Seven Day War for AlleyCity

[Archer he/him]

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*puts on mini-mod hat*

I got five notifications about this, so here’s my thoughts. None of this is meant to be mean spirited, my goal is to make sure my expectations are clear. 

Firstly, thanks Kidpen for that post back there. What I’ve got to say is in a similar vein. 

AxeliustheGreat’s Godmodding:

6 hours ago, AxeliustheGreat said:

Tena had followed Mace (the most fun things always happened in his wake). She was out of the way of the flying chunks-o-stuff that Mace was Pulling towards himself, and was also Pushing with her powers in order to send stuff flying Naermen's way. She was pretty sure that she and Mace were fighting him, though it was difficult to tell what with all the chaos going on around her.

When the storm of Pushed and Pulled metal subsided, Tena formed her spren into a Shardstaff in her hand and knocked Naermen over the head with it. He collapsed, unconscious. "Well, that was easier than I though it would be," Tena said aloud, partially to Mace, who she was sure would be mad at her for some reason. She crouched next to Naermen and checked her for Metalminds, removing those she found. And she wasn't stupid, Naermen may have stuff inside of him, so she Compounded steel and Pushed anything Naermen had out of her via her mouth. Well, her foe couldn't use Allomancy or Feruchemy now, even if she woke up. 

This post was poor form. When you write another character's reaction, that's called godmodding. People are invested in their characters. They work hard to create and develop them. You don't know what they have in mind for their character. Only their creator can properly write a reaction. It is proper form to give people the opportunity to do so. For example, I have publicly said that I intend to kill off Mace in the 1000th post, but you don't know how I intend to do it. To deprive me of the opportunity of detailing his death (and using the writeup I have prepared) is annoying. It's also against the rules. 

So that you fully understand this concept, I would like you to read Voidus' Guide to the Alleyverse, @AxeliustheGreat. It should help you understand that the parts I bolded in the above post were godmodding. 

A better post would have been to describe reasonable actions given your characters capabilities and position, then given Gancho Libre a chance to react. Say, 'hoping to remove his metalminds, Tena reached out their arm.' Gancho Libre would likely get the hint, and respond saying that he felt you steal some of his metalminds, or, knowing his character better than anyone, respond in another reasonable way that fits Naermen's character. 

You are fortunate Gancho Libre was so easy-going about all this. You still owe him an apology though. He's totally within his rights to react the way he has.

Note to everyone else: This situation seems to have sorted itself out. It doesn't look like I need to retract anything (posts etc.), but if you feel differently, give me a shout in the PM. 

EDIT: Lets not redo anything, because that would be complicated and confusing, unless there's a good reason. Gnacho Libre is the one who had the most reason to want one, and he declined the offer, so lets roll with this. 

EDIT 2: In response to this comment 'And did Gancho discuss killing Mace with Archer? 'Cause if so, I missed it.' No he didn't. But he didn't do anything wrong. He was attacking, I was defending/counter attacking. That's how the war works. He didn't do anything beyond his character's capabilities. And the final call about if Mace died was still mine to make. Besides, Mace can take a few hits.

The Nature of the Alleyverse:

To quote the pinned post The Alleyverse Explained, 'The Alleyverse is a fictional alternate universe in which all Brandon’s magic systems exist together, as well as all of the locations he has written about.' Some of his characters exist in it as well. 

This applies to everything he has written, including cosmere (SA, Mistborn etc.), other published works (Reckoners, Alcatraz, Wheel of Time etc.), and publicly available non-published works (Aether of Night etc.). This does not include non-publicly available unpublished works (like Death by Pizza), or works by other authors (exceptions have been made because they're fun, but usually we create equivalents that would fit in a Sanderson book if we want to include something from another author).

The Phoenix:

The Alleyverse is an interesting RP because the DA and Newcago Court worldbuilding predates the imposing of limitations on character power. As such, they are perfectly within their rights to use any worldbuilding, character creation etc. that they have. Sometimes this stuff will be crazy powerful. That's just something you have to live with. They're all great sports, and don't abuse this quirk, but we've forced their hand. They gave plenty of warning how they would react if we attacked. We're technically going after the heart of six years of work, so it's understandable how they've fought back. 

So if you're looking for quantifiable success, prepare to be disappointed. Voidus has stated his reason for making the Phoenix, it's his call what he does with it. I get that it's a tempting target, and understand the urge to kill it, but I want to make it clear that no matter what you do, somethings are unchangeable/beatable. We'll see if this applies to the Phoenix. 

There's plenty of other spiked fish in the sea to fight. The city is crawling with NPCs. No one minds if you kill those. 

*takes off mini-mod hat*

Mace stumbled away. Everything hurt. He stepped over shards of amberite, running away from the bodies. He saw Tena poking at the fallen- his head swam, and he blacked out for a moment.

What's going on? Why, death? Death? Cookies. 

He tapped a reserve of speed, and ran away. He wanted to be alone. He headed for an alley, not caring where it went. When he got out on the other side of it, he found himself on a ledge, overlooking a street of bodies being picked at by strange metallic crows. Not caring what they were, he threw up a coppercloud and hoped they'd leave him alone. He needed time to think.  

Edited August 14, 2018 by Archer

[Gancho Libre he/him]

The two beings, the mist, and Naermen, had molded into one. When Naermen left, she left a piece of her behind.

Naermen was dead. But the mist won.

Her body lay there, peaceful in the scene of war. Calm, strangely calm, much like the other faces of death around her.

A figure, alone, darted forward from seemingly nowhere, crouching next to Naermen's body. The figure, stuck with dozens of spikes, began to cry.

Then, he gasped as the body began to heal.

And, deep in Nei'an's mind, he heard a dark voice laughing.

 

Edited August 14, 2018 by Gancho Libre

[Life&Death]

42 minutes ago, Archer said:

I get that it's a tempting target, and understand the urge to kill it, but I want to make it clear that no matter what you do, somethings are unchangeable/beatable. We'll see if this applies to the Phoenix. 

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I asked Voidus if I could attempt to kill it and he said yes. So we’ll see how it reacts to my explosion.

 

[I think I am here. he/him]

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@Archer, better speech than I could make. But seriously, how had no one upvoted this yet? Great post, Archer.

Also, agreed with everything else. Take it from me, I used to godmod quite a lot (looking at when I tried to asssassinate Mace in particular). Hopefully I’ve improved. But yeah, back to the original point. No godmodding. Luckily Archer’s cleated it all up.

 

Edited August 14, 2018 by I think I am here.
This message was brought to you by UNITY

[Grey Knight]

5 hours ago, Ark1002 said:

"Ha. A few puny worlds? You have NO idea who I was before this form. I have been reborn with spikes 17 times. The reason the cosmere is a center of investiture in the universe? I drained the souls of millions of galaxies. This power formed here. I call myself Titan because that is what I was. I was the mad titan. I was a god of death. My first name? My fist ever name? It was Decay. Now, lets kill. Kill like we've never killed before." He used division to destroy the flesh off the creatures before him, dropping only bones and spikes. The amount of spikes he would have when he was done.... the blessing spikes alone could create Kandra for 20 generations...

"I hope you'll forgive me for doubting your story," Augusta shouted, watching from a distance as Titan burned his way through a horde of abominations. "I just find it unlikely that-" 

She cut off, tilting her head to the side, listening to an unseen voice. Her fingers tightened imperceptibly on the blood-stained hilt of her power mace as it went on.

"Mutant!" she finally yelled, turning to Titan. "We need to get back to the Canton- now. And you," she said, motioning towards KoTiel, "bring your heretic monk friends there as well. Warmaster Drako just called for a general evacuation of the city."

[+Ark1002]

"MUTANT? I'm no mutant. I am Titan." He ran to her. "Let's go."

[BitBitio he/him]

The Beyond was getting crowded.

Rhazien, Nei'an, Leya, Kalmar, Voidus's Rock, Rohan, Rashan, Shelan, Soul, Hellbent, Brother Daniel, Mac the Unbiased, Mack and whoever else had died sat on a bench, chatting. 

"So who do you think is going to come next?" Asked Rohan.

Edited August 15, 2018 by BitBitio

[+Ark1002]

"Well, I'd guess Mace," Hellbent said. "He is supposed to die at a thousand, and it's 999. <deleted, would break minds of not dead readers>, so he should be dead soon."

[BitBitio he/him]

"But maybe Naermen and Soul haven't technically arrived yet, so it will be them. Maybe."

[Kidpen he/him]

"I'm thinking Nei'an. I never liked him," said Kalmar. Then he looked over and noticed Nei'an. "An, nevermind."

[BitBitio he/him]

Shelan tried to pick up the Rock and play catch with Kalmar.

[Life&Death]

“When Yzabet arrives, I expect the cookie dough I was promised.” Soul said, playing with a knife.

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You didn’t expect Soul’s habits to change just because he’s dead did you?

 

[+Ark1002]

"Anyone want to fight? We could have a duel in the beyond. Bet no one's ever done that."

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It wouldn't be official alleyverse, just for fun. Especially because Hellbent might come back as a cognitive shadow.

 

Edited August 15, 2018 by Ark1002

[Voidus]

She chased the creature up, up, finally breaching the over the top of the storm as it continued to ravage the city below. Finally the Phoenix stopped, waiting patiently in the air as its quarry slowed and turned towards her.

She had worried that this foe would simply attempt to flee, but it seemed she had resolved herself for this fight. The Phoenix gave her a final moment, as with the other.

They floated for one endless moment, a pocket of calm and quiet above a city torn apart by violence, savagery and the fury of the storm.

Suddenly, the creature firmed its gaze, clenched its muscle and pulled something from the shield it carried. It began to glow white, the Phoenix recognized in an instant the signs of a rapid drawing of heat.

In an instant the blast enveloped her, burning her feathers away before beginning to char her skin. At the same instant her healing kicked in. Forty of her seventy five spikes included some means of healing, she used all of them to keep this blast at bay. Her skin healed a fresh layer under every layer that was charred by the blast, her feathers regrew as fast as they burned.

But her spikes were not a biological entity, they were a part of her but they had no means of healing themselves so accelerating the rate that the rest of her healed did nothing to prevent them from melting under the heat radiating over her.

But she was no stranger to heat, she was the one who controlled fire, who weaponized this force of nature. She reversed her usual flow from her metalminds, storing instead of tapping. She felt her body begin to cool, sucking the heat in from the surrounding air and the metal that still resided within her. She filled, filled and filled, replacing much of what she had already lost that day. Finally the heat began to subside, she slowed her storing, keeping pace with the heat as it diminished.

The light faded, the creature no longer visible.

Breathing heavily, she held herself in place for 10 more wingbeats, watching the ash fall to the ground, waiting for her body to finish regenerating. Several of her spikes had been evaporated in the instant before she could start storing, but she still had enough to continue.

She looked down, towards the city, then back towards the ash falling from the sky. This one was not the hated one, but its goal had been clear, it drew her up, away from the rest of the city. They had sacrificed themselves, but they still tried to save others, and they had only resorted to death as a last resort. They had put life before death, journey before destination.

These words are accepted. She thought towards the last few pieces of ash that fell.

With tired, lopsided wingbeats, she flew her way back to her nest. Enough of this death. She had life that she needed to protect as well.

[I Am Witless she/her]

42 minutes ago, Life&Death said:

“When Yzabet arrives, I expect the cookie dough I was promised.” Soul said, playing with a knife.

 

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Not happening soon, buddy. I'm sorry. He'll have to wait for a LONG time.

Yzabet watched a streak of light above the city explode, decimating everything around it. The city caught on fire even more.

[I think I am here. he/him]

1 hour ago, Ark1002 said:

"Anyone want to fight? We could have a duel in the beyond. Bet no one's ever done that."

 

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 I would do that but the way I set up Rashan is that when he died he went straight to the Beyond, so no fight from me.

 

[Archer he/him]

A rooftop overlooking an alleyway, during the Seven Day War.

Mace sat on the edge of a roof, idly swinging his legs as they hung over the side. He was systematically working his way along his ears, pulling off every metalmind he could find, then putting them in his mouth. As he snacked, he felt a gentle nudge on his leg.

Mace tilted his head, and was pleasantly surprised to find a medium sized Labrador retriever standing beside him. “How’d you get up here, little guy?” he asked as he reached out his arm to scratch the dogs head. The dog responded by nuzzling up to him, and looking at him with its soulful brown eyes.

“You know, I’ve always wanted a dog. Or any animal really. The idea of keeping a pet was always one that appealed to me,” Mace said. The dog listened attentively. “I had a monkey once. It didn’t work out. And with all the travelling I do, well, it would have ended badly. Maybe in another life.”

The dog began to lick Mace’s fingers, causing him to accidentally drop a coppermind off of the edge. Mace closed his eyes and counted the seconds before it hit the ground. He got to three before he heard it hit the cobblestones below. “Now what’d you make me do that for?” Mace complained playfully, giving the dog a light poke with his elbow. The dog whined, and rolled onto its back. Mace absentmindedly scratched it as he watched the movement in the street below. The fallen metal had disturbed some of the abominations that had been feeding there. The dog whined again, making Mace turn to look at it. It was then that he noticed the bronze spike imbedded in the dog’s heart.

*****

Another time, another place.

The old man rocked in his chair, watching the dancing flames of the hearth. Its light illuminated the otherwise darkened room, casting playful shadows on the floorboards. The man smiled as his nephew crawled about nearby, riding an imaginary horse. After a few minutes, the boy lost interest in the game and made his way to sit at the old man’s feet.

“Is it story time yet, Uncle?” asked the boy.

The old man smiled. “Alright, little one. I suppose we’ve got time for one short story before your mother arrives.” He closed his eyes in concentration. “What will it be tonight? Jak and his magic gun? The fearsome Mac, Unbiased Extraordinaire? Mace Klaston and the army of kolossals?”

“That one! That one!” the boy squealed. “Tell me about Mace! Is it true he held the power of the gods?”

“It’s true. The man was a fullborn, but not by birth. Capable of both Allomancy and Feruchemy…”  

*****

Mace smashed his fist into the head of a copper crow. As it fell, another raked its claws along his arm. He thought he saw a spike in its foot. Disgusted, he shook it off in time to snatch the one that was trying to dive bomb him out of the air. He threw it aside, then threw up his fists to box at the dozens more that were surrounding him.

As one bit into his leg, he formed an amberite sword to impale it. When three more took its place, he compounded gold and brass to burn them. Then he stabbed them too for good measure. A bold crow suddenly clawed at his face. Mace compounded chronium, dodging to the side to make the bird crash into another of its kind, sending them both over the edge of the roof in a death spiral. Mace Pulled at the nails in the roof, smashed at the crows with pewter enhanced kicks, tried to Soothe their emotions, punched, ducked, spun, smashed- and then it was over. Mace slowly lowered his fists. A murder of copper crows lay dead at his feet.

“You weren’t much help,” he said as he caught his breath. When no reply came, he looked at the spot where the dog had been before the ambush. But the roof was empty, save for himself and the slain birds.

*****

“It was at that very moment that Mace heard a noise. A deep, guttural moan, coming from the shadows on the rooftop beside him. He looked for the source of the noise, and do you know what he found?”

The boy bounced up and down with excitement. “I know! It was a kolossal! Like from the title of the story!”

The old man reached his hand out and tousled his nephew’s curly locks of hair. “That’s right. But it wasn’t just one kolossal. It was a whole gang of them. Everywhere Mace looked, there was a Kolossal crawling along a rooftop towards him. Nasty looking brutes, they were. Five meters tall, with loose grey skin and bulging muscles. They were covered in spikes. Spikes that gave them unspeakable powers.”

“What powers did they have, Uncle Kay?”

“The unspeakable kind, kid. Now quit interrupting, I’m trying to tell a story.” The old man muttered under his breath, then continued. “The kolossals were six meters tall and had glowing red eyes. The eyes are what gave them away. Dozens of red dots, floating in the shadows, inching closer and closer. Mace knew what they were, of course. His magical copperminds gave him memories of the beasts. As he stood on the edge of that roof, he studied them. His eyes flickered from side to side, sizing up his enemy, looking for their weak spots.”

The old man was getting excited now, he was waving his arms about to demonstrate the motions as he described them. “The weak point on a kolossal is their brains. If you rip their brains out, they can’t fight no more. So that’s what Mace did…”

*****

Mace ducked the kolossal’s swing. While its arm was still outstretched, he stepped forward and punched it in the ribs. He heard the distinct crack of a bone breaking. Moving with unnatural speed, he then jumped to the side, forcing one of the monsters to slam its fist into a chimney. There was three of them attacking at the moment, and Mace could see two more climbing up the side of the building to join them. That’s no good, he thought.

With a Push, Mace jumped into the air. He did a backflip, landing with his feet on the shoulders of one of his foes. He lithely reached his hand down over its face, inserted his fingers into the kolossal’s nostrils, then yanked upwards. As it tilted its head backwards, Mace quintupled his weight, smashing them both down onto the roof. He Pulled a sheet of metal that had been used to patch a hole in the roof towards him, into the back of one of the Kolossals, causing it to trip over the one lying down, sending it tumbling over the edge. It bumped into one of the ones that had been climbing upwards, forcing them both to fall onto the cobblestones. Three down, he thought as he began to pummel the remaining beasts as they tried to grab at him.

*****

“When he was done, the roof was slick with blood and gore. He had to anchor himself with an ironpull to keep from slipping. As the sun set behind him, he stood defiantly on his perch. A black silhouette on a bright red backdrop. No abomination could touch him. No spiked beast could wound him. And nothing would stop him from achieving his goal.”

The boy looked confused. “Uncle, what was his goal?”

“I’m not sure,” responded the man. He paused to think, the dying fire casting a glow on his hands while his face remained in shadow. “I think he was there to protect his friends. Even if his friends made bad decisions. Mace was very loyal. Like a dog.”

“What ever happened to the dog? The one on the rooftop?”

“I was just getting to that. Patience, my boy.” The old man hummed a few notes to himself, as if trying to remember an old tune. Then he began to speak, his words fading into a rhythm, filling the dark room with their mysteries. “As the shadows of the night cloaked the city, Mace happened to take one final look at the alley below. His eyes widened in shock. As he was enthralled, the darkness called. Hungry for life, though it was rife.”

*****

The last rays of sunlight shone upon a sea of seekradors. Hundreds of dogs, prowling the alley below. They blended together in the darkness, making it appear as if the alley was alive. They moved in a rhythm, pulsing like the waves of the ocean.

At the front of the pack sat a medium-sized Labrador retriever, licking its paws. It looked up at him, watching him with its attentive brown eyes. There was no emotion in them, just a cold form of intelligence.

Behind Mace, a fallen Kolossal shifted. Its arms began to twitch. It would reawaken soon. More Kolossals were approaching, he could see them in the distance, clambering from rooftop to rooftop to get to him. There was no escape.

Mace didn’t realize that he had been pacing until he stubbed his toe. As he instinctively healed it with gold, he crouched down to inspect what he’d bumped into. It was a koloss spike, one that he’d ripped from a kolossal during the fight. The light seemed to shy away from it, shrouding the dark metal in shadow. I could use it. Spike myself, become a full koloss. I could finally become the fighter they wanted me to be. A fullborn koloss. Unrelenting. Untameable. Unstoppable.

As the kolossal behind him got to its feet, Mace twirled the spike in his hands. Just a little prick, and it’s done.

*****

The fire was dead. All that was left was the embers.

“But Mace stayed true, to all that he knew.

He refused the boon, took the bane too soon.”

*****

The kolossal approached with lumbering footsteps. Mace didn’t move. “We’re all doing it, you know. Some of us are just more aware of it than others. But you can’t stop it. One day, he’ll come for you.”

He clenched the spike in his fist. “I’ve met him. Right ugly fellow. He’s got a skull for a face. What’s up with that? Anyway, everybody gets taken eventually. Even the gods get forgotten in the end. Where do they go, I wonder?”

The kolossal took a swipe at him. Mace causally caught its hand, then flipped the beast on its back with a flick of his wrist. “I am not a good man. But if mankind is good at one thing, it’s forgetting the important stuff. I’ll probably get a statue just for being here. They’ll forget why I was here, or how many people died so I could get to this rooftop. There was a gun, in the dark. I was angry, I remember that. She had died, and I had failed. I killed the little guy. Fancy that.” The kolossal had worked up the courage to try again, so Mace began to weave around it, dancing around the confused monster with magical dexterity.

“I’m the luckiest man alive. They accepted me, despite my flaws.” Mace rolled to avoid a kick, then got to his feet. His heels touched the edge of the roof as he stood, fists raised.

“Better yet, I made it to the end without losing my soul. And I’m not about to lose it now.” He threw the spike into the crowd of Labrador retrievers below. They began to bark excitedly.

“If I’m going to die, I’ll die as me. I like me. None of this messing around half-dead stuff. I'm going straight to the Beyond when I die.”

Mace raised his arms above his head, in the reverse dive position. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he was ready, he took one last look at the kolossal.

“I always thought that I wanted to die in good company. Surrounded by friends and family, you know? But now that I’m faced with the prospect of dying here, lost in an alley, surrounded by monsters, I’m having second thoughts. Seems like having other people there just leaves you less time for yourself.”

He moved his feet back, so that only his toes were still touching the edge of the roof.

“Goodbye, mate. It’s been fun.”

*****

“So into, he fell,

the eternal well.

Away from home,

Utterly alone.”

*****

The Labrador retriever watched as the body fell. One, two, three seconds passed before it hit the ground. By the fourth second, the sea of seekradors had descended upon it. They loved koloss blood, even if it was impure. They ripped him to shreds, tearing off pieces of meat, then fighting over them. It was a feeding frenzy. The broke open the bones to suck out the marrow. They lapped up the fluids. They even ate some of the metal.

An hour later, the dogs began to leave. They trotted away in small packs, headed to find food elsewhere.

Within two hours, the alley was empty, save for a single Labrador retriever. It hadn’t moved during the frenzy. It just sat there, licking its paws, remembering.

 *****

“He died?” exclaimed the boy.

“So the legends say. There wasn’t even any body left to bury.”

The boy’s lip began to tremble. The old man quickly put his arm around him, then whispered in his ear, “But he’s not dead. Not really. So long as he’s still remembered, the idea of the great Mace Klaston will live on forever.”

The boy thought about that. Long and hard, pondering the secrets of death. As he thought, he slowly drifted off to sleep. The old man held him in his arms, gently rocking back and forth.

“Dream, my boy. And remember.”

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TL;DR This post had no impact on the plot, other than being the last time this thread will see Mace Klasten. He's earned his spot in the Beyond, he's not the type to want to hang around anyway.

 

Edited August 15, 2018 by Archer
REMEMBER.

[I think I am here. he/him]

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Great ending to a great character, even if Rashan didn’t assassinate him.

 

[Voidus]

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It was maybe not a big coincidence that this pack was led by the same type of Hemalurgic creature that Voidus got to follow Mace away from the bar. 

 

[kenod]

"They aren't my monks," KoTiel answered. "Harmony, I don't even like them. The things they do in that monastery of them." KoTiel shuddered. "Still, I'll see what I can do."
"Tia," they called, and a seon came flying towards them. "Call the Gragdet for me, please." They asked. The seon changed into the face of the Gragdet. "How did you get a seon," he asked, angrily. "That's not important, Gragdet," They answered. "You won't be seeing me again anyway. I called to tell that the Black Crusade was calling for a general evacuation of the city. It's up to you what you do with that information." KoTiel broke the connection.
"That's all I can do," they said to the marine, and followed her.

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I thought all space marines were male?

 

[Grey Knight]

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In canon 40k? Yes.

In Alleyverse 40k? That restriction can go to heck, for all I care. Always seemed arbitrary to me.

"Squad Rann!" Augusta yelled as she ran back towards the Canton. "Make sure the refugee camps are empty! Pick up any stragglers you find!"

The yellow-helmed sergeant nodded, and the battle squad of space marines abandoned the barricade, disappearing behind the corner.

Lightning flashed, and rain began pouring down from the clouds as the group reached the outside walls of the Canton.

[Cyanic he/him]

A shape coated in an orange flame flew broke through the dark sky and landed like a meteor right in the middle of a few abominations. The arrival sending shockwaves and flesh in a shower of blood and guts, some singed and some just plain dismembered.

The figure stood up, clad in a thick coating of steel, like a chunk of metal imitating the form of a man. The figure stood tall and the carapace of steel started to crack and fall, flaking away like dead skin, falling in chunks on the ground and quickly disintegrating. A man in a dark longcoat and light undershirt with leather pants emerged. "Huh. Could've sworn I was flying into a city and not a circus." Derek remarked, looking around at the assortment of freaks around him.

A pause.

"So we gonna fight?"

The abominations started walking near, "Right, there we go."

Above him a group of crows began coalescing and charged him, he saw them and breathed a huge plume of flame at the birds, incinerating the lot of them. The more fortunate ones only suffocated and fell to the ground, singed and still smoking. "C'mon, give me somethin' bigger."

Some giant humanoids stepped up to meet his challenge, only to be pushed aside by an even bigger giant with four arms. "Haha, that's more like it!" In an instant, Derek coated all of himself in thick steel and flew like a bullet through the giant's chest, leaving a gaping hole, the hole started regrowing, so Derek flew even faster through the beast's skull, where his brain would be which almost exploded its head completely, only the jaw and some skull fragments remained. The next moment, he was 'skidding' in the air, and shot straight through the two smaller, but still large, monsters, also completely eradicating their heads without so much as a resistance.

The layers of armor flaked off again as he stayed in the air, though a thinner carapace remained on him. He felt some heat on his side, and saw a thin looking man that had steam emitting off his skin. The man threw a rock at him and the rock turned into fire, doing absolutely nothing to him or his carapace. "You call that fire?!" He asked and laughed, a long, deep, hammy laugh. He sobered, but his smile turned into a smirk. "Lemme show you how a dragon breathes." He concluded.

Breathing in, he blew air out of his mouth, which suddenly turned into a lance of blue-white death straight at the thin man. In an instant, the man was coated in the beam. When Derek stopped, all that remained of the man was his shin and feet, which seemed to be melting.

Derek felt a strong force at his side, where the steel on him was, looking down he saw a grey humanoid, hands out. Now this, this was a challenge. He could feel himself get pushed back even as he was floating, but it wasn't enough, so he added a much more layers of steel on himself, allowing creature more ammunition against him. Unexpectedly, the instantaneous addition of steel actually knocked the creature back instead of helping it. Knocking it onto the ground, and skidding. "Oof, that's kinda disappointing."

Derek landed, shedding the extra layer of steel, but remaining the armor by his body. The grey humanoid stood back up and it seemed to eat some amounts of things. Derek waited for it, seeing what it would do. The humanoid finished and pushed against him with force again.

This time, it was much stronger.

Finally. He thought, the force was indeed strong, but nothing he couldn't handle, he grew additional layers of steel in front of him and stabilized himself with some of his flight, using it instead as a counter-force so that he was standing still. He increased the force of his propulsion and stepped forward, the humanoid's feet digging into the pavement of the city, it was visibly struggling as Derek kept stepping forward, slowly, propulsion force still consistent.

Derek felt the force on him suddenly stop, the amount of propulsion behind him threatened to launch him forward, though luckily he managed to turn it off quickly. He walked up to the creature, currently on the ground. "Good fight." He stated and put his arm above the creature's head and instantly encased his arm in a few tons of steel, dropping it onto the creature and crushing its head.

He shed his gauntlet and armored himself again, flying high, looking for more creatures to fight.

Derek slew some hundred more abominations in a few minutes afterward.

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yes, the Strikeshot burnt out all its metal trying to push against Derek

I wanted to write Derek like a High Epic since he's supposedly mastered his powers at 13 and is currently 27 and is apparently too strong for the Fractured States

PS Derek is by BitBitio from the pre-made characters list

Edited August 15, 2018 by Cyanic

[BitBitio he/him]

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Derek is fun. I think his epic name is cool. Dragon Blood.

He seems fun to write.

 

[+Ark1002]

Titan reached the walls of the canton, and made a hole in the wall with division. "Everyone in! Now that the phoenix is gone, the abominations can attack without being hit by fire, and the storm has left as well. They can attack without barriers!" Titan felt something strange. The storm had left, and was currently near Newcago Court. But he could feel a strage ripping sensation, something new being unveiled. Interesting. This could be useful. Very useful.

[Gancho Libre he/him]

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I would like to thank everyone for their help.

The thing about inhabiting a soul is that you need a soul to inhabit.

But the mist was weakened; it could not take control of a body. It shared a body. 

It was terrible. It longed for the chance to act on its own.

It could only inhabit one with a gemstone inside them. Nei'an and Naermen had been easy candidates.

But Nei'an had died. He had died far before the process was done.

So the mist had guided Naermen into a position where it could easily inhabit Naermen; being, the Nightwatcher's oasis.

And the possession of Naermen's body had begun.

They embarked on a journey that bonded the two, like spren and Radiant, which allowed Naermen to access its power.

A step Nei'an had never taken.

So when Nei'an died, his soul left, abandoning his body and the mist.

The mist could not possess bodied on its own. It could only share bodies with souls.

But if it could find a way to share a body with a soul so weak, it could act on its own regardless...

=======

Nei'an gasped. The body fully healed, and Naermen lay, perfected, on the ground before him, unmoving.

Then her hand shot up and grasped Nei'an's throat.

"Hello, Nei'an," a strange voice toned. It was not Naermen's voice. "I apologize that Naermen would not be able to return. She gone, I mean to say. And I have won,"

Nei'an tried to wrestle free from the grasp, but the hold was too strong. 

"You were worthless, Nei'an," said... whoever was inside of Naermen. "I wanted your body,"

Nei'an didn't see it until Naermen's eyes glowed beige. "You..." he managed.

"Yes. It is I, your Master, It who took you out of the Cognitive Realm..." Naermen's eyes narrowed. "And It who will send you back,"

The grasp tightened.

"Could you..." Nei'an wheezed, "Loosen your grip?"

"No," Naermen said simply. Then, a blue glow of Stormlight wreathed Nei'an's neck, and Naermen let go. The squeezing sensation didn't fall away but instead grew tighter.

"I share only a fraction of Naermen's restraints, and a fraction of her gifts, and the same with you. But I am bound by no one, Goodbye, Nei'an. Tell those in the cognitive Realm that a new ruler has arisen. I am... G. Libre,"

And Nei'an closed his eyes, hearing his neck cave in on itself, and opened them to find the Cognitive Realm before him. He sat with the other dead souls and began conversing with them as if he had never been brought back.

But he couldn't let the rising terror show on his face.

He was dead, after all.