Zephrun’s Imperium they/he Posted May 13, 2022 Author Posted May 13, 2022 Quote Do you want her to do something, or are you waiting on the witherhunters?
xinoehp512 he/him Posted May 13, 2022 Posted May 13, 2022 Just now, Zephrun's Imperium said: Do you want her to do something, or are you waiting on the witherhunters? Quote Waiting on her. If she's not going to react, Jahr will try to make a run for it.
Zephrun’s Imperium they/he Posted May 13, 2022 Author Posted May 13, 2022 Nyx - the young witch - sank to her knees, body shaking with sobs.
xinoehp512 he/him Posted May 13, 2022 Posted May 13, 2022 Stars! Jahr thought, panic filling him. "Nyx," he said, keeping his voice as calm as he could. "We need to get out of here. I'm going to run to the door. Can you follow me?"
Kvothe the Bloodless he/him Posted May 13, 2022 Posted May 13, 2022 1 hour ago, Channelknight Fadran said: That... there... How many of them are there??? "GET IN POSITION!!!" Ilektchi broke open the clasp across his chest, sending his pack tumbling to the dirt. "Tam, get your men on the rooftops! Don't you dare get caught in the shade! Linus, take command there! Mirtram--" He yanked his foot out the stirrup, then pulled on the torches to snap the cord. "Follow my lead." Ilektchi ran his horse just by a building, stretching out the torches against the cobblestone walls. The metal screeched against the stones, casting sparks out like powder in a fireplace. As his steed cleared the house, Letch leapt off the side, twisting his body to face the ground head-on and pull the torches in. They burst ablaze, like the sunlight's scalding touch. Black spots. There were dozens of them, coming right at Nerevat. What the Mal!, he thought. Doing as the captain did, Nerevat lit his torch, holding it up high and outward, hopefully warding off any withers that came too close. Then, snapping the reins, he sped off to follow Letch, who had suddenly jumped off his horse while turning his body and lighting the torches, all in one motion. Stars!, Nerevat thought, I wish I could do that. Nerevat caught up with Letch, still holding his torch up, warily. "What's next, Captain?"
Zephrun’s Imperium they/he Posted May 13, 2022 Author Posted May 13, 2022 1 minute ago, xinoehp512 said: Stars! Jahr thought, panic filling him. "Nyx," he said, keeping his voice as calm as he could. "We need to get out of here. I'm going to run to the door. Can you follow me?" She nodded absently. She could obey. She got up and followed him.
xinoehp512 he/him Posted May 13, 2022 Posted May 13, 2022 Just now, Zephrun's Imperium said: She nodded absently. She could obey. She got up and followed him. Jahr gritted his teeth and dashed for the door. The withergeists responded to him as he passed- he could feel their chilling touch - but he kept running.
Zephrun’s Imperium they/he Posted May 13, 2022 Author Posted May 13, 2022 Nyx's arm was still bleeding. It hurt like Mal, but she simply gritted her teeth and bore it. She had to survive now. The young woman reached for Jahr's hand to hold.
xinoehp512 he/him Posted May 13, 2022 Posted May 13, 2022 Jahrdor burst out of the door of the inn, looking around wildly for whichever direction contained the least withergeists. "This way," he panted, picking a direction and running.
xinoehp512 he/him Posted May 13, 2022 Posted May 13, 2022 As they fled, the screams of the city faded. Jahrdor came to a stop, panting. "I think... we're safe."
Zephrun’s Imperium they/he Posted May 13, 2022 Author Posted May 13, 2022 "Safe, safe, never safe, never, never." She fell to her knees at Jahr's feet, skirt pooling around her.
xinoehp512 he/him Posted May 13, 2022 Posted May 13, 2022 Jahrdor exhaled. "What... happened back there?" he asked, gesturing vaguely towards her arm. "Why..?"
Zephrun’s Imperium they/he Posted May 13, 2022 Author Posted May 13, 2022 She looked away. Her eyes hurt from crying. “Nyx is a bad girl. Shouldn’t do that, shouldn’t, shouldn’t.”
xinoehp512 he/him Posted May 13, 2022 Posted May 13, 2022 Jahr furrowed his brow. "Well. I have friends, not too far from here. We should be able to get medical attention for you there."
Zephrun’s Imperium they/he Posted May 13, 2022 Author Posted May 13, 2022 She grimaced, but did not protest. “Okay. Okay, okay.” She hummed, a tremor running through her.
xinoehp512 he/him Posted May 13, 2022 Posted May 13, 2022 Jahrdor led her through the fringes of the forest. As they walked, he saw the Hunters coming in the distance. His eyes narrowed, a feeling of cold hatred burning in his gut. Then he turned away and kept walking. Eventually, the pair arrived at a house just far enough away from the road to be out of sight. It looked damaged and run-down, but alive- as if it had been abandoned for many years, but recently inhabited.
Zephrun’s Imperium they/he Posted May 13, 2022 Author Posted May 13, 2022 Nyx held close to Jahr the whole time, wetting his shirt with her blood while she hugged him. “Don’t like this place,” she decided. “Is this home?”
Frustration Posted May 13, 2022 Posted May 13, 2022 1 hour ago, xinoehp512 said: The withergeist hissed in pain and shied back, but two more took its place. Yonath grinned, holding his knife out to ward them off. "You know, I used to wonder why Droit would make a man like me. I'm dangerous, I-I get people hurt." Noticing the withergeists getting too close, Yonath slashed outward, forcing them back. "But then, I discovered you things exist. And I realised, I'm not a monster. I'm the thing that kills them." Cackling with glee Yonath rushed forward, using his knife to ward away attacks, while slowly forcing the withergeists back towards the rest of the team.
Channelknight Fadran Posted May 13, 2022 Posted May 13, 2022 Quote I... coulda sworn I explained how all this worked. Whatevs. Here's a brand-new explanation, now for a limited-time offer of just one rep! Spoiler (Plz don't actually rep. I don't wanna get moderated) Spoiler The Withergeist Hunters prioritize citizen evacuation and property maintenance over anything else. They use the torches to ward the 'geists away from populated areas, pushing them into a more manageable area. From there, they will do their best to contain the withers before using a ritual to banish them (usually they wait to do the ritual until the area is secure, but if there are way too many of them then they might start early to thin down the withers' numbers). Actual combat is rarely required. In the case that a withergeist is stronger than most, then the hunters will use their flash powder as a more volatile light source to ward the creature more effectively. It's pretty dangerous, though, and almost every veteran has a number of burn scars from their tenure to show off. The only time a hunter has to use their physical weapons are if a withergeist manage to find a weak enough candidate to take control of, giving a body to the spirit and its powers. At this point, hooked polearms are used to secure the creature, and smaller blades are used to slice off the Bonded's limbs to limit their abilities. Withergeist bonding grants a variety of effects, which frankly isn't my area of expertise (hi, xino). It's up to the soldiers to come up with how in the world they're supposed to take the Bonded down on the fly, often resulting in extensive damage, crippling injuries, and heavy casualties. For the time being: stick to the torches. Every hunter to go through training knows full well how to use them, though everyone has their own techniques to work with. Bear in mind that Ilektchi is captain for good reason, and all the soldiers here are conditioned to follow his lead unless he's indisposed. Of course, each individual maintains their integrity, but trying things without clearance is a real cheap one-way ticket ot mal. 1 hour ago, Zephrun's Imperium said: Ari smiled up at his father. "Yes, sir," he said dutifully, skipping towards the team he'd been assigned to. He was dwarfed by the men there - at thirteen, he still hadn't hit a man's growth spurt - but it still felt good to be beside them. Quote Father-son relationship... AND child soldiers?? Yay!!!!! 1 hour ago, xinoehp512 said: "What do we do?" Tam called to the commander, holding his torch near to the edge to keep the withergeists grounded as best he could. "What you were trained to do, by blazes!" Ilektchi kicked up gravel, one torch crossed over his chest and the other hanging behind him. No withergeist would be coming out of his shadow today. The street was glowing golden in the sunlight, the same old shade as the clouds and fields this time of day. Against all that, even his torches seemed like little more than a distant star against the moon. Dozens? More? Blast... to think he had nothing more than a bundle of soft-skins to take them out today. His old men would struggle with this. "Keep to your pairs!" Letch ordered. "No man takes a 'geist alone!" He skirted about a shadow, targeting one withergeist. Scraping up gravel and kicking up dust, Ilektchi switched trajectory and ran at it. That shadow was mostly alone, so it couldn't very well go anywhere: trapping it between him and the new kid would work plenty.
xinoehp512 he/him Posted May 13, 2022 Posted May 13, 2022 (edited) 8 hours ago, Channelknight Fadran said: I... coulda sworn I explained how all this worked. Quote You did, Rep is just panicking cause it's his first time actually fighting. 8 hours ago, Channelknight Fadran said: "What you were trained to do, by blazes!" Ilektchi kicked up gravel, one torch crossed over his chest and the other hanging behind him. No withergeist would be coming out of his shadow today. The street was glowing golden in the sunlight, the same old shade as the clouds and fields this time of day. Against all that, even his torches seemed like little more than a distant star against the moon. Dozens? More? Blast... to think he had nothing more than a bundle of soft-skins to take them out today. His old men would struggle with this. "Keep to your pairs!" Letch ordered. "No man takes a 'geist alone!" He skirted about a shadow, targeting one withergeist. Scraping up gravel and kicking up dust, Ilektchi switched trajectory and ran at it. That shadow was mostly alone, so it couldn't very well go anywhere: trapping it between him and the new kid would work plenty. "Right," replied Tam, chagrined. He'd trained for this. True, he'd never attempted to banish a withergeist while balancing on the roof, but no one had ever said this would be easy. "Cover me," he called to Murk (@Experience) , and began banishing. Quote Do you have any conceptions for the ritual? Should I make something up? @Channelknight Fadran 9 hours ago, Zephrun's Imperium said: Nyx held close to Jahr the whole time, wetting his shirt with her blood while she hugged him. “Don’t like this place,” she decided. “Is this home?” "For now," Jahr replied, opening the door. They stepped through. The room was warm, lit by a fireplace above which a small painting hung. A table stood in the center of the room, so riddled with books and papers that almost none of its surface could be seen. A woman was sitting at the table, reading from a book. She looked up as Jahr entered, her eyes brightening as she saw his face- then widening when she saw the blood. "I'm fine, I'm fine," Jahr said reassuredly as she hurried over. "It's not mine. Here- she's hurt." The woman pulled bandages out of a pocket and began tending to Nyx's wounds. She smiled gently. "Welcome, Nyx. It's nice to see you again." Edited May 13, 2022 by xinoehp512
Zephrun’s Imperium they/he Posted May 13, 2022 Author Posted May 13, 2022 Nyx shied away from the woman, staying behind Jahr. “A-again?” she asked. She looked at the bandages as warily as if they were knives.
xinoehp512 he/him Posted May 13, 2022 Posted May 13, 2022 18 minutes ago, Zephrun's Imperium said: Nyx shied away from the woman, staying behind Jahr. “A-again?” she asked. She looked at the bandages as warily as if they were knives. "Don't worry, she won't bite," Jahr said drily, moving to sit down. "I took care of you, many years ago. When you were a child," the woman said.
Zephrun’s Imperium they/he Posted May 13, 2022 Author Posted May 13, 2022 Quote Oooo could this woman be the first Raveness? Nyx hummed nervously. “What-what are you called?”
xinoehp512 he/him Posted May 13, 2022 Posted May 13, 2022 13 minutes ago, Zephrun's Imperium said: Nyx hummed nervously. “What-what are you called?” "My name is Rose," said the woman, finishing bandaging Nyx up. Quote Uh, maybe? I'm not exactly sure what that entails.
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