ProfetessaOscura

Corwin (and potentially the others, Janice, Tamao(I'm hoping I remembered the name right), Cadenza, et al.,) raced towards the conflict, stopping at the concrete boardwalk about 100 meters from the coast. He leaned over the metal railing excitedly. "Woah. That guy out there's fast!" he said, a grin across his face from ear to ear. "I wonder if I could slip him up," he mused aloud, "given the chance."

While this was going on, Corwin glanced at his companions. “We can watch and still be safe. C’mon!”

Vespyr watched Cumulo's speed. The flash of his form through the sand created a crystaline network of glass, which quickly rolled and shattered to dust at his passing. Vespyr lowered his head. He couldn't see Cumulo, but he could feel him. He was a ripple of motion, throwing up air and wind. Vespyr could absorb it, but it was nothing compared to the force that Cumulo could summon. Vespyr could match that speed, but not for as long. He'd need to go defensive. Reactive. Use the lightning he'd absorbed to fuel his attacks at just the right instants. As children, he'd seldom won against Cumulo. He needed to build up energy over time, whereas Cumulo could draw upon it practically instantly. Now, though... Who could say what the outcome would be? And Vespyr wasn't fighting alone.

Every single bolt met its mark, striking Vespyr. And every single one was absorbed. Vespyr stood like a star, staring up at Cumulo. "Don't," he said, almost pleading.

Vespyr nodded, then stooped, lightly touching the sand. It rippled beneath his fingers, then rolled, a mound of earth, rushing and arcing towards his opponent.

"You must have fallen out of favor for the Queen to choose to execute you on my blade," Vespyr whispered, his voice carrying unnaturally. "Are you sure you are prepared for death?"

Vespyr bared his teeth. "Do you mean of the old rules? Do you remember the bloody battles to the death of our training, of the mettle of broken bones, grown stronger and stronger with each fracture? Or do you wish to dance light and lithe, ignoring the screams of your friends and yourself, as you've always done?"

“Here to sign up?” Vespyr drawled.

Vespyr was suddenly there, and the lightning bolt was suddenly absent. The sand wasn’t even blackened beneath his feet. Vespyr began to glow with a sharp intensity, tiny shards of static darting from between his ear and skull, nostrils, fingers, toes. “Thank you, brother, for the meal,” he said, an predatory smile crawling over the man’s face.

Vespyr sprinted by them, fast and sure. His bald head overmatted with thousands of trace scars, eyes missing from his skull. Like a ghost, he seemed ageless. He could have been 17 or 70. “Get to safety,” he said, and the air around them echoed the words in a soft vibrato as he raced past.

((Are you guys ready to advance to the assault of the Queen’s island with the “muster forces” stage of events? We can move to travel, at least.))

"Corwin," Corwin mumbled awkwardly.

Corwin frowned. "You all joined up for a fight... and you don't even know what weapons you want to use? I thought you all had some experience with this sort of thing." He sighed. "Let's walk through it. What's your abilities? We should talk it out and get creative with ways you can use a weapon alongside your power. That's what I did when I first got here."

"You know yourself better. How do you fight with your power? Up close or from a distance?"

Corwin glanced at Janice, then at her friend. "Hey, so... Why would you use a sword? I mean. Close combat works for me because of my ability. The further away from those demons, the better it is, right? And if you can work that into your power..."