Doc12 Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 (edited) Hithon crouched shivering in the rain, hearing the growls of voidbringers all around, smelling blood and stink and the scent of rain. The rain drenched him, the wind tried to move him. He felt the menace of the Voidbringers, surrounding him, heard the crackle of their lightning. Felt the grips of his daggers clutched in a death grip in his hands. Felt in his heart the sickening certainty that he could not survive this battle. Not like this. Blinded, robbed of stormlight, afraid. Hithon "Not now," He whispered. Hithon, listen "I'm sorry, Anor." Don't you dare. Don't you dare give up. "I can't win this." A lie. A particularly bad one. "Stop judging my lies!" Even in the heat of the moment, he could be indignant. Huh. Even now, the Voidbringers weren’t waiting for him to finish his conversation. Anorien buzzed in warning, and Hithon barely managed to move out of the way of a sword blow. Seizing his chance, he grabbed the arm that had just swooshed past him, pulling it with all his strength and driving a dagger into the Voidbringer’s back. Hithon, let me help you “What can you do?!” Why can you still not see, Hithon? Why has the Stormlight not healed your eyes? “How the storms am I supposed to know what stormlight does?” Hithon, please! She buzzed again, this time from his left, and Hithon whirled. He slipped on the wet rock, and fell on his back. He felt the blade pass above. He growled, twisted to the side. Pushed himself up, and threw himself in the direction the blow had come from. His daggers nicked flesh. “What do you want from me, Anor?!” A truth, Hithon. Why didn’t you want to be healed? WHY ARE YOU BLIND?? He breathed heavily, trying his hardest to listen for where the next blow would come from. The rain was loud, but overwhelming even that was the sound of his pounding heart. “It’s not the time -” Hithon. Spin right. Hithon spun, smelling the singed air from where the lightning bolt would have fried him. Screaming, he threw a dagger in the direction the bolt had come from. A shriek rewarded him. “I’m blind… because i wanted to be enough, Anor.” He heard footsteps, and before Anor could buzz, he spun to intercept them. Too slow? But no, his daggers broke carapace and sank into flesh. Whirling, he waited for the next attacker. “I wanted to be ENOUGH. All my life! I have sought time after time to prove myself. So many times.” Keep going. Was he crying, or was that just rain on his face? “I stay blind, because I stopped wanting to be that. I am not going to judge myself by any other man’s standards now. Because I’ve decided to accept myself as I am now, and storm anyone who thinks differently! I am blind because I storming want to be. Because I can be enough for me.” Thank you. That is truth. “Here’s another truth for you, Anor. We can’t win this. I’m sorry.” Hmm...That may be what you think is true. But it is not true. Before he could interrupt, she continued. You are a Lightweaver, Hithon. We create illusions by first piercing the lies within ourselves. Now. Lie to the world. Make the world a lie to those around you, in the way that you best know. “But...Stormlight?” At that moment, something broke. Something in his pocket shattered. And somehow, somehow, he felt the Light dancing through his veins. Reaching into his pocket, he found shattered pieces of the gold disc Fifth had given him. Somehow, it had given him his Stormlight back. “Anor?” I don’t know either, Hithon, this is fascinating. But shall we actually start using it? He closed his eyes, and he saw the world. And he started adding things in. The Voidbringers around Hithon paused, as if struck. One felt a hand brush across the nape of his neck. Another heard a child’s laughter in his ears. Two heard the voices of human singing, disturbing their Rhythms, and another heard the voice of the Blackthorn screaming beside him. The sounds of a feast, a little girl crying. A man’s dying cry. A woman singing an aria, children shouting. The roar of a chasmfiend, the crackle of lightning, the sudden silence of a meadow. Chaos. He created a world full of sounds and sensations that made no sense. He walked through them, they did not affect him. He listened to the Voidbringers screaming. Carefully, he slit their throats as they clutched their ears and broke down. One by one. Then he sheathed his dagger, curiously calm. “Anor, can you take me to the others?” He heard the smile in her voice. I rather think you know the way. So Lopen and I have been conversing a lot in PMs yesterday, and somehow, he has convinced me that Ecth may not be as trustworthy as I first thought. I don't know. We both agreed that Ecth putting himself out like this is an excellent thing, because one way or another, an Unjust has been exposed, whether it be Ecth or Lopen. For this, I was persuaded to switch my vote, seeing as how killing Ecth this cycle would be a lot faster than imprisoning Lopen and killing him next cycle. If it's information we're going after, we should execute Ecth instead of Lopen. This was the conclusion that we came to, and I planned to switch my vote in my nightly post. However, last night I was out tiil twelve, and when I got back I was too tried to string a post together. Tomorrow, I said. Tomorrow. Well, it's tomorrow, and I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry, Lopen. I still believe that you're more trustworthy than Ecth. I think that you're right about Ecth being Unjust. That you're right about Alv being Unjust after all. But switching votes now would do nothing. As we discussed last cycle, you would have needed to turn much more than one person if you wished to avoid Jon's Willshaping skills. And you haven't. Three votes on Alv, which would have been the ideal switch, and six on you. If I switch, it would mean four on Alv and five on you. And Jon would simply be able to switch the votes to make my vote switch meaningless. To switch now would be an empty gesture. I'm sorry, Lopen. I believed you were innocent. I know this doesn't change anything, but I'm sorry I couldn't save you. At least I know who to go after next cycle. Edited March 4, 2017 by Doc12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amanuensis Posted March 4, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 Whoops, I'm a little late! Chapter Eight is now closed. Chapter Nine should begin shortly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amanuensis Posted March 4, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 (edited) Adolin waded through the Voidbringers like a raging storm, his body no longer belonging to him, but the Thrill. Somewhere behind him, Kholin soldiers fought not just for their own lives, but for Kaladin’s as well. A darkeyed bridgeman who had not only his father’s favor, but the favor of the Almighty Himself. The prince had not thought much of it before, but engaged in battle with monsters from every child’s worst nightmare, the stormblessed bridgeboy was all he could think about. In a way he could not put into words, Kaladin infuriated him, and with each Voidbringer he fell with a sweep of his Shardblade, his fury only grew. If he kept going like this, he knew it would consume him. Too far gone, Adolin could not, would not stop. When the battle had began, Adolin held back and played the role of the commander. He issued orders to his lieutenants to maneuver his soldiers in ways that the Voidbringers had never seen before. Skirmisher patterns and various echelons, constantly shifting whenever the monsters began to adapt to the new tactics. At first it had been working. The Alethi had breached the Voidbringer’s outer defenses, slowly but surely gaining terrain advantage as they forced their enemies into their defenseless allies, the monsters who chanted that beautifully vicious song of theirs. In the blink of an eye, something had changed. The Voidbringers did not transform, but they did seem… revitalized. It was as if an energy washed through them all at once, empowering them. By the looks on their faces, it seemed to drive them mad. Next thing he knew, the Alethi were being pushed back. Men were dying, good men, and what was Adolin doing? His father’s job. Dalinar belonged here, guiding his lieutenants, not Adolin. The prince belonged on the battlefield with the soldiers, like he had always been. “Someone get me Captain Khal!” Adolin shouted, prompting a pair of lieutenants to salute and run off towards the battle. Impatiently, Adolin tapped his foot and flexed his sword arm as he watched more Alethi soldiers die with every passing second. “Brightlord!” Khal yelled as he ran towards Adolin, his Plate broken in several places and leaking light. “Take a break, Captain. I’ve been on the sidelines too long. Until I return, you’re in charge.” Khal saluted, but the prince only ran past him. Too much time had been wasted already, and his men needed him. Kaladin needed him. When he reached the mass of soldiers, Adolin did not bother to order them to clear. Instead, he leapt. As always, the strength his Plate granted had amazed him. The prince had only meant to fly just ahead of the Alethi frontlines, but instead he soared into the center of the Voidbringers, landing on a pair of them with so much force that their necks snapped on impact and a few of the monsters nearby staggered. In his heart, the Thrill sang for the first time in a long time. Careful not to trip on their corpses, Adolin fell into Windstance and began to spin, swinging his blade around him in a circle to cleave through the enemy's left standing in the wake his landing. There was a stronger tug on his Blade than he was used to, but the Voidbringers died no differently than when they fought as ordinary Parshendi, the crimson globes of their eyes turning black and shriveling before they even hit the ground. When the crowd around him was all dead, Adolin slowed to regain his bearings and assess the situation. Standing on top of a pair of corpses, he could see the heads of his soldiers in the distance, each wearing a look of proud determination after seeing their prince dive in ahead. He could tell they were eager to join him, just as he was to join them. If they felt half as good as he did now, he was sure they could manage it without his help. Beneath his foot, something moved. It seemed a Voidbringer didn’t die when he landed on it, but was just knocked out. It grabbed at his ankle and tried to yank him off, but Adolin saw it coming and sliced its wrist with his Blade. Drained of color and vitality, the Voidbringer’s hand went limp. To the monster’s credit, it didn’t scream. Shoving its arm beneath its torso, the Voidbringer tried to flip and throw Adolin off his back. Before it could raise its shoulder more than an inch off the ground, Adolin drove his Blade into his neck, then did the same thing to its friend, though his Blade sunk like any other, and when Adolin pulled it free, thick, orange blood dripped from its edge. There was a flash, a crash, and a wave of heat as Adolin was blasted in the back with lightning and sent spiraling into the tangled mess of soldiers and Voidbringers. Several of the monsters had been knocked off their feet as well as his men, but most seemed fine as they quickly jumped back up and rejoined the fight. A lighteyed officer whom Adolin recognized as Moratel was the first to help Adolin. “Are you alright, Brightlord?” he asked as he slipped his head beneath the prince’s arm and lifted him to his feet. “I’m fine. Did you happen to see which one of those monsters blindsided me?” Adolin asked. His back felt like it was on fire, though he was pleased to find the Plate still holding itself together. Moratel paused as he searched the battlefield. “Yes, sir, it was that one there,” the officer said as he pointed at an unarmed Voidbringer standing atop a boulder in the larger rock’s shadow, chanting as he threw bolts of crimson electricity at the attacking Alethi. “Thanks,” Adolin said, then ran a few feet into the clearing he had just created before leaping again. This time when he landed, he was crouched on top of a boulder overlooking the battlefield, an unarmed Voidbringer pinned beneath his feet. “That really hurt, you know,” he told the monster before he swung his Blade through its neck not once, but twice. The first time to kill it, the second to decapitate it. Watching the severed head fall, Adolin saw it hit another Voidbringer. He expected the monster to stop and look up, but it was lost in a trance, as were the Voidbringers flanking it as not one reacted when it rolled in front of their feet. Exposed, Adolin had no choice but to drop from his perch and begin the slaughter. At first the necessary evil sickened him. He hated fighting unarmed soldiers, but the situation was dire, and Voidbringers were monsters, not people. That was what Adolin had to tell himself to get started, though after slaying dozens of the monsters, he had no such reservations. The Thrill was alive in him, and nothing but that cursed bridgeboy could quench his thirst, now. The Fifth Nameless climbed his silver pike back up to the top of the rock formation. Atop it, he found Shallan hacking away at the rock with her Shardblade. “Mind if I show you something real quick?” Fifth asked innocently. Shallan turned to him, a little disgruntled, but instantly curious after she saw the object he proffered her. It was one of Fifth’s weapon coins. She had been interested to see how those worked from the moment she saw them. As she dismissed her Shardblade and took it in her hand, it flashed with light and expanded into a silver quarterstaff. A little overdramatic, but all of her negative impressions quickly went away as she examined the workmanship of the staff. It appeared to be pure silver, although by the weight of it, it was less dense, and not a single scratch had marred its smooth surface. “Where did you get this, Fifth?” Shallan asked. She received no response. “Fifth?” she repeated before tearing her eyes away from the gleaming weapon to look at the man who had handed it to her. Shallan gasped. Fifth loomed over her with a hook sword in either hand, his entire demeanor changed. His eyes, which were normally a bright shade of green, were empty and cold. When he opened his mouth to speak, the voice was not his own, but instead deep, gravelly, and without emotion. He sounded like a monster. “SO,” the man began, “YOU APPEAR BEFORE ME AT LAST, SHALLAN DAVAR. IT’S A PITY THINGS HAD TO END THIS WAY.” “Who are you?” Shallan asked as she backed away from whatever entity had possessed Fifth’s form. “OH, WHERE ARE MY MANNERS? ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE MYSELF. I AM THE SEEKER, THE HUNTER, THE COMPLETE. MORTALS MAY KNOW ME AS PRIME, BUT I AM MORE. MUCH MORE. “I HAVE BEEN SEARCHING OUT THOSE WHO ARE SKILLED IN THE MAGICAL ARTS AND HUNTING THEM DOWN ONE BY ONE THROUGH MY VASSALS, THE NAMELESS. AND YOU, LITTLE SURGEBINDER, HAVE JUST SHOWN ME ALL I NEED TO KNOW. “FAREWELL, SHALLAN DAVAR,” Fifth - no, PRIME - brought down his blades upon Shallan… ...and was met with a glimmering Shardblade as Shallan threw aside the quarterstaff and caught the weapon as it coalesced from the mist. The demon in Fifth’s body laughed, though there was no humor in it. “I CAN’T SAY I DIDN’T EXPECT SOMETHING LIKE THIS FROM YOU, BUT YOU CANNOT PREVAIL AGAINST AN IMMORTAL FORCE, MISS DAVAR. YOUR SOUL…” the demon paused as he pulled a round object from his cloak, “IS MINE!” It was a large disk with the same symbol as a few gold and silver disks Fifth had been handing out earlier to his allies. “I WISH I COULD TELL YOU MORE ABOUT HOW SOULBINDING WORKS. IT’S A SHAME TO LOSE A FINE YOUNG MIND SUCH AS YOURSELF. UNFORTUNATELY YOU ONLY HAVE TIME TO LEARN ABOUT INVESTITURE LINKS, SO I WILL EXPLAIN THIS MUCH.” The demon breathed in and the sigil began to glow, its light dim, at first, but as if inhaling had stoked its inner flame, the sigil shined brighter and brighter until it was as if the sun itself was trapped inside the disk. Desperate to look away, Shallan held up her hands and looked at Fifth’s face as its features began to change. Every second she looked, she found him resembling someone else. The Initiates, to be exact. She knew not all their names, but she recognized a few. Sareth, Kintas, Hithon, Ranatar… “YOUR FRIENDS DON’T EVEN KNOW THAT THE COINS THEY POSSESS HAVE BOUND THEIR SOULS TO MINE. HOW SAD WILL THEY BE WHEN THEY FIND THEMSELVES RUNNING OUT OF STORMLIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF BATTLE,” he finished with a laugh as a cloud of light began to form around him. The demon breathed, sucking in the light until it was all gone, his muscles beginning to swell with newfound strength. Raising his sword up perpendicular to the ground, PRIME launched himself at Shallan, ready for battle. Renarin tried not to look at It, but wherever he turned, It was all that he could see. Whatever It was, it rode the Everstorm like a steed. It had no form that he was familiar, let alone comfortable, with. Whatever It was, It was darker than the storm, darker than even darkness itself. Whenever lightning flashed, It’s body remained unlit. In that way It became more visible, only because It could no longer blend in with the clouds that obscured It. It was unfathomably large, and yet Renarin found himself unable to truly look at It. Like something that moved in his peripherals, he could recognize the basic shape of it: tenuous and thick, yet somehow empty. It writhed like smoke but was cold like the void of space. Beyond that, It was a blur. Even though It filled his vision, Renarin could ascertain nothing more than a vague impression. Glys whispered in his ear, describing horrors from a time when It was still alive and free. “Nergaoul,” Renarin spoke It’s name. The honor guard that held him upright didn’t seem to hear him, but a moment later, Dalinar’s head snapped to his son and he ran to him. “Tell me, Renarin. What do you see?” “I… I can’t.” “Tell me, please. Renarin!” “I’m sorry. I don’t know.” Dalinar sighed, then turned to the sky. “Stormfather?” he pleaded. Quiet at first, but after a few moments passed without his expression changing, the Bondsmith shouted the Sliver’s name, this time demanding. Renarin blinked the tears out of his eyes, hoping to see his father’s face rather than that hideous blur, but all he saw was the man’s body become rigid as he straightened himself and turned westward. “We’ve must run!” Dalinar commanded his honor guard before turning back to the man holding Renarin. “Peet, can you carry my son?” “Of course, sir. But where am I taking him?” “To the next plateau!” he yelled, pointing, before running off in the direction of a bridge. Confused but unwilling to disobey, his honor guard ran after him, including Peet who had slung Renarin over his shoulder. It took all of Shallan’s strength to not fall over from the sheer force of the demon’s strikes. The Stormlight he was stealing from the other Initiates made him impossibly strong and agile. Significantly more powerful than Shallan, who was breathing from infused spheres of her own. It was a miracle she had managed to parry any of his blows so far, even as her limbs grew weaker. It was clear, then, that her attacker was playing with her. He could probably finish her off at any moment that he wanted, so why didn’t he? No matter the reason, Shallan fought on. Though it felt like hours, the battle had only lasted a few minutes before Shallan could retaliate all more. Her counterstrikes were a waste of energy, anyway, as every time she thrust at the man, one of his two hook swords would find her Blade and casually brush it aside. She needed a plan, but she just couldn’t focus. She never felt more hopeless in her life than she did now. Finally, the demon crossed his swords and used their combined weight to smash Shallan to her knees. A swift kick to her side sent her flying into the rock, face first, her Shardblade sinking into the stone like water. “YOU’VE FOUGHT ADMIRABLY, THOUGH I EXPECTED A BIT MORE OF A CHALLENGE FROM A SURGEBINDER,” taunted the demon. “EITHER WAY, YOUR STORY ENDS THE SAME. GOODNIGHT, MISS DAVAR.” Ripping her Blade free, Shallan flailed it in the air, desperately. Holding both of his hook swords above him, PRIME lunged at the Lightweaver once again, this time looking as if he meant to finish her, once and for all. Desperate, Shallan breathed in as much Stormlight as she could handle, her heart pounding so hard it sounded like thunder in her ears. Breathing out, she created an illusion of herself where she sat and dove. It wasn’t perfect, but the scene caused the demon to hesitate enough for her to strike for his heart. Empowered by his Soulbinding, PRIME turned just in time to stop the blow, but instead of a sword, it was his hand her Blade collided with. It seemed like such a small nick, but the demon cried out with a horrible shriek and froze. The look on his face as he stared at Shallan seethed with hatred. A flicker of green light shone in the demon’s eyes. “I… cannot…” Fifth’s voice came from the demon’s lips. He sounded in pain, as if he were struggling for control. Muscles convulsing, Fifth, or PRIME - Shallan could hardly tell which one was in control - stepped backwards, inching closer towards the ledge. Becoming suddenly still, PRIME looked up, revealing his hollow, grey eyes once more. They focused on a ring on his hand, the engraved gemstone imbedded within it split cleanly in half. When PRIME spoke, his voice trembled with rage. “WHY YOU INSOLENT LITTLE-” -a crimson bolt of lightning landed a meter in front of the demon, casting him off the ledge towards the Initiates gathering below. Kaladin was cold, bleeding, and not for the first time, alone. In his chest pocket, Syl was shivering, her glow paling as badly as his skin. A small part of him was glad that she was able to sleep during this nightmare, but judging by the way her eyes shifted beneath her lids, he didn’t think her dreams were much better. For the twenty-third time, a clap of thunder resounded from outside his prison, following by a quaking of the earth that caused tiny pebbles to dislodge themselves from above and fall on top of him. Feeling grim, he watched as one of the pebbles bounced off his shoulder and landed in his chest pocket. For some reason he expected Syl’s figure to ripple like a puddle when it fell through her, but it did nothing to her but momentarily darken her complexion as it sunk to the bottom. Kaladin could feel the wretch inside him surfacing once more. He didn’t have to see what was going outside to recognize that a battle was being fought. The sounds of steel clashing against steel and desperate cries of pain were enough. Dalinar had come for him, an army at his back. It was the only thing that made sense, considering how long this battle had last so far. It could have been just the Initiates and his Squires, but when Kaladin had climbed into this rock, he had seen enough of the Voidbringer army to recognize that his students would not last long if they came to save them. Stormlight or not, there was barely more than twenty of them left. Twenty against at least two hundred… and Kaladin was sure more had come after he hid. Aside from Syl, the room was barren of light. All of Kaladin’s spheres were dun, and he had no materials to build a fire. Occasionally a flash of lightning would shine through the crack in the wall he had climbed through, revealing a pair of Voidbringer corpses lodged between him and the outside world. Despite his curiosity, Kaladin spent most of his time staring at Syl so that when the lightning lit the room again, he’d be able to quickly examine the wounds on his arms, legs and chest. Another crash and the ground rumbled beneath him. The noise outside only seemed to grow louder, as if the storm was gaining momentum and more soldiers were joining the clash with the Voidbringers. Kaladin wouldn’t be surprised one way or the other, but the two possibilities seemed to contradict each other. Unless… “Kaladin..?” Syl stirred in his pocket, her voice inspiring a surge of hope in his heart. “I’m right here, Syl. Are you okay?” he asked her, wishing desperately that he could comfort her by stroking her hair. Instead of wasting his energy, he itched his own face, knowing that his fingers would only pass through her. “Kaladin…” she muttered, still shaking, her eyes closed. “Unmade…” she whispered before falling unconscious once more. Kaladin repeated the word. Unmade. Just speaking it made his skin tingle, though he knew not what it meant. Did she mean that their Bond was unraveling? That her connection to this world was on the brink of falling apart? Another crash, though this one was different. It was loud, but not strong enough to shake the rock. A moment later, a voice came from the other side of the corpses stacked across the room. “Kaladin!” the voice yelled. It was hard to tell, but the voice belonged to Adolin. “I’ve come for you!” he finished, and Kaladin realized why the prince sounded so different. He was angry, not that Kaladin could blame him. Good soldiers had probably died trying to save him. More names he would need to commit to memory. More guilt to weigh upon his shoulders with that black cape and its golden sigil. Behind him, the faint sound of scraping came from the wall. Whether it reminded him of a Chasmfiend clawing it’s way through the grooves of the Plains or if it was some kind of primal instinct telling Kaladin to move, he couldn’t help but roll forward and turn, just in time to see a Blade pierce through the stone. It’s surface glistened with light the color of blood. Dark red, like a human’s. Had the Voidbringer Shardbearer found him at last? The Blade cut through the stone downwards at an angle, then vanished when it reached the ground. A moment later it surfaced again, this time several meters to the right and angled in the opposite direction. Once again it disappeared and reappeared at the top of both lines, cleaving through them both to create a triangle. A gauntlet leaking Stormlight burst from the opening beside Kaladin and slapped his head as it reached for something to grab. Adolin grunted as if he was struggling to fit through the slight opening, but judging by a wet thump that sounded a lot like rock splashing into a puddle, Kaladin realized he was widening the entrance with his Blade. Not wanting to get hit again, Kaladin moved away from the opening. On the other side of the tiny cavern, the maroon Shardblade had shown itself again, this time staying locked in place, but being used to leverage the shift the cut stone. Light filled the chamber from both sides as two figures entered the room. On the left was Shallan, Stormlight wafting out of the pores of her skin, her face exposing uncanny confusion. On the right stood Adolin, Stormlight leaking from the cracks of his Plate, his face betraying eerie rage. For the first time that day, Kaladin breathed and did not feel pain. Power flowed through him, instantly mending his wounds. Syl’s eyes opened just in time to see Adolin lunge his Blade at Kaladin’s throat. Kaladin leapt to meet the prince, Syl coalescing into a spear between the two of them, blocking the blow. “What’s wrong with you?” Kaladin yelled before he tilted his body and threw Adolin into the wall, his Blade digging into the stone as the prince stumbled to his knees, the armor around his shin exploding with a flash of molten light. Adolin tried to stand, but found himself lacking the strength as Kaladin breathed in more of his Plate's Stormlight and turned to Shallan. Beyond her, he could see the Initiates and his Squires fighting for their lives. In the distance, a stormwall was approaching. Black and menacing, red lightning coursing through it like bloody veins. “Take care of your boyfriend,” he told her. “I’ll take care of the rest.” Petrik watched with awe as Ranatar severed the Shardbearer’s hand. He stared as it fell to the ground, the claws on its fingers still twitching as sparks danced across its knuckles. If Ranatar could grab it, the hand would make a worthy trophy, but the Initiate had no time to consider it as a pack of Voidbringers rushed to the Shardbearer’s side, one of them striking Ranatar in the back with an electrified mace, the extra power granted by their lightning sending him flying, smoke drifting from his back. Petrik gazed, hopeful, as Ranatar tried to get up, but after a moment his skin stopped glowing and he slumped down with fatigue. It seemed that, like Petrik, the last of Ranatar’s infused spheres had been drained of Stormlight, leaving him just as defenseless as Petrik, and Fifth, not that the man was anywhere to be seen. The battlefield was covered in corpses. On this side of the rock he could only see Voidbringers lying on the ground, which seemed a good sign until Petrik checked those still standing and couldn’t find any more of his allies. If the Voidbringers attacked him and Ranatar now, they’d be dead for sure. Their only hope would be working together. Unsure of where he found the strength, Petrik began crawling towards Renarin. His left knee hurt too much to provide any momentum, so he was forced to kick off the ground with his right leg alone. Fortunately the pleateau was uneven enough that its rocky texture provided him with holds to grab, as otherwise he’d have to rely on digging his elbows into the ground. Unfortunately the plateau was jagged enough that it scraped him as he moved, adding more wounds to his collection. Determined to reach Ranatar, Petrik pushed through the pain. In the corner of his eye, he saw the Voidbringers staring at him and could hear them talk in their sinister, melodic language. He had no idea what they were saying, but it didn’t sound good. Petrik began to crawl faster as soon as he noticed the Shardbearer push its allies of its way, a Blade forming in its one remaining hand. Petrik began to shake the man as soon as he reached him. His eyes were open but he seemed dazed, his gaze unfocused. Waving his hand in front of Ranatar’s face, Petrik shouted in his ear. “Ranatar! Snap out of it!” Wearily, Ranatar tilted his head towards Petrik, his eyes a little glossed over, but to his credit, he tried to blink the haze away. “What the…” he said to Petrik, his pupils growing wider as he noticed something over his shoulder. Petrik looked up and found the Shardbearer stalking towards him. With its long legs, it would only be a few moments before it reached them. “Petrik,” Ranatar whispered. “You’re glowing.” When Petrik looked down, it wasn’t his skin glowing, but the ground around him, or more specifically, a circle of light that flickered a lot like Stormlight, though it did not leak. The circle, more like an oval as it was shaped around his prone form, was solid, and growing. Was this some kind of power of the Stonewards? If so, what could it do? Petrik looked up at Ranatar, who’s eyes were locked on the Shardbearer looming above them both. By the time Petrik lifted his eyes towards the monster, it was too late. He was unsure what happened first. The blinding light, or the sharp pain. Both of these things overwhelmed his senses so much that he didn’t even hear the four words that were spoken just before the light faded into utter darkness. The last thing Petrik saw before he died was a confused guard watching him from behind a wall of bars. Uther went to sleep shortly after Sebarial’s lawmen came. Left in control of Urithiru while Dalinar was gone, the Highprince decided it was time he started “cleaning out the cage,” as he put it. Starting with Arionium. The Highprince had deemed Arionium’s crimes the most heinous, which Uther doubted considering the countless people he had killed in service of the Ghostbloods. There was a hint of a grudge in the Highprince’s announcement of the man’s execution, however. Particularly when he listed “inciting a brawl in my very own pub” to punctuate the list of crimes the man committed. Apparently an investigation had revealed it was Arionium, disguised as someone with red-gold hair, who had caused the fight between Uther and Naihar. The same fight that ended with Uther's own arrest. Such a petty squabble it seemed now, in retrospect. Uther knew not all the details, but before she left, Keph had told him the other Initiates were fighting the Voidbringer’s on the Shattered Plains in a desperate struggle to save their Captain. Oh, how badly Uther wished he could be have been there, fighting alongside them. For valor, and glory. Even dying there would be a mercy compared to awaiting a sentence in this dirty prison. In his dreams, Uther saw himself fighting, a sword in one hand, Keph spinning around the other so fast that it looked like he was wearing a glove made of flame. As he ran towards his allies he slashed one Voidbringer with his sword, orange blood spewing out from the gash he left in its chest, then he cast a ball of fire at another and watched the monster turn to ash. As he got closer, he saw a one-handed Shardbearer, their Plate decorated with ridges that looked a lot like the Voidbringer’s chitinous armor. Fury plain on the parts of its face revealed by the broken parts of its helm, it stood above two Initiates, ready to strike. Uther recognized them as Ranatar and Petrik. He couldn’t see their faces but he could feel their fear. He had to save them. “Keph!” he yelled, holding his flaming hand before him. Breathing in the lungful of Stormlight, he cast the inferno into a long spear and fired it towards the Shardbearer. As the spear of flame soared, the air around it shimmered, his vision distorted by the heat. With a flash of bright, white light, it collided with the Shardbearer, momentarily blinding Uther. A deluge of rain pounded against him and the sounds of war thrived around him. “Teresh?” asked Ranatar. “Is that you?” Opening his eyes, Uther found himself lying in the same place Petrik was in his dream, staring at the Shardbearer as it raised its Blade above his head, poised to kill. He would save them. Shinon and Kintas were not front line fighters, and yet here they were, in the thick of war. Their only backup was each other, unless you counted Kaladin’s four Squires, who seemed uninterested in anything but getting to their dying leader. Shinon supposed he couldn’t blame them. Their powers were not like the Radiants. Instead of spren, they relied on their Captain for strength. So long as he was trapped alone inside that rock, Stormlightless and slowly bleeding out, they remained on that precarious ledge of shallow mortality and the taste of divinity. Having run out of arrows a long time ago, Shinon had no choice but to pick up a sword and plunge into battle with Kintas, who was similarly unfamiliar with swordfighting. Unlike the self-proclaimed scholar, at least he understood the basic stances, like vine and iron: the same two which Shinon relied on for the greatest defense and control. Maybe if Aran was here, urging him on, he would feel motivated enough to take the offensive. Without his best friend’s influence, however, the archer was content to keep his enemies at arms length to allow the better trained foot soldiers like Skar and Teft to finish them. Thankfully, the battlefield was beginning to calm itself. Above him the storm still raged, but there were less Voidbringers crowded around him, which meant more room to breathe. Besides Kintas at his side, he could barely see any other Initiates through the endless rain and dark overcast, let alone any Voidbringers. Hopefully the other Initiates were okay. He hadn’t seen many since the chaos fractured them into many small groups. It was selfish, but Shinon was glad that the one he ended up in was accompanied by Squires who were willing to do most of the work. Speaking of the Squires, Shinon heard one of them sigh with relief. His attention drawn, he found that tall, lanky, bald man - was it Drehy, or Leyten? Shinon could never remember… - sheathed his spear through a loop hanging from his back with one hand as he pressed another against a wall of stone. Kicking off his shoes, Shinon noticed that man’s hands and feet begin to glow. The other Squires followed his example, holstering their weapons and making their feet bare. Why? Shinon didn’t understand until they began climbing up the rock wall, leaving patches of glowing light wherever they touched. If Shinon had the power, he would have joined them, or more preferably just teleported up onto the ledge. Alas, he would have to rely on breaks in the rock face for grooves to climb. “Grab and pull.” Shinon turned to look at Kintas, the color draining from the black hilt of his sword and the orange blood that stained its blade. As soon as it was all the same gray as the clouds in the sky, the rope around his waist came to life and jumped to the tie itself around a stone that jutted out from just below the top of the ledge. “Care for a lift?” Kintas asked, dropping his sword and extending his arm. “Gladly,” Shinon replied, sliding his arm through Kintas’ elbow just as his rope began dragging them up the side of the wall. Man, Willshapers are weird, Shinon thought, smiling as he passed the Squires who climbed with the Surge of Adhesion. When the ride stopped, Shinon looked up. “You’re going to have to reach for the ledge and pull yourself up. My rope couldn’t grab anything higher,” Kintas told him. “Fine,” Shinon said before throwing his sword arm above the ledge, only able to get half of his forearm on top of it from this far away. “I’m not sure I can pull myself up. Don’t suppose your rope can get us any higher?” “No can do. But hold on a second. I’ll get my arm around your thigh and haul you up a little. Just make sure to return to favor once you’re on top.” “Alright!” Shinon said, then braced himself. “Go for it!” Shinon’s stomach dropped as he felt himself swing a little after Kintas let go of his arm, though relief flooded into him quickly when he felt the scholar wrap it around his leg. With a solid push, Shinon gained enough height to get most of his arm over the edge. After throwing his other arm over, too, he found plenty of leverage to raise his chest to the ledge. Crunching his abdomen so that his knees could reach it too, he swung his body over, dropping the blade as he rolled a couple times. Mouth and eyes open, rain berated and blind him, caused him to cough as some of it leaked into his throat. “Shinon! You okay? Still need help, here!” “I’m coming!” Shinon answered, turning onto his side to spit some of the water out. Though it was cremless, it was the worst thing he had ever tasted by far. “Shinon! HELP!” Driven to his feet by the fear in Kintas’ screaming, Shinon ran for the ledge and launched an arm over it, grabbing hold of the man’s rope. He pulled and it came up easily, a short nub of barely frayed cloth, the break to sharp to have happened naturally. Gulping, Shinon peered over the ledge. At the bottom, Kintas’ body laid in a heap, broken and unmoving. Throwing himself backwards, Shinon pushed himself away from the sight. A few feet to his left, the first of the Squires pulled himself over the ledge. Hoping for an explanation, Shinon looked to Skar - or was it Teft? - who stared at him, and the sword beside him, with a dark, stern expression. “What did you do?” he barked in a tone that reminded Shinon of his first drill sergeant. A second later, the tall, bald Squire joined them, contempt twisting his face into a grimace. “Why? He was your ally!” “You think I did that?” Shinon said, pointing to the severed rope he left at his feet. “Weren’t you even watching? I was nowhere near the rope when it broke!” The first Squire, who was certainly Teft, stepped forward to examine the rope as the last two joined their bald friend. “This was clearly cut.” “Yeah, and?” “And you have a sword.” “So what?” “You’re the only one up here.” “It wasn’t me!” “If not you, then who?” “I don’t know!” “Teft!” shouted the other short man, which by process of elimination, made him Skar. “We don’t have time for this!” Sighing angrily, Teft took a step towards Shinon. Instinctively, Shinon scooted back further, grabbing the weapon at his side. Teft stopped in his tracks. “Going to kill me too?” Teft asked. Too stunned to move, Shinon remained quiet and still. “I don’t know if it was you who cut him loose, but just in case, we can’t let you run free. I’m sorry, Initiate. Let go of the weapon and turn face down. Our Captain is in trouble, and if you aren’t willing to comply than we’ll have no choice to use force, and believe me when I say none of us want that.” Nodding, Shinon slid the sword towards the three Squires and flipped onto his stomach before placing his hands behind his back. A moment later Teft was on him, bonding his arms together with Stormlight. “Leyten, I trust you can watch him on your own?” Leyten groaned, but inevitably responded with a sure. “Good man. Drehy, Skar. Our Captain needs us. Let’s go.” Kaladin exited the makeshift entrance Shallan carved for him just in time to meet Teft, Skar and Drehy. “Captain!” they greeted him in unison, delight ringing in their voices despite the Everstorm gathering in the distance. “Are you okay?” Drehy asked, though the question seemed more directed at Syl. If not for the gravity of the situation, Kaladin would have rolled his eyes right then. “We’re fine,” Kaladin replied before Syl could open her incorporeal gob. “I know this isn’t the ideal time for speeches, but there’s something I need to say. “The entire time I was sitting in that cave, afraid that one more strike of lightning would cause the roof to collapse on top of me, I could not help but feel alone. Never before in my life was I as scared as I was then, not even when we were nameless bridgemen in Sadeas’ army, and I came an inch away from ending it all by jumping into the Honor Chasm. Despite that, I found myself unable to give up. I wasn’t sure how I would make it out of there alive, but seeing you all now, I realize where it came from. “Though weakened, the Bond we share kept me hopeful and sane. I think a part of the horror came from you as well, but that wasn’t all that I felt. There was pride, too, and determination. A sense of duty. Honor. “These past two days, I’ve learned something. I am just one man. With Syl I might have more strength than most, but even with her, I cannot save everyone no better than Dalinar can carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. Men like us, we need good soldiers like you to fight alongside us. “Looking at the Everstorm for the second time, I feel no fear. I left that useless emotion in the dark cave behind me. Emerging from it, I’ve found something new. Something profound. “I’ve found faith. “Not in the Almighty, but in Man itself. “Thank you, Teft. Skar. Drehy. Thank you for everything you’ve done to help me so far, and thank you for everything you’ll do from this day, onwards.” “Kaladin,” Syl interrupted, watching as the Everstorm crashed into a plateau, less than a mile away from theirs. “The words. You need to say the words.” Ignoring her, Kaladin stared at his Squires. “Did you bring them?” “Yes, of course,” the men said as they unslung the leather bags at their waist and opened them, each filled to the brim with infused spheres. “Thanks again,” Kaladin said one last time as he took them and tied their strings together before fastening them around his torso like a bandolier. “The words, Kaladin!” Syl shouted as the adjacent plateau disappeared within the approaching stormwall. Kaladin breathed deep; deeper than ever before. The Stormlight did not just surge through him. It became him. Lashing himself upwards one hundred times at once, he burst into the sky like a bolt of white lighting in reverse, then Lashed himself downwards just enough times to keep him floating there, his skin glowing nearly as bright as the sun. “I will lead those who’d give their lives up in the name of Honor!” he shouted as loud as he could, though he doubted anyone but Syl could hear him from this height. The sky, however, grumbled before him, the air around him spinning and shining like a flurry of snow. Kaladin breathed in more Stormlight as he clenched his teeth to keep them from clattering in the frigid cold. If one more minute passed, the Everstorm would consume the last of the people he knew, loved, and respected. He would not let that happen. “Kaladin!” Syl shouted. “Finish this!” “I will lead, for this duty is not mine to bear alone!” From his body, a bright, cold light exploded, energy saturating the atmosphere mere seconds before the stormwall crashed into the plateau below. Dalinar made it across the bridge just in time to get thrown off his feet from the force of impact. Whatever the explosion was, he had felt it surge through him, its light so bright that no matter how many times he blinked his eyes, he couldn’t see a thing. “Renarin!” he screamed at the top of his lungs, though he couldn't hear his own voice. as if the explosion had somehow deafened, too. Instantly he realized he could no longer feel the rain falling upon his face, and that his body was completely numb, as if he had spent hours outside in the winter. Finally his senses returned, and what Dalinar saw left him struggling to find any words. The first sight that drew him was Stormblessed. Kaladin was hardly recognizable, considering how bright he was shining, but Dalinar knew it was him the second he spotted the luminescent man floating above the plateau. Frost whirled around him blurringly fast, a lady made of a soft, blue light twirling around him with an entourage of windspren clinging to the ribbons of wind that trailed from her like coattails. The second sight that drew him was the bright, red, angry eye staring at Kaladin from the darkness above. Whatever it was, Dalinar knew it was alive. Looking directly at it overwhelmed the Bondsmith with all kinds of horrible emotions. Terror, loss, and hatred among them. Bulbous gray clouds gathered around it, and lightning crackled along the surface of its iris, occasionally erupting from it to strike at Kaladin, only to be deflected by his wind shield. Dalinar’s gaze followed one such bolt, instantly relieved of those harsh feelings as soon as he looked away from the eye. The third sight that drew him was the cyclone that enclosed their plateau. It was obviously Kaladin’s doing, judging by how much it looked like the tiny storm that surrounded him, though when Dalinar reached out for the Stormfather, he sensed some of him within it too. Was his spren helping the Windrunner achieve this? If so, he would not risk disturbing the Sliver. The fourth sight that drew him was Renarin. His son no longer shook or clutched his head in pain - was this cyclone somehow protecting him from his agonizing visions like it was protecting them from the Everstorm? - though he did stare off towards the giant rock with horror. The fifth and final sight that drew him was the Shardbearer. Dalinar recognized her immediately, though she no longer had the shape of a Parshendi warrior. Her Plate, like her body, had been reshaped to fit more lithe and dangerous, sharp like her body angular, metal coating the chitinous spikes that grew from her arms, back and face. She was stumbling away from a man who looked a lot like Teresh but couldn’t be, considering that man was currently locked in a cell back at Urithiru. Whoever the man was, he was crouched over a downed Initiate who might have been Ranatar, a sword held in one hand and a spear in the other. Roaring, the Shardbearer lifted her face and her Blade towards the sky. It was hard to tell, but Dalinar had a feeling she was looking at the odious eye. Without thinking, Dalinar glanced up and noticed its void-like pupil shift its attention from Kaladin to the Shardbearer. At once, a feeling of wrath and spite washed through him, then surged as it fired a bolt of scarlet energy straight at the Voidbringer. A second flash of light, this time black instead of white, exploded from the center of the plateau. It almost blinded him, but despite the darkness he could still see the Shardbearer’s form, glowing crimson, writhing and flailing and growing into something massive and monstrous. When the darkness cleared, Dalinar could see Voidbringer’s transformation in full. It was huge, larger than even a greatshell, at least eighty feet tall, by quick estimation. It still had the marbled skin of the Parshendi, but it’s entire body was covered by a complex interlinking of shell that meshed frighteningly like Shardplate. Unlike Greatshells, the monster only had two arms and two legs, but they were each thicker than several trees tacked together, and tipped with pointed claws that weren’t much smaller, though its right hand was severed at the wrist. Jagged, crimson spines - the same color as its claws - traced the length of its back, most of them crooked or bending in odd directions. Fortunately the Shardbearer’s Blade did not grow with it, as Dalinar had spotted it lying at its feet, its unique hilt barely visible with most of the sword buried in the ground. All around it, pieces of the Voidbringer’s Plate lay in molten hunks, shattered from within as the Voidbringer grew beyond its capabilities. Fortunately, the Shardbearer was the only Voidbringer to transform. Not many of the monsters remained now, but there were enough between the giant and the Kholin soldier’s that it would take a while before they could attack, if any of them had the strength or courage to face such a thing. Dalinar had a feeling Kaladin would be unable to help them, too busy distracting that eye in the sky and keeping the Everstorm from breaking through his cyclone. What about Adolin? Shallan? They were nowhere to be seen. Renarin was looking better, but Dalinar wasn’t sure how much help either him or his son could be without any Shards. Amazed, Dalinar watched as Ranatar rose to his feet, glowing softly, whatever wounds he had before healing. Likewise, the man who had saved him began to glow too, as did the rest of the Initiates scattered around the plateau. Was Kaladin lending them his power like he did his Squires? Though Dalinar did not understand how, it seemed to be the only logical explanation, as the glow did not smoke off of their skin like Stormlight. One by one, the Initiates gathered behind Ranatar and the man who had to be Teresh, each one holding a weapon and taking a stance against the monstrosity. Dalinar might not be able to join them on the frontlines, but Ishar Guide Him, he would help whatever way he can. Edited March 10, 2017 by Amanuensis 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amanuensis Posted March 4, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 (edited) CHAPTER NINE Shinon was arrested! Teresh was teleported out of prison! Petrik was teleported into prison! Arionium was executed! He was an Honorable Initiate! Petrik has been murdered! He was an Honorable Stoneward! Kintas has been murdered! He was an Honorable Willshaper! One Bond has been formed! Two Bonds have been broken! Well, this one was another doozy. Once again, writer's fatigue got to me there towards the end, so the latter half is a lot worse quality than the beginning, in my honest opinion. FYI, both the scenes involving Fifth/PRIME were written by Ecthelion III, as he wanted to have some character stuff featured in this Chapter's write up, so if you liked those two scenes, make sure you show him some love, too. So yeah. Everyone, meet Nergaoul. The Unmade responsible for the Thrill, and thus Adolin's sudden desire to murder Kaladin. Those in the process of forming a Nahel Bond are immune to the Thrill, but expect that the ordinary soldiers will start acting out petty revenges on people who have angered them in the past. I'm actually little sad that Lopen got arrested, only because seeing Aran show up again for the first time since the Prologue and try to kill him would make for a really interesting scene. Maybe @TheMightyLopen can write that and have me put it in the next write up? No pressure. As for Nergaoul itself, or rather, Eshonai, who has been empowered / possessed by the Unmade... you can basically consider her a boss. I would love to see as much participation in this fight as there were for the Chasmfiend hunt, but sadly with so few active roleplayers left, I'm not sure how likely that will be. I will say that I have been sad in the decline of participation these last few Chapters, but for those of you still keeping strong, I want to thank you for your continued efforts. Anyway, if you're reading this, you're probably eager to write (or, at least, I hope) so I'll stop rambling and let you get to it. Have fun! (And try not to die). INTERROGATION (3) Alvron: Darkness Ascendant, TheMightyLopen, A Joe in the Bush, (6) TheMightyLopen: Ecthelion III, Doc12, Jondesu, Alvron, randuir, Droughtbringer, EXECUTION (10/8) Arinian: Doc12, Jondesu, randuir, TheMightyLopen, A Joe in the Bush, Alvron, Darkness Ascendant, Ecthelion III , Droughtbringer, JUQ, PARDON (7/12) Drake Marshall: randuir, TheMightyLopen, Jondesu, A Joe in the Bush, Alvron, Darkness Ascendant, Droughtbringer, INITIATES A Joe in the Bush as Jonly Assassin in Burgundy as Araon Darkblade randuir as Ranatar TheSilverDragon as Rea Ecthelion III as Fifth Nameless JUQ as Hess Doc12 as Hithon Drake Marshall as Teresh, Guilty of Murder, Murder and More Murder! The lazy anarchist as Lyna Telavalet Alvron as Naihar Darkness Ascendant as The Phantom Stranger Elbereth as Tintallë Iurnu PRISONERS Veriq, Guilty of Cowardice and Being an Accomplice to Murder Shinon, Guilty of Multiple Accounts of Aggravated Assault, Negligent Discharge, and Theft Leif, Guilty of Multiple Accounts of Desertion CASUALTIES Lomot the Honorable Initiate Ashetvl the Honorable Initiate Ralaanar the Honorable Lightweaver Sareth-son-Erneth the Honorable Initiate Balthazar the Honorable Initiate Arionium the Honorable Initiate Petrik the Honorable Stoneward Kintas the Honorable Willshaper COUNTDOWN Chapter Nine will end on Wednesday, March 8th, at 0400 EST. Chapter Ten will begin approximately 2 hours later Edited March 4, 2017 by Amanuensis 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecthelion III Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 (edited) Relevant scenes to Fifth/PRIME from the writeup (read this first if you haven't already): Spoiler The Fifth Nameless climbed his silver pike back up to the top of the rock formation. Atop it, he found Shallan hacking away at the rock with her Shardblade. “Mind if I show you something real quick?” Fifth asked innocently. Shallan turned to him, a little disgruntled, but instantly curious after she saw the object he proffered her. It was one of Fifth’s weapon coins. She had been interested to see how those worked from the moment she saw them. As she dismissed her Shardblade and took it in her hand, it flashed with light and expanded into a silver quarterstaff. A little overdramatic, but all of her negative impressions quickly went away as she examined the workmanship of the staff. It appeared to be pure silver, although by the weight of it, it was less dense, and not a single scratch had marred its smooth surface. “Where did you get this, Fifth?” Shallan asked. She received no response. “Fifth?” she repeated before tearing her eyes away from the gleaming weapon to look at the man who had handed it to her. Shallan gasped. Fifth loomed over her with a hook sword in either hand, his entire demeanor changed. His eyes, which were normally a bright shade of green, were empty and cold. When he opened his mouth to speak, the voice was not his own, but instead deep, gravelly, and without emotion. He sounded like a monster. “SO,” the man began, “YOU APPEAR BEFORE ME AT LAST, SHALLAN DAVAR. IT’S A PITY THINGS HAD TO END THIS WAY.” “Who are you?” Shallan asked as she backed away from whatever entity had possessed Fifth’s form. “OH, WHERE ARE MY MANNERS? ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE MYSELF. I AM THE SEEKER, THE HUNTER, THE COMPLETE. MORTALS MAY KNOW ME AS PRIME, BUT I AM MORE. MUCH MORE. “I HAVE BEEN SEARCHING OUT THOSE WHO ARE SKILLED IN THE MAGICAL ARTS AND HUNTING THEM DOWN ONE BY ONE THROUGH MY VASSALS, THE NAMELESS. AND YOU, LITTLE SURGEBINDER, HAVE JUST SHOWN ME ALL I NEED TO KNOW. “FAREWELL, SHALLAN DAVAR,” Fifth - no, PRIME - brought down his blades upon Shallan… ...and was met with a glimmering Shardblade as Shallan threw aside the quarterstaff and caught the weapon as it coalesced from the mist. The demon in Fifth’s body laughed, though there was no humor in it. “I CAN’T SAY I DIDN’T EXPECT SOMETHING LIKE THIS FROM YOU, BUT YOU CANNOT PREVAIL AGAINST AN IMMORTAL FORCE, MISS DAVAR. YOUR SOUL…” the demon paused as he pulled a round object from his cloak, “IS MINE!” It was a large disk with the same symbol as a few gold and silver disks Fifth had been handing out earlier to his allies. “I WISH I COULD TELL YOU MORE ABOUT HOW SOULBINDING WORKS. IT’S A SHAME TO LOSE A FINE YOUNG MIND SUCH AS YOURSELF. UNFORTUNATELY YOU ONLY HAVE TIME TO LEARN ABOUT INVESTITURE LINKS, SO I WILL EXPLAIN THIS MUCH.” The demon breathed in and the sigil began to glow, its light dim, at first, but as if inhaling had stoked its inner flame, the sigil shined brighter and brighter until it was as if the sun itself was trapped inside the disk. Desperate to look away, Shallan held up her hands and looked at Fifth’s face as its features began to change. Every second she looked, she found him resembling someone else. The Initiates, to be exact. She knew not all their names, but she recognized a few. Sareth, Kintas, Hithon, Ranatar… “YOUR FRIENDS DON’T EVEN KNOW THAT THE COINS THEY POSSESS HAVE BOUND THEIR SOULS TO MINE. HOW SAD WILL THEY BE WHEN THEY FIND THEMSELVES RUNNING OUT OF STORMLIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF BATTLE,” he finished with a laugh as a cloud of light began to form around him. The demon breathed, sucking in the light until it was all gone, his muscles beginning to swell with newfound strength. Raising his sword up perpendicular to the ground, PRIME launched himself at Shallan, ready for battle. --------------------------- It took all of Shallan’s strength to not fall over from the sheer force of the demon’s strikes. The Stormlight he was stealing from the other Initiates made him impossibly strong and agile. Significantly more powerful than Shallan, who was breathing from infused spheres of her own. It was a miracle she had managed to parry any of his blows so far, even as her limbs grew weaker. It was clear, then, that her attacker was playing with her. He could probably finish her off at any moment that he wanted, so why didn’t he? No matter the reason, Shallan fought on. Though it felt like hours, the battle had only lasted a few minutes before Shallan could retaliate all more. Her counterstrikes were a waste of energy, anyway, as every time she thrust at the man, one of his two hook swords would find her Blade and casually brush it aside. She needed a plan, but she just couldn’t focus. She never felt more hopeless in her life than she did now. Finally, the demon crossed his swords and used their combined weight to smash Shallan to her knees. A swift kick to her side sent her flying into the rock, face first, her Shardblade sinking into the stone like water. “YOU’VE FOUGHT ADMIRABLY, THOUGH I EXPECTED A BIT MORE OF A CHALLENGE FROM A SURGEBINDER,” taunted the demon. “EITHER WAY, YOUR STORY ENDS THE SAME. GOODNIGHT, MISS DAVAR.” Ripping her Blade free, Shallan flailed it in the air, desperately. Holding both of his hook swords above him, PRIME lunged at the Lightweaver once again, this time looking as if he meant to finish her, once and for all. Desperate, Shallan breathed in as much Stormlight as she could handle, her heart pounding so hard it sounded like thunder in her ears. Breathing out, she created an illusion of herself where she sat and dove. It wasn’t perfect, but the scene caused the demon to hesitate enough for her to strike for his heart. Empowered by his Soulbinding, PRIME turned just in time to stop the blow, but instead of a sword, it was his hand her Blade collided with. It seemed like such a small nick, but the demon cried out with a horrible shriek and froze. The look on his face as he stared at Shallan seethed with hatred... [He] focused on a ring on his hand, the engraved gemstone imbedded within it split cleanly in half. A flicker of green light shone in the demon’s eyes. ... “You…cannot…” Fifth’s voice came from the demon’s lips. He sounded in pain, as if he were strugging for control. Muscles convulsing, Fifth, or PRIME—Shallan could hardly tell which one was in control—stepped backwards, inching closer towards the ledge. Becoming suddenly still, PRIME looked up, revealing his hollow, grey eyes once more. When he spoke, his voice shook with rage. “Why you INSOLENT little…” The demon’s eyes snapped back to green and Fifth’s tremulous voice spoke again: “You…will……not……” “No! This cannot be! Kill her!” “Master……former…master…” “Kill her, my faithful servant! KILL HER!!!” “I…will not allow you to control me, to use me any longer!” “This…cannot……be!” “I am no longer your servant, PRIME. May justice be done!!!” He tore the cracked gem from his ring and crushed it in his hand. The demon let out a final, horrendous yell that echoed across the plains. Almost simultaneously, a crimson bolt of lightning shot down from the sky and landed a meter in front of him, shattering the rock with an earsplitting crack and throwing him off the ledge. He plummeted for a few long seconds before slamming into the ground by the gathering Initiates. One of the Initiates named Naihar walked over to him and bent down. With great effort, the fallen man lifted his head up and smiled at him. His eyes were bright green and glittering, and when he spoke, it was with Fifth’s voice, yet kinder and gentler, free of PRIME’s influence. “Life before death. Strength before weakness. Journey before destination.” With trembling legs, he stood. “I will put the law above all else. I will hunt you down, PRIME, and you will face justice of the highest degree. For the crimes of murder, and, even worse, binding the souls of your ‘Nameless’ to your work of terror and destruction, I pronounce you-- “GUILTY!” Hopefully that makes a shred of sense. I'm a bit tired. Edited March 4, 2017 by Ecthelion III 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrakeMarshall Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 STORMS. A lot happened this cycle. I still need to read the write up and make sense of it... But right now I got a track meet to go run in. I'm temporarily out of prison, though I'm not sure what that will do... I'll make a real post once I get the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkness Ascendant Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 Wait, did someone bust drake out of prison? or did Drake escape? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeTess Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 (edited) 50 minutes ago, Darkness Ascendant said: Wait, did someone bust drake out of prison? or did Drake escape? Looking at the write-up, it seems the elsecaller switched Drake and Drought. This confuses me. I'd expected the elsecaller to switch quiver, if he was able, since quiver was unlikely to become active. Instead, they switched Drake, who was an active player before getting captured, and still participated through PM's afterwards, so if Drake is honorable, this wouldn't help them at all (and I was pretty sure Drake was honorable). Edited March 4, 2017 by randuir Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkness Ascendant Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 unless the elsecaller was honorable as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeTess Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 47 minutes ago, Darkness Ascendant said: unless the elsecaller was honorable as well. How would you explain that the unjust killed the person that had been teleported into prison on both this and last cycle if the elsecaller was honorable? I guess it would be possible if the eslecaller reported who he was going to switch to other players in PM, and one of them was an elim. Hmm, that actually would be a possible explanation for Drake getting freed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrakeMarshall Posted March 5, 2017 Report Share Posted March 5, 2017 Okay... I just typed out a storming lot, and it got deleted. Not chill. I'll summarize it again in brief. I'm perplexed why I am free. I'm guessing it's because I don't really pose much of a threat to the elims without a kill power and only free for 1 cycle. I'm not sure why they wouldn't just free an inactive like Quiver, maybe just to confuse us? I understand that being freed by an all but confirmed elim might look suspicious. Well, frankly, if the elsecaller was on my side, I can't imagine why they wouldn't have freed me earlier, at least often enough that I could keep my bond. As for reads on people... Well, even if I was wrong about Rae, I was right about Arinian, Jondesu, and Mage. It's a shame I find out they were indeed town by their dying. The only living people I really trust now are Doc and Randuir. In regard to Lopen and Ecth... Originally, I had a pretty bad read on Ecth. But Ecth's claims all match up. According to Lopen's own calculations, Ecth is one of the only candidates for truthwatcher. Plus, there are no counterclaims. Plus, it wouldn't make sense for Ecth to lie unless the game was really close to finishing. And there's Lopen's defenses. Personally, if I were town and knew Ecth was lying, I'd go after getting Ecth lynched as best I possibly could. Instead you were desperately defending yourself. So... Lopen. I find it very unlikely that you are anything but an elim elsecaller. Lets find out for sure. In regard to interrogation... I'm not sure who to vote on, but I am sorta wondering about @Alvron. There's how you've narrowly avoided so many lynches. The last time someone did that, it was me, and I was playing elim. The time before, it was Dalinar, and he was playing elim. I know that's not solid evidence, but all my experience indicates that it is suspect. Then there's Lopen's claims on you. When nobody really suspects Lopen, he defends Alv on grounds I'm still not sure I understand. Then, once Lopen is pretty much assured to get lynched, he starts pushing to get Alv lynched (and not Ecth). Feels like that could be bussing since we'll probably find out Lopen was elim soon. If I were more sure of things, I'd probably actually cast the vote, but I'm really not. Not yet anyway. If I could, I'd also vote to pardon myself but I doubt this is possible. Alright. I've caught up to when it deleted things before. So. RP time! It's been a while... A blinding flash of stormlight. A sudden wall of frigid water raining down. Uther's eyes snapped open. He wasn't lying in his cell... He was on the cold, hard, rain-slicked stone of a plateau. Exactly like his dream. “Teresh?” asked Ranatar. “Is that you?” Uther noticed Ranatar on the stone next to him. Out of stormlight, clearly wounded. Just like the dream... If its the same as the dream... Uther looked up. Aww hell. It was the same creature as before, in the chasms. The demon shardbearer. Eyes still shining like blood red stars through the cracked faceplate. Tiny arcs of hatred coursing along its plated body. A wickedly curved, impossibly large blade held easily in one hand, stained red. The stump of its other hand stained orange. Just like the dream. The shardbearer's mask of hatred cracked for a moment, replaced with surprise. Then it flicked up the shardblade with casual grace, preparing to cut right through Uther and finish Ranatar off. Apparently, it didn't much care that Uther had just appeared in front of it. It was probably deep in the grips of the thrill. With a shout, Uther rolled to the side, pulling Ranatar out of the way with him as the blade cut through stone like it wasn't there. He instinctively tried to suck down stormlight. None came to his aid. Keph... The valorspren hadn't fared well in prison. She had slowly grown more quiet, disappearing for longer stretches of time, and zipping in circles around his candle, attracted to the light like a mere flamespren. He knew that it was related. His ability to breath stormlight came from the bond, or so the book had said. First Keph, and now this... What have I done? Uther jumped to his feet, but the movement felt sluggish without the stormlight he was used to. It was right in front of him. He could feel the light streaming from the voidbringer's armor. He imagined it flowing towards him, granting him its icy clarity, speed, and strength. The light resisted him, dissipating uselessly into the air instead of coming to his aid. Uther ducked under the voidbringer's next swing. "KEPH!!!!" he screamed into the rain. Uther hadn't seen her in days... And without each other they would both be dead soon, if she wasn't already. Uther grabbed the sword Ranatar had dropped when he went down, desperately parrying the voidbringer's next blow. He got Ranatar's sword up just in time to block the Voidbringer's cut... And the voidbringer's shardblade cut right through it. And then right through Uther's knees. An unimaginable pain shot through his calves. Then, just as quickly as it had come, it disappeared, replaced by a terrible, terrifying numbness. He collapsed on the ground as his legs refused to move. The creature smiled down at him, sword poised to finish it. Keph, I'm sorry... I've failed. "How did you get here?" the demon asked, apparently curious to know before finishing him off. Uther stared up at the creature. "Funny, isn't it. You never feel like it could all end, and then... It does." he said, ignoring the question. Perhaps he was in shock. "I guess in the end, it doesn't much matter who finishes me. The Sons of Honor, the other initiates, the storming Voidbringers straight out of a bad fairytale... In the end, all that matters is that I fought." The voidbringer looked perplexed at that. "Answer me, you fool." The shardblade glowed a dull red, point nearly touching Uther's neck. I doubt I would tell you even if I knew. Uther looked up, defiant. "Burn in hell you overgrown parshman." A look of fury crossed the voidbringer's face. Uther was going to die. He tried once again to suck in some of the light streaming down at him from the creature's plate. He felt the same resistance as he did before. He pushed up against it with all he had. Keph, you're free now. Please... If you're still there... Uther saw the familiar orange glow dancing before his eyes. He could feel it, he was close... But it hurt so much to keep going. He couldn't... No. That's a lie. The greatest of lies. Fear. I will deny the grip of terror in myself. I will not shy away from self-sacrifice. Uther looked at Ranatar, who was just getting to his feet behind the voidbringer. Maybe if Uther kept it distracted for a few more seconds, Ranatar could get away. I will deny the grip of terror in my allies. I will remain loyal to those who fight at my side. The wall in his mind cracked. Stormlight rushed through it, and Uther drank it up greedily. He saw Keph flying towards him, and the cracks widened. With a roar he crashed into the barrier one last time, shattering it. A torrent of stormlight flooded through him. The voidbringer general swung at Uther's sprawled form on the ground. Uther lunged for the demon's legs, sliding across the floor like it was ice. He collided with the legs and kept sliding, forcing the voidbringer to slip and topple on the now slicked rock and causing its blade to disappear in a puff of mist. He stopped sliding close to the edge of the plateau. The stormlight slowly poured into his legs. Uther hoped that meant the cuts would heal. The plate-coated voidbringer tried to roll over on top of him to crush him, but Uther threw it off balance, slicking the rock to make the demon slip again. He knew the creature would eventually learn to stand up and balance on the slicked rock, like Uther had, but until then, he would take any advantage he could get. He felt feeling enter his legs again, and threw himself to his feet just as the voidbringer did. The pair stared at each other, a few meters apart. Rain crashed down around them. The voidbringer screamed in fury at him, arcs of crimson thunder building up around its arms at an alarming rate. Uther willed stormlight into his hand, igniting it. A bright red-orange flame curled from his fingers, Keph swirling around it. A spear forged of all consuming fire coalesced in his hands. Tongues of flame curled off the weapon, unquenched by the heavy rain. The arch-demon released its terrible thunder. At the same time, Uther hurled his spear right at it. There was a bright flash of light between them. The afterimage faded. The voidbringer was stumbling back, its plate showing a few new cracks. Throwing the spear had drained all his stormlight, but it looked like the voidbringer was low, too. It's plate was definitely slowing down; a little longer and it would lock up. The creature threw it's head back in roared at the sky in defiance... No, not just the sky. There was something up there. A figure glowing intensely with stormlight... And a single, baleful red orb, glaring at the figure. An eye. The eye focused down on the shardbearer and Uther. He immediately felt a wave of dread. The eye shone with malevolent intelligence, and power. Then a bolt of lightning, like the ones the voidbringers could throw, only huge, streaked down and hit the shardbearer. A flash of blackness radiated from his opponent. Uther watched in horror as the creature grew, crackling red energy outlining it in the darkness. He stepped backwards as the voidbringer doubled, tripled in size in mere seconds. Storms... Just my luck to get teleported into this. Uther was exhausted and devoid of stormlight, and Ranatar looked to be in even worse shape. Why is it that every time I survive something I shouldn't, something even worse comes along? The figure overhead started glowing even brighter. Uther realized it had to be captain Kaladin, just as he felt a surge of energy... Stormlight. As if radiating from the windrunner. Ranatar's wounds healed and he stood beside Uther. And every time something even worse comes along, I survive it again. Lets hope today isn't the exception. Revitalized, Uther stoked the fire again. This time, the flames formed into a slender, curved sword with a long reach. He fell into fighting stance. Flamestance seemed appropriate, all things considered. The other initiates were approaching behind, also glowing. Some looked confused at his presence. "If you're wondering how I got here, I am too. What's important however is that there's a giant storming voidbringer thing in front of us. And it's very, very angry at us, particularly me and Ranater I think. And we're going to need a plan. If we try to run, it can probably outrun us with those legs. I don't think that's an option. So. It's bigger than that chasmfiend we fought. More importantly, it's legs are a whole lot thicker and we aren't going to be able to chop them out from under it very easily. And it's smarter than any greatshell. Chances are, it's also retained its ability to harness lightning. If we assume that it's larger size means larger lightning bolts, that means it's going to be incredibly dangerous. But on the bright side... Like I said before, it's also really, really angry. And it's missing a hand. And it doesn't have shards anymore. All of these things can be used against it. Hm... I say we try and trip it, then go for the eyes. Keep moving so the lightning can't get you, maybe throw some metal to deflect it. Thoughts?" 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alvron Posted March 5, 2017 Report Share Posted March 5, 2017 1 hour ago, Drake Marshall said: In regard to interrogation... I'm not sure who to vote on, but I am sorta wondering about @Alvron. There's how you've narrowly avoided so many lynches. The last time someone did that, it was me, and I was playing elim. The time before, it was Dalinar, and he was playing elim. I know that's not solid evidence, but all my experience indicates that it is suspect. Then there's Lopen's claims on you. When nobody really suspects Lopen, he defends Alv on grounds I'm still not sure I understand. Then, once Lopen is pretty much assured to get lynched, he starts pushing to get Alv lynched (and not Ecth). Feels like that could be bussing since we'll probably find out Lopen was elim soon. If I were more sure of things, I'd probably actually cast the vote, but I'm really not. Not yet anyway. Oh go on. It wouldn't feel right if I wasn't a lynch target. You know you want to. I truly can't say why I slipped away from the noose so many times. It's not like I'm being saved by the same people each time either. I've been saved by Headshot, Jondesu, Ec3 and Lopen. Two of which (HH and Jon) are proven villagers while it's looking very likely that Ec3 is one as well and as for Lopen, I guess we will just have to wait and see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkness Ascendant Posted March 5, 2017 Report Share Posted March 5, 2017 Y'know I'm getting a strange elim read on Doc and Drake... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrakeMarshall Posted March 5, 2017 Report Share Posted March 5, 2017 Hm... Alv, you're right, I do want to But I don't think I will. I have a gut feeling that you are an elim, but I won't back it up with a vote unless I can back it up with real evidence. I didn't really appreciate being falsely jailed on "gut reads" and I won't subject you to the same unless I can find a better reason for it. I'm wondering about the attack on Drought though. I see 3 possible explanations: 1. The elims randomly attacked someone with a high honor count, and got lucky by hitting the stoneward. Probably the most likely. 2. Drought told people his role in PM, and one of those people killed him. I doubt that he only told one person, if he chose to tell anyone... So if you were told and you know he told other people, probably speak up. 3. Ecth is an elim truthwatcher, and deliberately located and killed the stoneward. I don't think this is very likely, but it isn't exactly impossible. Also, DA, I frankly don't care if you suspect me. What're you gonna do, jail me? Been there, done that. And anyone who actually bothered to PM me when I was first jailed received plenty of evidence. Yes, if you try to lynch doc I will defend him. I may be bad at picking people I suspect, but so far I've been pretty good at picking people I trust. And, speaking of that... So far, literally everyone who bothered to PM me back then has turned out to be village. Those are people who genuinely cared if it was right to lynch me or not. Nobody would have faulted any of them for just voting for my execution early, or maybe just tossing a pardon vote on the bandwagon later. But they still did it. Mind you, the validity of that information is somewhat contingent upon my being town or not... But, here is the list of people: Jondesu, Mage, Randuir, Lopen, Arin, and sort of Doc I find that list interesting... Why? Well, because Lopen's on that list. And he's totally an elim, right? But then there's still the fact that I've had a singularly bad read on Ecth the whole game, only alleviated by Ecth's claim against Lopen being supported this cycle. And so. Speaking of PMing prisoners to get game changing information, then all of that amounting to nothing because inactivity. I just PMed Lopen, and just received proof that he is innocent. Ecth claims to have scanned him C4 and C7. C4 he wasn't elsecaller, C7 he purportedly was elsecaller. So that means he bonded inkspren on C5, C6, or C7. Only the writeups for C6 and C7 had elsecaller abilities being used. So according to Ecth's claim, he must have bonded on C5... Only there was only one bond formed C5. And Arinian, who is now confirmed town because you guys killed him, claimed that he knew for sure that edgedancer spren bonded on that cycle. So... Ecthelion had to have been lying. You may wonder... Why would Ecth lie, unless it was close to endgame? Well, we got a lot of inactives. If we don't jail an elim this cycle, I'd bet the free, active elims will outnumber the free, active town. So that would be endgame, and it wouldn't matter if we all knew Ecth was elim because we wouldn't have voting majority. It might even be too late already. Maybe town already lost. I'll need to calculate some things to know. But... Lets hope it isn't too late, hm? Lopen Lopen. I know for sure now that Ecth is elim, but he isn't the elsecaller. Ecth is all but certain to really be truthwatcher, just an elim truthwatcher. Which means by jailing Ecth, we'll still have elim elsecaller on the loose. And elim elsecaller could literally just teleport Ecth out of jail next cycle, which would be very bad news... So... While I'm tempted to vote on Ecth, the confirmed elim... I need to think more. We need to find that elsecaller. Alv, I confess, I'm even more tempted to vote on you now. But I'll be true to my word. I may still end up voting on you, but if I do, I'll have stronger reasons to do it then I do now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeTess Posted March 5, 2017 Report Share Posted March 5, 2017 (edited) With a shock, clarity and strength returned to Ranatar. On reflex, he rolled sideways, though nothing was trying to kill him at present. His sword had gone missing, so he quickly cast about for a weapon. A spear was lying nearby, so he picked it up, then pulled himself back onto his feet. It was only then that he got a good look at the situation. The Voidbringer had grown to a truly enormous size, and above it, a monstrous eye was staring down on the battlefield. For a moment, despair threatened to burst past the locked doors in Ranatars mind, but he pushed it back ruthlessly. ’It hasn’t started yet. We’ve still got time, Storm it.’ The despair receded, but some spikes of anxiety remained. They weren’t his own though. “Be calm, Bast.” Ranatar tried to put as much confidence and reassurance in his voice as he could. “We can beat this thing. It’s not like we have any other option.” The feeling of anxiety receded. Ranatar looked around. A bit ahead of him, Teresh stood defiantly before the monster. Around him, the other initiates where slowly getting together. He spotted Hithon stumbling around, making his way uncertain in first one direction, then another. He looked like a Chasmfiend had used him as a door-mat. Ranatar quickly walked over to hithon, and tapped his arm lightly, barely managing to avoid a reflex swing of Hithon’s dagger. He spoke to him, reassuring him, and finally the blind man stilled, a measure of confidence returnin to him. “Brother”, he spoke. “Brother”, Ranatar acknowledged. “Let’s join the other initiates. We’ve got one more threat to take care of.” Teresh had started explaining his plan as they approached. "If you're wondering how I got here, I am too. What's important however is that there's a giant storming voidbringer thing in front of us. And it's very, very angry at us, particularly me and Ranatar I think. And we're going to need a plan. If we try to run, it can probably outrun us with those legs. I don't think that's an option. So. It's bigger than that chasmfiend we fought. More importantly, it's legs are a whole lot thicker and we aren't going to be able to chop them out from under it very easily. And it's smarter than any greatshell. Chances are, it's also retained its ability to harness lightning. If we assume that it's larger size means larger lightning bolts, that means it's going to be incredibly dangerous. But on the bright side... Like I said before, it's also really, really angry. And it's missing a hand. And it doesn't have shards anymore. All of these things can be used against it. Hm... I say we try and trip it, then go for the eyes. Keep moving so the lightning can't get you, maybe throw some metal to deflect it. Thoughts?" Ranatar looked the creature over again. Yes, there was more of the orange blood dripping down the left leg. “In our previous fight, I managed to land a thrust through the back of that monster’s left knee, wounding it and slowing it down. The wound still seems to be there, so focus on the left leg to bring it down. If it charges, try to lead it to the chasm. It can jump them, but if it is blinded by rage, it might not realize it's rushing into nothingness until it's too late.” Drake's speech is from his RP, and the part with Hithon (Doc12) has been coordinated with him through PM's. Edited March 5, 2017 by randuir Forgot to color one word in RP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc12 Posted March 5, 2017 Report Share Posted March 5, 2017 (edited) What the storms was going on?? Hithon stumbled through the wind and rain, bereft. His mouth was open. Sounds seemed to be coming out. Was he screaming? He couldn't hear himself scream. All his earlier confidence, his strength, they had all evaporated with the last of his Stormlight. All gone. He was alone, exposed, and the Everstorm was coming. Above him, he heard a thunderclap. Heard unnatural screams and shouts, and footsteps sent the earth shaking, almost knocking him off balance. What in Braize was large enough to make the very earth shake?? Even the Chasmfiend had not caused this! The wind grabbed at him, strongly, relentlessly, and he felt the temptation to just give in, let the wind fling him where it would. Who knows? He might find home. Home. But no. He continued to struggle, keeping his guard up. He was useless in this battle, with the wind and the rain drowning out all footsteps except for the unnaturally heavy ones up ahead. Where were all the other Voidbringers? Were they behind him? Around him? Where were they?? What was he doing here. And most of all. The biggest question he had. The one he wanted to scream into the sky. Might still be screaming at the sky. He couldn't hear himself. Where...where are you? Where did you go? He continued stumbling through the rain. Above, he heard shouting. The words were garbled, meaningless. He heard an explosion. Felt a force against his skin. Nothing happened. He was only putting one foot in front of the other, amidst a world of darkness, where everything was screaming at him. He couldn't see. oh Almighty, he couldn't see. Voices. Ahead. Familiar voices. The other Initiates? He needed to get to them. Needed to find his brothers. He. needed them. HIthon hunched further down against the pounding rain, and took another painful step, and another... ..and another. @Drake Marshall, I think we need to discuss exactly how much damage two Ghostblood-trained assassins can do to an Unmade Parshendi Wow, a lot of things happened this cycle, First of all, it's great to have you back, Drake! You were one of the people who I was most sure of as a villager, ever since I started PMing you while you were in jail. (And even before that I really enjoyed your excellent RP, which I'm thrilled to see is back in fine form.) Right. While Drake was in jail, we exchanged PMs. Well. He mostly PM'd me The guy's amazing. He managed to convince me that he deserved a pardon, and I called for it, but after three successive rounds of no-pardons, I guess I gave up. Sorry Drake. The fact that Jondesu is honorable makes me reconsider many things. Recall how I said that if Drake was evil, then the Willshaper would be completely cleared because he single-handedly confirmed Drake's lynch? If Drake had been honorable, then Jondesu would have been an eliminator along with probably Alv. So now that Jondesu turns out to be honorable... It seems that my case against Alv has suffered. I. bah. I trust in my read of Drake, which says he's honorable. I don't know what to think of Alv anymore. I had a PM with Drought, but it wasn't used for the past two cycles, so I have nothing to share on that part, sorry. And as for Ecth being an eliminator, I am inclined to agree with you about that. And you're right, we need to find the Elsecaller. Question is, who currently could hold the bond? According to Randuir himself last cycle, it could only be Randuir and Alv. Rand I trust, for now. I scanned his PMs last cycle, and got a PM between him and Jondesu, in which Randuir mentioned he had invested 5 honor towards Truthwatcher, and was now investing towards another order, discuss more about Lopen, and both agreed that it was most likely Lopen who was the elsecaller. I'm inclined to believe that Randuir is telling the truth about not having a spren. His story has no holes in it, at least. So...for now, all signs seem to point to Alv holding the inkspren. Lopen Did anyone notice that two bonds broke this cycle? Just as the Unjust killed two people this cycle? From the writeup, I conclude that the Unjust elsecaller switched Drake with Drought, and sent one Unjust to kill Drought, while two more went after Jondesu. Two bonds breaking means that those two Unjust had bonds! So now we ask around. Has anyone had a broken bond lately? If we find someone who has lost their spren bond, we've found two Unjust. Speaking of the Unjust Elsecaller, Darkness, it is rather obvious that the Elsecaller is Unjust, seeing as how they've switched their kill targets in and out of prison for the third round now. And while I can't refute your gut read on me, I will point out that I'm trying to do my best. And lastly, seeing as Arin was village after all, I'm going to have to go back and see who voted on him. I know I was one of them >> And seeing as I can, I'm going to vote we continue cleaning out the prisons with a vote on Quiver. EDIT: accidentally mixed up Alv and Lopen in an earlier paragraph. Edited March 5, 2017 by Doc12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkness Ascendant Posted March 5, 2017 Report Share Posted March 5, 2017 Stranger slumped to the floor. It was hopeless, there was no way for him to figure out what was happening behind the walls, the fabrial...didn't make sense to him. There was some interference on his end, he was sure that he could feel the the workings on the other side...but there was some sort of interference clouding his vision. He was burning low anyway... He rummaged through one of his many pockets and pulled out a flask, the strange wines they served here were absolutely horrid...specially that Jandorian crem. Nothing beat a good chug of whiskey. He pulled out a bag which contained a mixture of metal shavings, then poured some into the flask. He sighed and downed the whiskey, the burning sensation quickly passing. He burned a little atium for kicks, and watched the fuzzy atium shadows for a while. He stopped burning the metal all of a sudden, he had done it again hadn't he... He shook his head and got up, dusted his clothes and rolled his shoulders. Perhaps it was time he went over to that battle thing going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrakeMarshall Posted March 5, 2017 Report Share Posted March 5, 2017 ...And there's the evidence I was waiting for to vote on you, Alvron. Nice one, Doc. Hadn't thought about Randuir and Lopen's chart of possible elsecallers, and I trust Randuir. As for the vote on quiver... I realize I could have killed quiver in jail right before my dustbringer bond broke, and I didn't. The pardon was close at the end of the cycle before I went to go to sleep, and I didn't want to risk killing an innocent and then going free. So, I'll try to make up for it. Quiver. Not only is that cleaning out jails, but it also might hit an inactive elim, because it's possible quiver has been the one killing people the elsecaller teleported to jail. So... Hm... Lets figure out how to do this. There are 12 free players this cycle. I'm pretty sure 4 of those are inactives. If I had to guess, I'd say 4 elims. 1 elsecaller, one partner who kills people elsecaller teleports in jail, and 2 other elims who recently broke their bonds to start killing people. That means 8 town. But only about 5 of the free town are likely to be active. @Amanuensis just checking, does those two bonds broken refer to the bonds of the people that died, or other bonds? I'm assuming it refers to bonds broken other then the deaths. Anyways. Alvron is likely to be the elim elsecaller. I'd bet that Ecth really was an elim truthwatcher and he broke his bond this cycle to murder someone. That means we probably have one other elim with high honor count... And one elim who never had a bond, quite possibly an inactive. Hm... @Amanuensis another question... Say the inactive elim is the only one left... Does that mean town wins, or can the other, dead elims, still give orders to the inactive one? At any rate... When there's one elim left, it can't technically kill people, but I'd be willing to bet that one condition for getting skybreaker is being 1 elim left. And skybreaker can probably kill people. So. What will happen in the next few cycles... Let's make a diagram. C10: We jail Alvron this cycle. He can't target anyone but people in jail at that point, making him no longer a threat. That means the elims are no longer capable of killing 2 free players a cycle, only 1. But, likely, Alvron and his partner murder people in jail next cycle because its all they really can do. Probably that means me and Lopen will both die next cycle (since I'll be returned to jail next cycle I presume). The other pair of elims probably murder another free, active, town player. Results: -1 elim, -1 jailed town, -2 free town. ~2 active elims remaining, ~1 inactive elims remaining, ~3 active town remaining, ~3 inactive town remaining. C11: We jail Ecth. Assuming the inactive elim is free, the elims still have one kill ability. Assuming the inactive elim is quiver, there will be one free elim left who probably turns into a skybreaker. Actually I have to go right now. I'll post what I have so far... And continue this in a few hours. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecthelion III Posted March 5, 2017 Report Share Posted March 5, 2017 - "GUILTY!" The man stood in the cyclone created by Stormblessed. The giant form of the Unmade towered before him and the Initiates, yet he felt like he could take on the world. The man heard a small, soft voice which only he could hear. "Hello? Hello?" "Vis?" the man responded. He did not know where it came from, yet it sounded...right, somehow. "A name..." the voice said, "spren do not have names." "I was once nameless too," the man said, "but no longer. Now that I am free from this--" he took off his broken ring and threw it aside "--I am again my own man. I again have..." "A name..." the voice repeated. "You know, I used to have my own name, Vis. I used to be a person who I am no longer." "The name you used to have...the person you used to be... "There is power in a name. Identity in a name." "I...do not understand, Vis." "It is time for you to reclaim your power. Take up thyself, take up thy sword, take up thy name... "Ceol." Ceol reached into his weapon pouch and, seemingly instinctively, chose a single coin. He raised it over his head and it transformed, in a brilliant explosion of light, into a sword: a great claymore. He held it instinctively, testing its perfect weight. Years of training and memories of his former life rushed back to him. This was the weapon he had always known. This was the weapon his father had always used, the weapon his father had always trained him in. This was Ceol's weapon. At last, Ceol had returned. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amanuensis Posted March 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2017 (edited) @Drake Marshall They refer to bonds other than the deaths. Deceased Unjust cannot give orders for their living teammates. I can't say for certain that I'd call the game there but in most scenarios I would not want to drag things out. Edited March 6, 2017 by Amanuensis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrakeMarshall Posted March 6, 2017 Report Share Posted March 6, 2017 (edited) Alright, thanks Aman. So. Continuation! C10: We jail Alvron this cycle. He can't target anyone but people in jail at that point, making him no longer a threat. That means the elims are no longer capable of killing 2 free players a cycle, only 1. But, likely, Alvron and his partner murder people in jail next cycle because its all they really can do. Probably that means me and Lopen will both die next cycle (since I'll be returned to jail next cycle I presume). The other pair of elims probably murder another free, active, town player. Results: -1 elim, -1 jailed town, -2 free town. ~2 active elims remaining, ~1 inactive elims remaining, ~3 active town remaining, ~3 inactive town remaining. C11: We jail Ecth. Assuming the inactive elim is free, the elims still have one kill ability. Assuming the inactive elim is quiver, there will be one free elim left who probably turns into a skybreaker. Otherwise, there will still be two free elims. Either way, I imagine that gives the elims one kill, which they'll use against an active town member. Results: -1 elim, -1 free town. ~1 active elims remaining, ~1 inactive elims remaining, ~2 active town remaining, ~3 inactive town remaining. C12: Here's where it gets tricky. You'll need to find the last active elim. If the remaining two town agree and lynch the elim... Town wins. If they don't... Elims kill one more person, and active town no longer outnumbers active elims, and the elims win. Endgame. Note that to get to that point, the active town will all have to go through with lynching Alv and then Ecth. If you are town and you don't agree why we should do that... PM me, PM Lopen, ask people in main thread... But commit to getting Alv and Ecth in jail. Because Ecth is 100% likely to be an elim, and Alvron is 95% likely to be the elim elsecaller. So... After hashing that all out, I realize the possibilities are a lot more simple then I expected. I thought the continuation of this diagram would be somewhat complicated, but there's basically a clear turning point at C12. It all gets decided C12. So. Unless you want to dispute lynching Alv this cycle and Ecth next cycle, we should turn our attention to the question: what remaining active players (minus Alv and Ecth) are likely to be elim? We'll probably benefit from reviewing Alv and Ecth's posts earlier in the game... And maybe reviewing if they said anything strange in their PMs. We need to figure out who we are going to lynch C12. Good luck. I'll most likely be dead by C12, but I'll try and dig up what I can this cycle. I wish I could say the endgame is we are certain to win if we follow a certain strategy. The truth is... It all decides on who gets lynched C12. Oh! Also. I think we can actually say for certain that there are 4 elims. Because Alv's early game slip of the tongue confirms it. Also... I haven't really taken account for certain abilities that might pop up by C12... The basic layout I made could be seriously altered by certain powers. Windrunner could block Ecth this round, which would likely save someone's life. Stoneward could keep one of the active town alive (I recommend protecting Doc or Randuir but that's just me), or delay the town's executions (which actually shouldn't matter because all we need to do is jail the elims, not execute thenm). Dustbringer could literally be endgame at this point, finishing off the elims now that we know who they are, or murdering an extra active town resulting in an expeditious town loss. Willshaper could give either side a voting majority at this point, also spelling endgame. But I'm pretty sure we don't have a dustbringer at the moment, and the stoneward and willshaper just died. What I know for sure we do have is an edgedancer. Arinian confirmed that someone bonded it. That could be dangerous... In elim hands, it means someone could go free and also spell endgame for us... But wait! The elims just broke their bonds to murder people this cycle! That means they can't possibly have any of these bonds, just elsecaller! Which is excellent news... We might win yet. I'll probably be going to sleep soonish, but tomorrow I'll have some thoughts on the C12 lynch target... And maybe we can find out precisely how much damage 2 ghostblood assassins can do Doc. They didn't let me take any blackbane with me in jail, but as you may have seen I've take the writeup as implied permission to RP dustbringer powers Edited March 6, 2017 by Drake Marshall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeTess Posted March 6, 2017 Report Share Posted March 6, 2017 With an ear-shattering roar, the monster charged. “Split up!” Ranatar wasn’t sure who’d first given the order. Maybe it had been him. The initiates quickly broke up in different groups, making sure to get out of the way of the monster’s charge. Ranatar made sure that Hithon was coming with him. There seemed to be something wrong with the initiate. His grace and certainty from earlier in the fight seemed to have disappeared, and Ranatar would be damned before he left him in the path of the monster’s charge. The monster skidded to a halt as its intended prey ducked away from its charge, then slowly came around, its enraged eyes firmly focused on Ranatar. ‘This is going to be interesting.’ So, let's start dealing with Eshonai now, shall we? She'll be coming after me at least for a bit, since I cut off her arm, so that should give the rest of you some time for heroics. Regarding your analysis, Drake, I agree that edgedancer and truthwatcher are most likely the broken bonds. I believe it was arinian that said there where 4 elims, not Alvron, though I'm going to run with the assumption that there are 4 anyway. Otherwise things aren't looking as good for us. Regarding that, Alvron, Quiver, Lopen. Sorry Lopen, in my determination not to get led by claims and counterclaims about your PM with ecth, I had missed that there was this big inconsistency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc12 Posted March 6, 2017 Report Share Posted March 6, 2017 (edited) A hand had touched his arm. On reflex, he snarled and swung his dagger in a vicious arc. His blade found no mark, but before he could try again, the hand grasped his shoulder firmly, another hand gripping his wrist in a soft, but firm grip. Human hands. This was not an enemy. Hithon relaxed slightly, lowering his dagger. Who was it, then? The person was speaking, quickly, softly, reassuringly. He heard not the words, but the tone reassured him. He knew the voice. Cool, calm, edged with steel. Rannatar. He stilled, nodding at the man in front of him. "Brother," he said, relief clouding his voice. "Brother," Rannatar agreed. "Let's join the others. We have one more thing to take care of." Hithon sighed. "If you're wondering how I got here, I am too." He frowned. That voice was a familiar one. What's important however is that there's a giant storming voidbringer thing in front of us. And it's very, very angry at us, particularly me and Ranater I think.And we're going to need a plan. If we try to run, it can probably outrun us with those legs. I don't think that's an option." He remembered that voice. Screaming his name. Pushing him out from under a Chasmfiend's descending legs. Demanding what he knew of the Ghostbloods. Last heard protesting his innocence in strident tones as he was led away into jail back at the warcamps. Teresh, the man who had saved his life. What was he doing here? Well, he seemed to be making a plan to fight something..something big. "So. It's bigger than that chasmfiend we fought. More importantly, it's legs are a whole lot thicker and we aren't going to be able to chop them out from under it very easily. And it's smarter than any greatshell." I can't do this, Hithon thought. I can't anymore. As Drake continued to explain his plan, it became clear just what they were fighting. A Voidbringer giant possessed by one of the Unmade themselves. How...How?? He checked his supplies. He still had plenty of them, good. The Voidbringer screamed, an excruciating, ear splitting one, and he heard the thundering footsteps. Before he could begin to draw his dagger, he was pulled out of the way of a descending leg by....Rannatar? Naihar? Teresh? "Rannatar?" He ventured a guess. The person who had rescued him sighed in exhaustion. Rannatar. "Rannatar", he began. "I need to get to Teresh. I'm going to...need his help. Edited March 6, 2017 by Doc12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeTess Posted March 6, 2017 Report Share Posted March 6, 2017 (edited) "Ranatar", Hithon began. "I need to get to Teresh. I'm going to...need his help.” Ranatar suppressed a groan. Teresh had wisely dodged the other way when the massive Voidbringer had come in, and the monster was now between them and Teresh. Worse still, it was coming at them again. “Hithon, stay with me. I’ll get you there in a moment, but-“ The monster charged again. “Run!” Ranatar yelled as he grabbed Hithon’s arm and guided him on a sprint away from the voidbringer. They couldn’t outrun it, of course. It moved closer quickly, drawing its remaining arm back to strike. “Hithon, dodge left!” he shouted, while going right himself, hoping to draw the monster’s strike after him. He knew he’d have a far better chance of dodging the strike than the blind man. The blow came down, missing Ranatar by the tiniest of margin. Stone chips flew away from the impact, inflicting some superficial cuts that Stormlight quickly closed over. The fist retreated, and Ranatar was relieved to see Hithon had gotten clear in time. Another initiate had run up, checking on Hithon. Ranatar couldn’t see who it was because of the dust the monster’s blow had raised. “Initiate, get Hithon to Teresh, now!” After giving the orders, Ranatar whirled around, and ducked past the Monster’s leg, striking at it ineffectually as he did. He hoped Hithon had a plan, because he wouldn’t be able to keep dodging the creature for eternity. So, whoever wants to take over the blind initiate relay is welcome to. I'll go play bait for a bit longer. Edited March 6, 2017 by randuir Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecthelion III Posted March 7, 2017 Report Share Posted March 7, 2017 (edited) - “Initiate, get Hithon to Teresh, now!” Ranatar called, then whirled back into battle. This "Initiate" has a name, Ceol thought wryly, finally. He took Hithon by the arm and ran around the monstrous Shardbearer, who was distracted by Ranatar. The monster's weapon hit the ground again, sending up a shower of stone chunks. Ceol's Stormlight quickly closed the wounds. He glanced over at Hithon. He wasn't healing. That was a bad sign. Ceol. "Vis? What is it?" Ceol's voice was clear and unstressed. Ceol, do you hear it? "Hear what?" The voice. "Voice? What voice?" It is calling to you. Calling from the realm of the cognitive. The realm of the dead. Great. Now a dead person wanted to talk to him. That was definitely a bad sign. "Are you sure you aren't hearing things?" he asked Vis. Ceol, this is no time for jokes. Another shower of rocks from the monster's swing emphasized Vis's point. "Well, what's it saying?" Hello Ceol. I speak to you from the other side. Ceol gasped. That's Sareth's voice! But how... Vis is quite an interesting spren. I've had a few conversations with it. Is his voice coming from...Vis? Do not be alarmed. I have one thing left to do before I pass to the Beyond... ...and that is to choose a Truthseeker. Truthseeker... that Shin man always was talking about the Truth or something like that. Ceol. You have found your Truth. Congratulations. But now I call upon you to help others find the Truth within in them and around them. Storms will try to block your way. Lies and temptations and hate and violence, all will rise before you, and it already has. Do you know the book? Find it. Wear the cloak. Each are a symbol of your status, that you have become something more. Think of it as a new facet of your nature, a gem now more beautifully cut. "Sareth! Wait! A book, a cloak, where...? How? A gem beautifully cut? What do you..." The voice merely said, Fear not death. Then, with a sense of finality, it was gone. Edited March 7, 2017 by Ecthelion III accidentally posted before ready 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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