just flesh but in the wealth that kept him happy and his bed filled with wenches. Had he worked for this life, from the bottom? Or had he inherited it from his kin? He guessed the latter, the mans arrogance and methods of competition ruled out the thought of working to keep your business. It seemed the man was more interested in keeping himself without forethought for tomorrow. “ No deal”. The voice of the warrior was dark, gravely. He hadn’t eaten in a couple of days. It was either buy food, or miss the next ship to Spira. The man looked at him and laughed. “ You’d do it for 200 you’re that desperate…I advice you rethink it”. Zero’s mind once again went over things, he really shouldn’t be doing it for this meagre sum. However his stomach argued and his mind was too weary to put up any resistance. “ 500 it is….but I expect it waiting for me when I get back…”. He moved out of the shadows of the alleyway and put up his hood, hiding his face and shielding him from the rain water.
He bumped into people, but didn’t seem to care. His eyes moved over to the warrior monks in this district. They probably had word he was back in town, he had after all trained with most of these men. Been at the top of the class only to be expelled for murdering his own sparring partner. The bastard had it coming. Goading him into attacking by using his past. There was no regret for that action, but the regret that he hadn’t done something like that sooner. He was approaching his mark now. Ugly business this. The merchant had hired him too off some shop keeper who had just set up here recently and was doing rather well, judging from what he could see, unlike his employer this man had worked for his money, and was still struggling to do so under economic pressures. It almost made him feel regret as he jammed the dagger hidden in his coat home. The man put up little resistance, the blow was quick as would be his death. It was clean, so there would be little blood. It was an out door merchant. For any looking on Zero merely put on a voice and said. “ Here uncle….you seem tired….let me put you down on your chair and rest”. He placed the man down on the chair, were the warrior placed the mans hands on his lap. Zero turned to the stall and pulled the curtain down, ringing the bell at the side. “ Stall closed”.
The way back the merchants, the rain still coming down, Zero had to guess the time. That’s when he felt a hand on his shoulder. And a cold shiver up his spine. He didn’t give the warrior monk time to react, he was already in the alleyway, so there would be no witnesses to the crime. His elbow connected with the nose of the monk, shattering it, naturally the man grasped his own nose first. He turned to ram the same dagger that claimed the shopkeeper home, but this man was trained. He blocked the blow, slapping the dagger from his hand and kicking it across the alley even as his nose bled in streams.The warrior monk drew his sword quickly, bringing it over his head and the sweeping down in a vertical slice towards Zero, That’s when the warrior lost his cloak, throwing it off and moving his gauntlet claw up . He caught the blade in mid-flight between the vice like grip of his claws. The man was shocked, but not as shocked as he was when Zero yanked the sword out of his hands and then kneecapped him with his own blade. Nailing it through flesh and bone. The man went to scream, however, the warrior’s hand was faster. Reaching down and grabbing his own blade, a sweeping horizontal slice stopped that scream before it escaped the throat, cutting the throat open, allowing the man to fall back.
He didn’t care to watch as the man flailed in a hopeless attempt to stem the blood flow. He met the merchant at their meeting point at the back of the alley. “ Had some trouble did we?”. The merchant grinned. The thought then occurred to him that it was more than likely that the merchant had been the one to set the warrior monk on him, perhaps telling them of a dark figure wandering the alleyways and stalking shop keepers. And in doing so would avoid paying his due. Zero grabbed the bag of gil hastily and the man shrugged. With that Zero lost his temper, walking up to the man, taking his head in both hands and twisting the neck violently. There was a snap of bone as the neck lost its stiffness and then the man fell lifelessly to the ground. Zero rummaged through his belongings. Taking whatever money, or valuables the man had on him, including the key to his shop and home, which he used later to get the rest of the money. Or what he could carry without looking conspicuous.
He sat now in the local inn, it wasn’t a fancy place. If someone like him would suddenly afford some place like that it would arose suspicions. So he sat there next to the bar, dipping old crusty bread into a soup comprised mostly of whatever the innkeeper found that hadn’t already been over run by insects. But there was some butter with it to help even the taste, and days without food will make even the most horrible meal seem like a five star banquet. So he ate, and ate silently. There was laughing, and the smell of old sweat and ale. He wasn’t much of a big drinker, so he simply had a glass of watered down wine next to him. Not that he’d asked for it to be watered down. But then again. The establishment had such “ perks”. After he had ate, he left the Inn. Around this time of year there were plenty of summoners who would start their pilgrimages. He had put off his own quest for long enough. He’d travelled for long enough perfecting his own way of fighting and survival, and thought it was about time he took up his oath of vengeance and killed ( or aiding in the killing) of Spira’s scourge. Sin.
Walking to the temple. Most eyes were on him. Those who remembered him from 7 years ago were mostly shocked to see the changes in him since he had left to travel the world. There had always been a haunted look about him, however now with scars, both emotional and physical. As well as his attire and equipment. ( Most of all being the threatening look of his dark steel claw). They couldn’t all help but avert their eyes from him. Two warrior monks got in his way just as he was at the end of the high bridge. “ You….your Zero aren’t you?…..you were expelled from our order for murdering your own sparring partner”. The older guard nodded. “ Murderers aren’t welcome in this holy place”. Zero just kept walking towards them however as they barred his path. His foot struck out at one mans knee, snapping the joint straight through the skin, putting him down onto the ground. The other once he grabbed with his clawed hand and threw over the High bridge to his death. “ Didn’t ask your permission”. He said as he walked by the still alive crying guardsman. With that he stopped and looked around. There were a few people here, most avoiding his gaze after what had happened. But there were another two. A strangely familiar albino woman and man who was with her. Summoner and guardian? He shrugged. And watched.
Post by Lady Summoner Adiona Duer on Mar 6, 2009 17:26:42 GMT
Her serenity shattered as an unknown male approached her, in a flash her eyes had glanced over him before looking away behind him. At first sight he appeared to be utterly useless in her mind bar the weapon her wielded, truly it was unique but wasn't everyone on Gaia unique in their own way. His attire was not entirely dissimilar to her own, dark in colour and preferable to the wearer. Preparing to stand not in honour of his arrival but because of her organisation or religion dictated it, Adiona knew well enough to stick to Yevon throughout her pilgrimage. Pushing herself up from the ground the young summoner made the sign of Yevon as a welcome, she wanted to hate Yevon so much because of its restrictions and laws but in truth....Adiona was almost blindly faithful to Yevon and its Maesters especially Maester Mika and Maester Seymour. They had been a great influence in her training be it not around much due to their stature but they were there none the less, her decision to become a summoner had been met with some dislike from the temple but the Master's opinions were far more important and different. She almost let a slight smile form on her face but quickly brushed what happy memories she had aside, in front of her now was someone she did not recognise or what his true intentions were. He knew her name for whatever reason which was strange, not many did know unless word of her becoming a summoner and leaving on her pilgrimage had spread faster than she had thought. In her mind she didn't want to call herself a summoner yet because, well she didn't have any aeons to summon as of yet. Adiona really still classed herself as what was known as a red mage, gifted in both the sword and magicks. Never really mastering one or the other Adiona vowed to change that. Looking back to the male Adiona let her arms drop to her side once the sign of Yevon had been completed, quite the formal gesture really but Adiona thought it best to do anyway. Being Bevelle and under the watchful eye of Yevon, Adiona decided to keep with their teachings.
"Who wants to know and why."
I was about to just tell him to get lost until I set my eyes on another man, not only did he look familiar to me but had also shown signs of increasing violence which seemed all to familiar. I tried placing him but couldn't, looking back to the more polite man Adiona let her fingers play with the fabric of her black skirt. She had not really been much of a social person and therefore did not really know how to interact with others, not that she cared in her mind everyone was just as useless as the next. Her patience though for some reason was starting wear thin, perhaps the waiting around her impatience to get to Besaid to begin her pilgrimage. Still her eyes wandered back to the more familiar man in front of her, he stood just looking as though killing and injuring people were a normal part of his day. Strange behaviour Adiona thought but who was she to think anything strange, for a few moments longer she looked upon him before diverting her attention back to the one who had approached her.
"My time is little and precious, say what you have to say and then leave me be....I have quite the journey ahead of me."
He ran as hard as he could through the depths of the forest surrounding the grand city of Bevelle, his Armour clanged almost silently with each hurried step. It was during times like this in which Abel praised his ability to summon his weapon, he did not need the extra weight slowing him down right now. A sharp turn, only to almost slip over on the icy ground; Abel placed a single hand on the top of his helmet and merely grunted as he struggled for a split second to keep his pace. He was lucky that he had been this close to Bevelle when he had heard of a new summoner, finally, after missing his chance with Braska Abel would finally be able to resume the job he was good at. He skidded to a stop as he came to the first fork in his path, he did of course already know which path to take, what he had not been expecting ,however, were the three wolf-like fiends stood snarling at him. Abel, allowed his disappointment to show by sagging his shoulders and sighing heavily, he had no time for this, this would just have to be quick.
With a simple finger snap he was holding his what had become his only travel companion, his great-sword. He did not bother to lower his stance, nor-take up a defensive stance, raising his weapon he began by resting the blunt edge of his blade on his shoulder and then doing nothing. Fiends were predictable, Abel already knew that they would all be dead before even one of them would come close to so much as biting him. They lunged at the same time, leaping into the air and then bearing down on him, Abel calmly raised his free hand to the same level as his chest and began to build the energy in his palm. it took the form of a small green orb a second or so later, just in time for the first of the three fiends to bite it. seconds later Abel forced it to expand to its full size. The first fiend fell dead as its jaw was wrenched open and then broken while the other two hit the now, fading orb and fell to the floor. Abel was fast this time, in a single step he towered over one of the two fiends. Then, with a quick stomp to the head, it was over.
"Two down." Abel muttered, more to himself than to the actual fiend of course. He could hear the fiend panting as it dashed toward him, there was no rush, all it was running into was certain death after all. A simple step to the side, placing his second hand at the base of his weapons hilt and spinning rapidly. His weapon struck the fiend with such a force that it was sent flying into a nearby tree and did not slide into two separate halves until seconds later. He drew in a deep breath, shuddering slightly, if everything he was going to come across was going to be this weak then he would have no trouble playing the role he was going to be playing. He let go of his sword, allowing it to vanish and dashed in the direction he was heading in.
"Oh for fu." He was pounced on by a fourth fiend, this one, however, was an easy dispatch as he placed one hand over its muzzle and one hand on the back of its neck and then twisted sharply. The sound of its neck breaking was easily audible, giving Abel a small feeling of satisfaction was he threw the motionless body to the floor and then continued on his way. He had to wonder how long it had been since he had heard the mutterings, which soon began to fuel a small fear that he had once again missed his chance. But if he did not make it to Bevelle he would never know, so he did the only thing he could do at this point, and that was to pick up the pace and run faster.
His lungs were burning before that, as of now, any other discomfort he was feeling only became worse. He cursed the human body he was confined to, if it was not for this body he would have been able to reach Bevelle in half the time it had already taken him to get just this far.
His goal soon came into sight, the high bridge was drawing ever closer. He had to stop. Doubling over and placing his hands on his knees Abel began to draw in ragged breaths. He wondered when the last time he had run so hard had been.. Yes that was it. The final test he had faced with Raphael as a guardian before entering the Zanarkand Ruins, the creature had started toward the summoner, while Raphael had simply used his "Flash Step" technique to reach the creature Abel had, had to run as though his own life depended on it. It had been a very close call in the end, but they were able to triumph. Abel shook his head sharply once, reminiscing about those days did nothing more than bring back painful memories, more than once Abel had found himself on the brink of tears just thinking about it.
He stood up straight and let out a heavy sigh, this time he took a casual pace, he had worn himself out enough for the day, he knew that if he continued to over exert this body then he would end up regretting it later. He cursed this body once again, he had often wondered how humans managed even half of the feats he had seen them manage during his time trapped on this world with such weak bodies. The grand entrance came into sight, a marvel of human craft, to say the least it paled when compared to even some of the common structures of home.
Through the doors and into the city, it had indeed been a long time since his last visit here, but Abel did not allow himself to reminisce about the last time he was here. In fact he blocked out most of the sights and sounds of the city altogether, making the walk to his destination, to the temple a rather boring and monotonous one. A small trip up the stairs and a mere half a glance to the small scene unfolding on the outside of the temple, here Abel allowed himself a small smile. Seemed as though a human guard here started something that he was unable to finish and had paid the price for it. However, he did not pay attention to the specifics and summoned his sword and rested the blunt edge of the blade on his shoulder before entering the temple.
Already he could see the small crowd, an albino woman, a relatively uninteresting looking man and. Abel was impressed with what he saw when he looked at the other man, the claw gauntlet was a nice touch, he had to admit. Maybe one day he would modify one of his own gauntlets for that, though really all that would end up doing would be impeding his style, so the thought was dismissed seconds later. He thrust the blade of his sword into the ground so that it would be able to stand unaided, took a step forward and made the sign of Yevon.
"My apologies for the intrusion Lady Summoner. I am here to offer you my services as a guardian." He spoke not in an overly polite tone, since he found tones like that to be patronizing. But he spoke with enough politeness and respect to let her know that he was not just some random guy, or some kind of strange creep..... However, he was aware of how summoners worked, after previously being a guardian it all boiled down to whom the summoner decided on making their guardian. --- [Words: 1,335] [Thread Total: 1,335]
There wasn’t much in the ways of things going on at the temple at the moment; whatever summoners were there knew why he was there. To become a guardian, yet each in turn took their own pre chosen respective ones, not daring to ask him in fear that he murder them and rob them half way down the road from Bevelle city. Rather pathetic really that they couldn’t even take the risk of being robbed to have themselves a guardian who would literally kill anything they said just out of loyalty for the summoner.
But it wouldn’t really be loyalty would it. It would just be his own misguided conception of it. He wanted vengeance on sin, and would bend down and kiss a summoners arse cheeks if it meant he were there for the final battle. So he would do pretty much anything to get there. However it seemed that the white haired woman was drawin in more attention from other guardians, was it her looks or the sheer mysterious air that came along with the white hair? He shrugged. He’d wait a little longer and see how things turned out.
Walking onto the scene came some sort of strange dark knight wielding a rather large sword. Immediately Zero got the feeling this man wasn’t from this country, or in fact this realm at all. He had the feeling of those uncouthly sort the Lucavi demons. Powerful fighters, but in all untrustworthy. Well that was the majority view at least, the warrior knew that some of the demons actually kept their word, so much so to the extent that they would cruelly slaughter anyone who accused them of lying. So much of an indignity it was. So he had to wonder which kind was this demon. Either way he’d probably make an interesting and powerful guardian.With that he decided he’d approach the team. His eyes locked with the girls.
She was cold, that’s all that he could say for her. If he didn’t know better then he’d say there was no soul behind those glassy eyes. “ Well if your all quite done with your displays of chivalry then we’ll be off”. Unlike the others he had actually proclaimed himself a member of this party, inviting himself amongst them. “ Theres a boat headed from here to Besaid islands in…”. He looked at the sun. “ Around 30 minutes.....I suggest we be on it….”. He gave the girl one last killers look and then started walking down the Highbridge. His right hand on his sword. And his left, ( the clawed one) hanging down by his side.He thought for a moment about the summoner, thinking about where he’d seen her before. Then suddenly it hit him. She was a member of that class, the one who had been trying to talk to him days before his expulsion, the one who had wanted to be his sparring partner right before. He smirked slightly. Well this would be interesting. He wondered if she recognised him. Well, not that it mattered.
It would not be long after Shuuhei spoke to Adiona that some other commotion would start near the entrance of the village. Shuuhei placed a hand on the chains, ready to cast them off and fight when a man with a katana and a claw stepped up. He may not have been the most polite, but he stood there, more then likely wanting to be a guardian as well. The summoner would then ask him what he wanted, because her time was limited, but he couldnt see how that was true when she was just sitting under a tree. He released a sigh and pulled his hand away from the chains and said, "I would like to be a guardian." It would not take her long to start looking between the two of them, this new man that had likely caused the commotion and himself. He looked at him as well when the darkly dressed summoner did, and then back at her as she would speak again. Apparently, she had either been too interested in the commotion or had not heard him. As he was about to speak again, someone else just randomly walked up to her and offered to be her guardian.
The scythe wielder wasn't going to get angry at him, what was the point on that? He had placed his left on on the chains that held his scythes together, but turned back to the woman and said, in a somewhat more polite tone then this random man, "As he said, I wanted to ask if I could be your guardian." He wondered what the results would be, he knew that some summoners chose no guardians while other choose just one. Other summoners took many. Whatever the reason, he cared not. He, much like the man with the claw hand, just wanted to be in the final battle with Sin. Unlike that man, thought, he had a more general way to think of loyalty, but in a way, still his own.
It was then that the male with the clawed gauntlete made the comment that a boat was leaving in thirty minutes if they wanted to catch it. At least, Shuuhei had to assume that he meant the three people already there. Of course, the summoner had not chosen who her guardians were yet. Perhaps the three warriors would be, maybe one. But he could tell just by the others' auras that they were perhaps a bit more experienced at fighting over all then he was, but he was used to fighting off fiends. His scar on his face was proof of that. How his eyeball was unaffected by the slashes would be anyone's guess. However, he would wait for the woman before him to say something or make some kind of action towards the ship to go along. Some summons started their aeon quest elsewhere, so he wondered where she was heading off to first. Of course, this would only be relevant if she chose him as a guardian.
Post by Lady Summoner Adiona Duer on Mar 9, 2009 13:40:47 GMT
Her paitence was begining to wear even thinner waiting for this man's reply, but even worse was the intrusion of another male. Was her life just going to be full of intrusions like this? Grunting under her breath as she saw him approach her arms crossed under her chest, she almost thought of tapping her foot actually in impaitence. Her shoulder length white hair wrapped around her shoulders once more as she looked between the two men in front of her, such a proposition as this would have caught unwanted attention. None the less the second man had already offered his services as her guardian, gritting her teeth in almost anger now she tapped the nails of her fingers on her right hand against her arm. The silver armlets gripping onto her arms began to warm up, the sun from Bevelle beating down on them all causing her arms to sweat slightly. Looking up to the blue sky once again her mind became awash with different scenarios, did she really want to let herself be protected by someone she didn't know. Did she want to be protected at all? Looking back to the man who had approached her second she uncrossed her arms letting them drop to her sides, with a deep unimpressed sigh she started to respond to him until the first man spoke. So he too wished to be her guardian, rolling her eyes Adiona shuffled herself forward her eyes switching between the two.
"I suppose you would both be good use of cannon fodder."
Shooting her gaze to the man she had spotted earlier their eyes met as he spoke, as he talked his voice became all more familiar to her. With every word and every action she felt she was getting closer to the answer, suddenly like a bolt of lightening it hit her head. He was Zero..it was him who she had challenged to sparring the day he killed his partner, her teeth began to grit once more as her anger built. His pure ignorance and arrogance annoyed her to bits, shaking her head lightly Adiona unclenched her jaw. Her eyes flared up as he assumed himself one of her guardians, before she could even respond to that Zero brought up the fact he had the gold behind him to get them to Besaid. Trapped in a way Adiona took a moment to think things over, her eyes averted from his for a moment before moving back to him. Not even a smirk on her face Adiona walked right up to him, in his face almost she made intention to hide what she was saying.
".....Zero...still the arrogant bastard I see....out of my way you are blocking the road."
Not even waiting for his response due to her rage Adiona pushed herself past him, heading down the highbridge Adiona refused to look back at any of them. At the end of the day she was the summoner and they the guardians, they were minor compared to her...they were merely just her protection nothing more. This journey...pilgrimage would just be exactly that, it was just another task for a summoner to do.
with a dismissive wave of his hand, his sword simply vanished, he did not allow his irritation at being reffered to as cannon fodder to spill over into his composure, after all, in all technicality that is what Guardians were for, to take the brunt of the force in which a summoner could not handle. He shrugged inwardly, Abel knew that the destination of this pilgrimage for him lie not at a final confrontation with Sin, but with Yunalesca, she would pay for what she did. Abel drew in a short sharp breath and turned his attention back to the other man, well at least it seemed as though this other man would be good for something, he did after all give them the information concerning a mode of transport. With a small sigh Abel headed in the direction given to them by this man.
Abel did not concern himself with small details, he would do his job as a guardian, he had no need to learn the names of anyone else on this little pilgrimage, he had little interest for each persons own reasons, goals and vengeance plans, since he already had some of his own after all, namely against yunalesca... The more Abel thought about what lie ahead, the more he found himself anticipating this final showdown with the bitch. There were of course a few thing that he would not be looking forward to doing again. Namely fighting that damn dragonic foe before the final destination. He was walking this time, at a leasuirely pace just behind the summoner at first and shook his head slightly as she stormed off toward the boat, leaving the man with the claw gauntlet walking slowly. Perhaps this pilgrimage would not end up going as smoothly as Abel had first anticipated, this summoner was young and apparently a brat of sorts.
"Hmph. This is going to end badly in one way or another. I just know it." Abel muttered to himself as he continued walking in the desired direction. If he remembered correctly their first destination would be the temple of Besaid, giving the summoner time to pray at the temple in order to attain her first Aeon. Abel smiled to himself absently under his helm, he had remembered how proud his first summoner had been when she had obtained her first summon. Perhaps something would happen on the voyage to Besaid, something big enough to make the summoner realise that she was really nothing without either guardians or Aeons. But Abel shook his head, no, that was not entirely true, Summoners were never truly ready for their pilgrimage unless they had at least some magical talent, Abel smiled once again, yes, yes indeed, this was going to get interesting to say the very least.
Abel continued walking at a somewhat relaxed pace, there was nothing to hurry for really, that was unless the summoner was eager to die that was. His previous summoner had claimed that all summoners knew the risks they were taking before they had even embarked upon their pilgrimage, yet this one seemed a tad too eager, perhaps she really was not prepared for what this pilgrimage meant for her. Abel smiled absently once more, well, having already embarked upon one technically failed pilgrimage did a lot to Abel as a person, he could only begin to wonder what kind of impact it would have on these young people, encountering the hardships they were going to encounter here for what was likely to be the first time where as Abel had already encountered them all at least once.
"Hmph." Abel allowed that simple sound to escape him as he continued thinking, these children would more than likely learn to savour the uneventful times during their pilgrimage, it would give them plenty of time to reflect on everything they had once had, everying they did have, and everything they were likely to lose. If anythig at all, after all, when Abel and Raphael had entered besaid with their summoner they had, had nothing to lose, by the time they had reached Zanarkand their deaths had hit Abel hard, harder than even his sealing and banishment. All that in the space of a single pilgrimage, perhaps it would have a heavy impact on these children as well.
Abel took only a single look at the vessel they were going to be travelling on as he saw it, just as he remembered, this voyage was not going to be completely uncomfortable, he took a second to glance back at Bevelle, they would be back here soon enough, drawing in another breath Abel prepared himself for what was likely to be a long stretch of his life.
He smirked and closed his eyes, raising up his gauntlet claw to his temple and placing one blade in the middle sniggering. He then opened his eyes and looked up into the sky. So she did remember him after all. And apparently she also hadn’t yet forgotten that if she’d been his sparring partner that day she would have been rotting in the soil, not facing Sin. “ Well what can I say….nothing changes does it?...”. He put his hand on his side. “ But yet…”. The warrior looked down and then stared straight at her. “ Some things do….never thought I’d see you dress up and play the summoner….you were always a devil with a sword….”. He shrugged. “ Not that you don’t suit the dress…..About time you tried something more feminine….if I hadn’t gutted one of those punks it would have been you in not too long…”. He shook his head and then watched as she walked on ahead of them. This was going to be interesting indeed. It was just then he realised the rest of them were getting a bit ahead of him. So he swiftly walked to catch up.
“ Hmmph”.
The demon warrior seemed to be in a total world of his own. It had been impressive the way he had just gotten rid of that sword. He could only guess that it was somehow magical and linked to his demonic powers. “ Hey clinky”. He shoved the demon. “ Eyes open, awake alert....don’t you know the whole guardian deal?.....we could be attacked at any minute”. He smirked and then made a twirling motion with his claw in the air. “ Unlikely right enough being in Bevelle….but ya gotta be prepared for anything right?”. He walked right up to Adiona and then pushed her back slightly. “ Can’t have ya leaving us in the dust princess….at least one of us has to go in front…what happens should you be attacked from the front?.....”. He smirked and stopped. His eyes staring into hers. Although there was humour in his voice he was perfectly serious.
“ So just get used to looking at my ass…it’s a privileged position…”. Despite the humour, inside he was going over everything. The costs for supplies, tickets and such. He’d pay for the majority of it with the money he stole from his former employer. Former being in more ways than one. For now he’d hide the true coldness of his nature, it didn’t do to make them suspicious of him for now. Playing arrogance wasn’t hard for him, after all it was a crucial part of his personality normally. But he was over playing it to hide the murderer. Best hide something in plain sight. He made a turn to the right.
Post by Lady Summoner Adiona Duer on Mar 11, 2009 10:34:12 GMT
Shoving her aside almost caused Adiona to lash out at him, he always did frustrate her not to mention the others at the temple. What a twisted sense of humour fate had to place her together with him, not only him but two other strangers who at this point she couldn’t decide if they would be useful or not. If Adiona gritted her teeth anymore she would have none left, but his mere presence was infuriating to her. Clenching her fists as she walked just behind him she made a quick glance at the other two before deciding to walk that bit faster, catching up to him Adiona brushed aggressively past him not looking to him. In her mind she knew this was childish but he seemed to bring that part of her out, as for the other two she wouldn’t know what side of her they would bring. The second man...well he was more than man and not in a good sense, perhaps he would be a strong barrier for her to use while the other could be used as bait for something if needed. Zero....well he she would use til the last moment perhaps and then kill him where he stood, that would be pure bliss to watch him beg for mercy at her feet. To take his own sword and drive it through him, to pull out his still beating heart..hold it in front of his face and then crush it with her hand. Such thoughts would have to wait until the time was right, bringing her mind back to the journey at hand her nostrils flared up to the smell of the ocean. Adiona always did like the smell of the sea breeze it was relaxing somehow, remembering Zero’s arrogant words she couldn’t help but retaliate.
“You should try looking a bit more manly yourself, I am still a devil with the sword and don’t be so sure I wouldn’t have gutted you. A change of...profession is not always a bad thing, if I can enact my revenge then I shall by any means necessary. I am no summoner until I have acquired my first aeon and that shall be done in Besaid. Just remember you are of lower worth than me it is I who will be the one to ultimately destroy Sin, I do it not for the glory I do it for myself so just do your job.”
A grunt emerged from her mouth still her gaze on the road ahead, any good summoner would wait for her guardians but Adiona...well she wasn’t exactly a good summoner. In her mind they were her slaves in a sense, they were to do her bidding no matter what the consequences. If they didn’t...well she would either kill them or just abandon them, for some reason her frustration grew by the second. Perhaps being surrounded by testosterone was not such a good thing, especially since one didn’t seem quite human. He just had to speak again didn’t he, in her most sarcastic voice she answered.
“I think we know where the docks are it isn’t that hard to figure out, praise be to Yevon I was paired up with you what a joyous occasion this is.
He would have cut the throat of people who had said less, but then again he was a guardian now, it wasn’t his job to question her only courtesy and bow and say “ Yes lady summoner”. “ No Lady Summoner”. “ As you desire”. He swore this was going to get very old, very quickly. But still, he just put on a strained smirk and let the words spill out of his lips. “ Yes Lady Summoner”. He bowed and made the sign of yevon. She was a glory hog, of that there was no doubt, she wanted to make him feel as if his place in defeating Sin was useless.
Could a summoner truly make it to Zanarkand to defeat sin without the aid of his or her guardians? He had never really thought about that before, but its seemed all the high summoners in history had at least one guardian. So it was safe to say that those fool hearty enough to go ahead without them weren’t going to make it to the end of the journey.
“ Of course Lady Summoner, I was just pointing out that the there is a common misconception that people have about the docks, there’s the entrance for people who own ships…”
He pointed to the right. “ And then the one for travellers like us….besides…I’m the one with the funds…”. He walked with the group to the docks as they finally arrived, the smell of sea salt in the air stinging his lungs and nostrils. He approached the captain of what appeared to be a decent vessel that was heading to Besaid. And by decent he meant not full of holes and leaking in several places. No such vessel would survive the seas these days. Especially with the recent increase in Sin’s attacks on costal waters. “ Myself, my Lady summoner, and the other guardian are wishing transport on your vessel, how much for three people to Besaid?”. The captain rubbed his sea mans beard steadily. “ For a summoner?...hmm that’s dangerous work…..increase on Sin attacks and all”. Zero grumbled. “ Sin doesn’t purposefully attack boats with summoners on, that’s an old wives tale…its nothing but a mindless monster…all to do with luck “. The man shook his head. “ All the same….1500 gil for all three….”. Zero growled, but really he was expecting to pay far more. He handed over the money and turned to Adiona. “ Ship leaves soon…best be getting on”.
Abel nearly grabbed Zero by the neck as he barged past. he shook his head and let out a somehwta mournful sigh, so many years of living on edge had almost led him to attack a current ally, but it did not seem as though it was going to get overly bad, that boy did seem to have a sense of humour. Abel smiled. He had never really been a good judge of people, that much he would attest to he was merely cautious. The Summoner and the man acting as a second guardian seemed to know each other, whether their history together was good history or not was of little interest to Abel, he had a duty to perform and this time he was not going to fail it.
For the most part the trip to the docks was uneventful, the occasional civillian would stop to gaze and then continue to go about their daily business, it would be at this point within their best interest to avoid Abel or the summoner, hell, perhaps even the other guardian. he shook his head and drew to a stop as The second guardian decided to try and haggle with the captain of the vessel. well the captain had the excuses down to a fine art by the appearance of things which caused Abel to smirk to himself, perhaps it would have been better off ot threaten this guy in order to let them on for free, after all, having the presence of a summoner around should have been payment enough. well, all things considered anyway.
Abel boarded, looked around and then shrugged. Yes, this vessel was indeed passable by all standards, however, it would not withstand much pressure if they were to be attacked by Sin, but then again, no vessel could. The likliness of being attacked was no greater than that of any other vessel, Abel could confirm that and could have simply dismissed the captains fears then and there, but Abel viewed it as wasted effort on his part, after all, all he was trying to do was extort money from the three of them. Abel merely shrugged inwardly and walked to one of the sides of the vessel overlooking the sea. The trip would be a fairly long one and Abel did enjoy having a view to look at while he was bored out of his mind. --- [words: 399] [Thread Total: 2,520]
Post by Lady Summoner Adiona Duer on Mar 19, 2009 10:17:49 GMT
Growling under her breath Adiona crossed her arms under her chest while Zero saw to the handling of passage to Besaid, the eyes of newly appointed summoner flicked over to the other guardian as he boarded the ship. He hadn't said much other than asking to be her guardian, other than that he had simply followed withou saying a word. Rolling her eyes Adiona shook her head lightly as she returned her gaze back to Zero, seeing that the ship had been paid for Adiona dropped her arms to her side. Almost striding over she brushed past him once more as she boarded the ship after Abel, her black boots clicked against the wooden plank used to board the ship. Looking around she could see a few more passengers aboard the ship, possibly not staying at Besaid but it did not matter to Adiona.
Walking to the back of the ship Adiona bent over resting her arms against the wooden sides of the ship, out of the corner of her eye she saw the plank being lifted and the ship slowly starting to move off. Sighing she was back to her own thoughts, her journey had finally begun and she wasn't alone. With the ship now sailing out into the big wide blue sea there was no going back now, her life would be changed forever.
And so it was done, at least for now. He felt Adiona brush by him, the demon warrior soon advancing onto the boat afterwards. My these people were arrogant. This was certainly going to be an interesting trip. And it would likely mean every single one of them would have to slumber with a single eye open tonight. And a few nights to go. Not just because all of them might just kill each other. But if he knew these sailors, and he did. Then Adiona might get into a spot of bother. They hadn’t been docked long, certainly not long enough for these lusty sea men to go out and pay their tavern wenches for some good company under the sheets, which meant they’d be looking for anything they could take. His eyes lolled as a rather girlish looking boy walked onto the ship. Immediately he caught one of the sailors giving a backwards glance. My my, that one was in for a surprise tonight. No doubt he’d get all the booze and company he wanted. Maybe more so.
It wasn’t long before the boat kicked harbour and began to drift off into the outer levels of the ocean. Already Zero had chosen his own cabin. It was near the food storage. Wasn’t large, certainly not luxurious. But unlike most other quarters of the ship it would be dry and relatively warm. After all these men didn’t want their supplies being spoiled by damp. Something like that could kill a boat at sea and everyone on it too.
Of course, then again. There were worse things in the eocean than that. Much worse. He opened up his claw gauntlet and stared at each one of the claws that made up his digits. He sat down and took out a leather container of oil, he oiled each joint, testing for flexibility. He then took his sword, removed a whetstone and sharpened the edge. Once that was satisfactory he oiled the blade as well with a tough cloth he had purchased from one of the stalls before leaving that inn. Speaking of that his stomach began to growl. He’d leave it for now though. If there was a water fiend attack he’d need to ready his sword. Or….if something worse happened.
He climbed the wooden stairs from down in the galley onto the deck. Immediately he felt the sea breeze go against him and push back his hair. He closed his eyes and walked out. The wooden planks creaked slightly. It wasn’t the best ship in the harbour, however at the same time it wasn’t the worst. He had choosen this boat because the sea men on board looked experienced. And the ship looked stable enough. He stepped out and placed his foot on the edge of the ship staring out to sea. They were well out o the harbour and headed into sea, Bevelle was becoming little more than a dot in the distance. However…..suddenly he got a sinking feeling. He was quick to react when the water frothed below him. Out from it jumped the monster, spined scales and claws ready to tear at its flesh, however it was unprepared to meet him claw to claw. The talons of his claw sunk into the creature , he asserted his grasp as the blood flowed out and then threw it with some effort over the side. He looked at his claw. A dark slimely blue blood. Those scales. More began to pop up on deck. And Zero sounded out the warning. “ SIN SPAWN!”.
In the distance….a shadow was visible from under the water….an immense colossus. Headed directly towards Bevelle. By the looks of things the boat was only a minor obstruction. The captian of the ship took his telescope, even as battle raged around him, the sailors taking up weapons to fight off the Sin Spawn. “ Looks like he’s heading to Bevelle boys!....We’ve got kin there….can’t just leave them all to die…..gotta try and steer the bastard off course!”.
Zero looked over at the captain of the ship, my how he wanted to gut the man, but he was right. The situation didn’t warrant for arguing or anything else. And Adiona’s comment about men being absolutely useless had done nothing to change or help their problems. The captain had harpooned them to the ship, effectively tying them to Sin. The idea was simple, hold onto Sin for as long as possible pummelling it with everything they had. Unfortunately in that there were errors, for example what happened if Sin were to dive under the water, the ship would go down faster than a chocobo in a sink hole. However it was hard to think, all the swords flashing, avoiding the clawing arms and talons of the Sin spawn as they advanced on their attack. There seemed to be limitless numbers of them coming from Sin itself and the waters, he had to admit the sailors were doing very well considering the odds against them.
He blocked one with his gauntlet, twisted it, snapping off its sharp stabbing leg and then jammed the leg through the creatures face. It was going to be hard to get at Sin considering the sheer distance between themselves and it. Adiona could use her magic, and he could use his. He didn’t know about the demon. His magic wasn’t nearly as strong as the summoners and he doubted it would do much good. Merely a flare in a thunderstorm. But there was no way he could get close with his sword…unless.
He distilled that thought for now and focused himself on killing the Sin spawn on the deck and opening some decent killing ground between them and the creatures who were still boarding the ship in their masses. “ Have you got any bows? Crossbows? And men able to use them? “. The captain withdrew his cutlass from another one of the sinspawn, sending it back into the brimey depths with an old leather boot to the face. “ Yes, we do, however I don’t see how that’s going to do us any good”. Zero grumbled. “ Tell the men who can’t use a sword as well to back off and grab a cross bow or a bow, with that they can send lines of arrows into the advancing Sin spawn, cutting them down and making it less numbers for the melee team to actually deal with…”. The captain thought for a moment but was snapped back to reality when a stabbing leg of one of the vile monsters barely missed his face. “ Very well, MEN! YOU HEARD HIM”. They looked over just for a moment. “ Those who aren’t too handy with a sword grab a bow or a cross bow and blast these Sin spawn back to the depths!”. The men moved quickly, a quarter of them sheathing their blades and heading fro the upper deck. There they grabbed the long range weapons and aimed down at the Sin Spawn. Zero looked up. “ Don’t fire all at once. Line up alongside one another, half fire, then reload, the others fire whilst the first team reloads, understand?”. They all seemed to nod. And that’s when the tide against the beasts began to turn a little for the shipmen. However they still had one major problem to deal with and that was the one that they were anchored to.
Zero rushed forward, slashing one sin spawn, then grabbing another by its face using his gauntlet claw and throwing it back into the water. He grabbed the harpoon guns, themselves like giant crossbows. He looked along the sights. “ Yevon be damned……by the looks of this the creature hasn’t swayed a bit….at least not yet……we just don’t weigh enough….we’re going to have to damage it considerably to make it turn on us yet the way we’re armed it doesn’t seem possible…..maybe if we’d had an aeon……urgh…no time to think about that now…Aeons will come in time…”. He jumped up onto the gun. The wire was steady, mostly due to the sheer pressure of the pull.
He stepped up onto it and then tested it under his weight. That’s when he started the sprint across, one slip up and he was into the sea, were no doubt thousands of Sin spawn were now rallied around the main creature of Sin. He saw the harpoon sticking into the creature at the end of the line, he jumped and hung on for dear life to the pole part of the large weapon sticking out of Sin. This was were the creature’s hide hand been penetrated. And around that area would be the weakest. He drew back his sword and nailed it forward, however Sin’s hide was touch, and only served to deflect the first blow. However after repeated hits it began to crack. But he couldn’t keep this up, Sin was a moving living thing, and as it groaned under the water and pulled them along, his balance was wavering. Just then, another harpoon fired into the fin of Sin, a few meters above the other, and narrowly avoiding Zero’s head. Still none the less this would be a safer route back to the boat. He jumped up positioned is sword sideways across the wire, and held on as he swung back to the ship. He was glad to make it back onto the planks of the ship. “ I cracked its armour slightly…..thats going to be our best chance for attack…..”.
Battle Word Count: 947 Total Battle Word Count: 947
Post by Lady Summoner Adiona Duer on Mar 25, 2009 20:12:56 GMT
Her ears pricked up to the voices of the sailors and others aboard the ship, not really that interested in their conversation Adiona rolled her eyes as she looked back out over the sea. Closing eyes the newly appointed summoner took in the sea breeze and air, such a refreshing change from the hustle and bustle of Bevelle. Her pilgrimage serious in theory would also open up doors to her, visiting new continents and towns would only broaden her knowledge of the world around her. Adiona’s mind ticked over as to what power she would soon hold in her hands, yes now she had learnt the dangerous ice magic but that was it. This pilgrimage would help her to hone that black magic along with learning new and more powerful spells, a sharp thud to the ship made Adiona open her eyes. Screams and shouts of Sinspawn woke her up from her daydream, glancing to Zero bark out orders made her blood boil. A man as usual dishing out the orders, but the truth was as a new summoner she did not yet have an aeon which only enraged her further. Sprinting towards the Sinspawn Adiona skidded to a halt, outstretching her arms slowly and then bringing them back together; shards of ice began to form and then shot out striking the Sinspawn. With no real hand to hand combat the mage had to rely on her magic for now, soon though an aeon would be at her disposal. Continuing to use her black magic to pick off the Sinspawn her eyes glanced to everyone taking a part in defending the ship, it was her first real battle and well in a sick way Adiona was enjoying it.
Then though her eyes locked onto the reason she was doing this pilgrimage...Sin. The gigantic beast that tortured Spira and its inhabitants, anger did not rush through her...it was..an emotion she didn’t know how to describe. Of course there were other summoners on the same path as her, but this was so personal to Adiona. Her parents have been taken by Sinspawn and so the seeds of her revenge began. Taking a step forward to gain a better look at Sin her long white hair wrapped around her face and neck, the ship tossing and turning from side to side. All of this didn’t seem to matter...all that mattered and all she could focus on was herself and Sin. Hearing Zero once more shout out about attacking Sin Adiona took the initiative, thrusting her hands out towards Sin she let out spears of ice striking the fin of Sin. Adiona knew Sin would not be defeated this time but maybe he would it would be deterred from attacking Bevelle, not that she cared much for the actual place but....a much more powerful aeon lay in wait for her there. Not noticing the remaining Sinspawn as she continued to attack Sin, Adiona was caught off guard as one of the Sinspawn clawed into her arm. Knocking her off balance the young summoner fell sideways grabbing onto the side of the ship as not to fall into the sea, looking back to the Sinspawn Adiona shot out another spear of ice to finish it off.
Abel had been stood in the spot he had picked out upon boarding the vessel, of course he did not choose this location solely for the view, as a guardian he kept his eyes open for any and all threats to the summoner as well as those unto himself and the second guardian. The guardian he really should get the name of, after all, not knowing the identity of an ally often made work more difficult. He sighed once, this was going to be a long pilgrimage.
He heard the screams and instantly readied himself, indeed Sin was attacking. This was odd, during his last pilgrimage Sin had not directly attacked attacked them. well at least Sin did not attack them on their first boat toward Besaid. perhaps the beast was learning, after all. This would be considered a defensive action.
Snapping to actiom Abel summoned his blade and cast a quick eye about the deck, The other guy was organsied, good, this would leave Abel enough time to make the slowly growing crowd of SinSpawn more manageable. A quick glance over to the summoner. She was handling herself well enough, however, Abel would not make the mistake of leaving her unchecked, that was after all the role guardians were given.
Abel span on the spot, swinging his blade as he did so, the momentum along with the weight of the blade was enough to clear the small swarm gathering around him in a single swipe, Abel gave a controlled finaly spin and then swung his sword up and rested the blunt edge on his shoulder, lowering his stance the warrior took his time on picking his targets, some of them seemed to have some logical forms to their seemingly primal swarms, yet there was nothing out of the ordinary, just another bog standard set of SinSpawn. He had already began charging the energy in his palm and thrust it forward before the first of the primal enemies lept at him. It hit the temporary barrier and recoiled. leaping into the air. Abel already had this one done, he gathered the energy required in seconds and sent the three blades flying at his foe soon after the barrier had dissipated. All three blades struck true, hurtling the creature over board and into the sea.
A second foe lept only for Abel to smack it in the head with the pommel of hsi weapon. A single downward stamp to a third SinSpawn saw to the end of it. Abel turned on the spot and slammed his sword directly on top of another SinSpawn, cut cleanly in half it bled on the deck for a second before fading. Abel hoisted his sword up and over his head, killing yet another SinSpawn with the impact of the blunt edge of his blade. That was when Abel noticed it, The Summoner was kocked over the edge of the deck, he could see her clinging onto the side of the ship, yet with the commotion going on around her it would be very easy to fall. She was quite obviously able to take care of herself as she finished off a SinSpawn by impaling it with an icicle.
resting the blunted edge of the blade over his shoulder he charged in the direction in which she clung for life. There was a small crowd of SinSpawn massing around that location. Abel was not about to let the pilgrimage end so soon. He neared the location and dropped to the floor, sliding and kocking the SinSpawn aside, he lie on his back and span, slicing their legs from beneith them. After that it took Abel a moment or two to get back to his feet. Such a tactic was not his style and often left him disoriented. However, he was not off guard enough to allow the oncoming SinSpawn to get the better of him, not at all. a single stab saw to one of them while a kick to the blunt edge of the blade sent the next two sprawling. Thrusting his blade into the wooden floor Abel offered his hand to the summoner in order to get her back onto the deck of the ship. Abel did of course half expect the summoner to refuse the gesture.
A harpoon through the fin of the colossal entity was not enough to cause it great pain, but none the less annoyed it into giving its attention to the ship desperately trying to steer it off course. Spawn continued to shed from the fin, some falling into the ocean while others crawled across the harpoon line to the deck striking mercilessly at all hands on board. With each creature killed, two or three took its place becoming a seemingly endless wave, creating a distraction for the Sin mass to continue on its course. Its pace was slowed slightly due to the ship's resistance, but not enough to detour it completely.
On deck, multiple SinSpawn crowded around what remained of the active crew. They were not intelligent in anyway, predictable in movement and attacked in series, one right after the other rather than ganging together all at once. They were easy to thwart, yet their problem lay in their numbers and attack power.
Suddenly the ship was jerked forward as Sin picked up its pace and the first Spawn lept to attack...
------------------------------
-After 5 Spawn are destroyed Sin will change direction either progressing faster or slower toward Bevelle. -Attacking the Fin directly will reduce the amount of Spawn and direct attention to the ship. [This can be a good or bad thing]
Post by Lady Summoner Adiona Duer on Mar 29, 2009 17:08:11 GMT
Her eyes flickered to her new guardian Abel, his hand outstretched for her to take. The voice at the back of her mind screamed out to refuse his offer, though logic dictated to take it and live another day. Lunging herself forward Adiona grabbed hold of Abel's hand, pulling herself back onto the deck with his aid. Her gaze soon reverted back to Sin the gigantic beast terrorising Spira, a decision needed to be made. Sin was heading to Bevelle her home...even though she despised the place it was still her home. Sighing Adiona realised she was still holding Abel's hand, dropping her hand sharply Adiona turned to the other passengers on the ship.
"We can't let Sin get to Bevelle, we have to stop it. I'm sure you all have family and friends in Bevelle...if our few lives were to be sacrificed so they could be saved it is worth it. I will not let Sin take Bevelle like it has so many other places."
Adiona looked to Zero then, he seemed to be the tactical one in the group. On her feet Adiona made her eay to him as the boat rocked back and forth, grabbing onto his arm to steady herself Adiona looked back to Sin.
"We have to attack Sin.....we can't let it get to Bevelle."
He slowly stood up from the wooden deck of the ship examining any minor wounds he might have, for now the sailors seemed to have the sheer surge of the sin spawn control. Unfortunately however the last little attack against Sin seemed to have made it only more angry, unleashing a whole new set of the spawn upon the decks. The melee team were once again pushed back, and the long range archers seemed to be panicking. Once more Zero shouted up. “ Remember, fire in volleys, otherwise you’ll be leaving us open for a massive attack, keep them pinned down!”. His eyes moved over to Adiona and Abel, the lucavi warrior seemed to be taking on the more active role as guardian, foolish as it was, if this boat went down then this trip would be for nothing. Adiona then mentioned that they had to attack sin.
Once more Zero began to laugh as he looked into the fray of battle. “ What do you see right now?....by attacking Sin we draw attention to ourselves, which will leave us in obliteration, and your pilgrimage over before it even began. However if we do nothing Bevelle falls to Sin….and as a side effect it might well destroy one of the Aeons…it’s a tricky situation”. He turned quickly his sword slicing through half of a Sin spawn that then fell to the decks dead, the blood drying up into the wood along with other of its ilk.
“ But your right…we have no choice….I’m not risking another run across that harpoon wire, the ocean almost had me before, we need to attack long range and that means magic…..I know some little, but my guess is you Adiona will have the ability to cast stronger spells quicker…as for you….”.
He looked at Abel. “ I have no doubt you’ll have something up your sleeve….so lets hurry…rout these Sin spawn and attack the Fin head on with magic…”. He dived forward into the fray of the sin spawn, cutting slashing, avoiding the claws that constant sought to bring him down to the deck. To spill his life blood as he spilled theirs. More emerged from the depths of the ocean, below the waves they squirmed and moved in their masses. Struggling and climbing using each other as a living ladder to reach the top. Only to meet with a volley of crossbow and archer fire from the top decks, and the cold iron blades of the sea men who fought out in front. And the two guardians, and summoner. Who would not let this be the end of them. As the guardian made a final swipe, it was in a 360 degree turn, his sword drooping down to his side as in his clawed gauntlet charged a ball of fire. He released it, the flames slamming into the hard scaled side of Sin’s fin. However these scales when hitting the water only took new life as Sin spawn. However that wasn’t important. What was important was the burn mark the flames left behind, the cracks in the area, where he had hit before. The same place the harpoons had pierced its armour. Had left for a weak spot in his hide. And so that’s where he would strike.
Battle Word Count:545 Total Battle Word count:1493
The attack only proved to anger the Sin mass further, but its pace continued to slow. Spawn rained down as dingy scales onto the deck, having their way with the vessel as well as the crew; a distraction to further detour attention away from Sin. The fin arched away from the vessel, jerking it once more as if to tip down the ship bow-first.
A monstrous wail resounded from below the ocean's surface but was as clear as if it had been sung in the air. On the horizon was a familiar sight of rusted walls raised above the water. Ships close to the city quickly diverted their course away from the oncoming mass doing all they could to escape the massive waves produced by Sin's advance. It was so very close now...and as if announcing its arrival, the beast's voice bellowed over the rough waters commanding all to give attention to it. Destruction was at hand.
He held onto the side with everything he had, the boat swerved downwards, dragging most of the Sin spawn off the deck along with a couple of members of the crews melee defence team. He drew back his gauntlet and slammed it into the wood, punching straight through and allowing him to keep a firm grip on the ship. He looked on in horror as Sin ravaged them in the waves, however it wasn’t stopping, they were now far too close to Bevelle. “ Looks like this is inevitable….no matter what we’ve done Sin is just getting closer and closer to Bevelle…we’re already approaching the damned docks…”.
He gritted his teeth and looked over at the captain of the ship who was too holding on for dear life. “ We got too choices…hold on and die, or cut off…..I don’t see any other real choice in this….”. He gulped dragging his claw gauntlet from the wood, he stood holding the side bar for support. “ Yevon forgive me”. He then ran downwards, tackle charging ttwo sin spawn out of his way and jumping onto the side deck. His sword flashed once in the air. One of the harpoon cables connecting the ship to Sin snapped and gave way as he sliced through it, The ship stumbled in the water once more as more strain was put on the last one. A sailor, ran forwards and grabbed his arm as his sword went for the last cable hauling him back. “ You can’t do this, if you cut us loose Sin will reach Bevelle with no resistance”. Zero grunted and gritted his teeth. “ If I don’t do it Sin drags us down, and my summoner dies…sorry but that’s not going to happen today…”. He drew his sword back again, the sailor moved to intercept, however this time the blade came down slicing through the mans torso.
Before anyone else could react he drew back again and sliced the final cable holding the ship to Sin. They were snapped free, and the beast was free to reign on Bevelle. He heard grumbles in the back. No doubt they weren’t going to be to happy about losing a comrade. But many of them would have family in Bevelle. But then this was the role of the guardian wasn’t it? Protect your summoner at all costs. Even if that cost was this high. It was one that needed to be paid. Slowly he sheathed his sword. He’d clean it later. He walked down towards Adiona and felt something strike him on the cheek. Spit. One of them men had spat at him. Under their breath they called him a coward. He clenched his gauntlet and then kicked down the door to the lower quarters. Bevelle was doomed.
Battle Word Count:461 Total Battle Word Count: 1954
Post by Lady Summoner Adiona Duer on Apr 2, 2009 16:56:30 GMT
So the decision to cut the rope had been made, Adiona watched on not saying word. The summoner preferred it that way just watching other people's actions, Sin was headed to Bevelle what damage it may do was out of their hands now. Walking to the side of the ship Adiona watched on as Sin made its way closer to Bevelle, under her breath she uttered a prayer of Yevon. Even though she despised the place and most of the people Bevelle was still her home and where one of the most powerful aeons were housed. Taking a deep breath Adiona turned to see the vulgar action taken by one of the crew, twisting her face the summoner walked up to him with a scowl on her face. Actions like that which showed complete ignorance to a gesture made in kindness angered her, storming her way across the deck Adiona crossed her arms over her chest.
"I will not have behaviour like that in my presence...you forget your place. Do exactly remember who is putting their lives on the line for you people. it is not you that has to face Sin the way I and my guardians have to."
Shaking her head Adiona took her leave of the crew and walked towards the quarters, brushing aside a few strands of her white hair she looked to Zero's room. Gritting her teeth knowing how she disliked him and his manners Adiona tapped on his door, even though she disliked him he was still a guardian and even though she didn't want to admit it she needed him to protect her. Even that thought angered her, the fact she couldn't really do this on her own.
Once the line was cut, whipped wildly through the air, then cut soundly through the expanse of sea, the inevitable fate of Bevelle was sealed. Freed from the resistance of the ship the Sin mass was thought to race to shore, swallowing the city in a surge of water devastation. But no. The mass continued as its prior mass as if teasing the citizens by giving them a better chance to find safety. Or perhaps there was some cruel intelligence within the colossal mass, and though its will would be done, its intent was to instill some hope within the citizens that there was even a slim chance it could be driven away. But destruction was absolute.
With another monstrous wail, all eyes were directed to the fin now swaying above the sea loosening more Spawn to fall harmlessly into the waters below. And then it arched deeply to one side, only to rear with sickening speed and clap solidly against the rigid sea. And it was there, in a display of beautiful crystalline blue, that those closest to the sea met their end. A tidal wave roared into the walls of the city, breaking through with such destructive force anything within a few miles of impact was obliterated instantly. Water surged into the capital, swallowing homes and establishments to appease its immense hunger. Sin itself remained on shore of the city, the fin now poised over the temple. It gave a painful shake and rained clumps of its own flesh which divided into varies sizes of Spawn all with the intelligence of a gnat, but with the desire to eat and destroy.
Screams rang out but were muted by the mighty call of Sin as it turned from the city, leaving its children to finish off the capital and slipped back into the deep blue depths. And once the waters were calm and settled, the screams were heard throughout the city.
Sin was not defeated, but you will live to fight another day. Rewards: Word Exp earned x2 + 200 exp
OOC: Well, I suppose I'll start my journey here, since the title sort of applies to Maeli, as well. If the admins have any objection to this, I will delete it.
A couple of weeks later...
Maeli turned around at the crossroads within the canyon to behold Bevelle, capital of Spira, its majesty the source of the Yevon clergy and teachings. But something appeared terribly wrong within the walls. Certainly, there were structures still standing, but a huge swathe of them seemed to have been toppled over, like a gigantic hand sweeping aside the shack-like spires which housed the livelihoods of countless people. Everything neared the sea was either a complete wreck or in only the beginning stages of repair.
Sin was the only conceivable explanation for the carnage that lay before the young Ronso warrior. That dreaded entity of antiquity was a bane upon the existance of all who lived within Spira. It spared no one, not even the center of Yevon itself. No one was safe from it. The only thing that the mortals could do is to pick up the pieces after Sin had passed, like a tornado or some other kind of natural disaster. But this... this was far more horrible than any type of destructive weather pattern. What made it so horrible, was that it shouldn't have even existed to begin with. The foolishness of man had unleashed this apocalypse upon Spira, not some uncontrollable, unfathomable whim of the heavens.
Maeli sighed heavily. It looked like his travel plans were going to be put on hold for a little while. By appearances, there didn't seem to be an airship operational, nor a ship that was seaworthy in the harbor. Besides, his honor would not allow him to duck out of a place which obviously needed all the help that could be provided. And he would, if he could be of any assistance.
His massive shield, Pleiades, shouldered across his back, Maeli descended the hill with great, loping strides, and crossed to the massive Gates of Bevelle. Most of the warrior monks seemed to have been sent away on the recovery effort, because there were only two guards standing watch when Maeli approached. Not only that, the Ronso adolescent seemed to be the only one he could see entering the city. Well, that was hardly surprising. Traffic, as he understood it, wasn't usually so brisk so soon after a major offensive by Sin. He was a little disappointed at the fact, however, for he was so excited to enter such a central hub as Bevelle to experience some true culture and meet the people. But, the Ronso in him took this disheartening news stoically, and he soldiered on, regardless. After all, there was work to be done.
