Divine Inheritance: Chaos

Merrick was angry with himself as he was near powerless to stop Roxanne grabbing her scythe as violently as she had. He was angry that he wasn’t able to aid his sister in her battle; however he was pleased to see that Roxanne seemed to be fairing worse. Picking himself up off the ground Merrick was surrounded by a pool of blood. Jaxx was bleeding profusely and he worried that if she didn’t die from the injury she would certainly die from blood loss. He tore his shirt and grabbed the cleanest piece and held it to Jaxx’s wound. It wouldn’t stop the bleeding but he hoped that it would help to stem it enough until the wound could be tended to properly.

Tess was impressed that Roxanne was still standing let alone able to fight. The wounds inflicted would have killed most beings in a matter of moments. She was sure her nose was broken from the kick. Tess focused her energy and could feel her nose straightening. There was a slight green light and the pain had quickly faded. Tess smiled to herself at Roxanne’s comment. “I like this” She thought to herself. Tess watched as Roxanne pulled her weapon from Jaxx’s shoulder. She smiled again, little did Roxanne know that by causing as much damage as she had to the young woman her fear and panic increased, which in turn boosted Tess’s abilities. She wiped her nose with the back of her hand and it came away with her own silver blood. Tess looked at her own silver blood and her dagger where Roxanne’s black blood still dripped from the blade.

“Let’s end this you filthy diluted mutt”

With her abilities further enhanced Tess was able to sidestep Roxanne’s attack. She brought her dagger up and with her enhanced strength and Roxanne’s own momentum she hit her target. The blade went through cleanly and Tess was sure she’d hit her large intestine as well as her kidney, and possibly more.

 

It was a mighty blow, a shock wave was sent out from the clashing of blades. The trees shuddered greatly, rocks, dirt, and vegetation exploded outwards from the center of the blast. The blast even pushed back Lilith and Oryx, both sliding on their feet trying to keep balance. Oryx though let his footing slip and he went rolling hard against the ground, getting pushed a greater distance from the blast than Lilith. He slowly rolled up to his knees, then used his sword to push himself up while taking off his helmet. Oryx's face was a mixture of dirt and red blood all over it, but that didn't stop him from giving a large sly grin. "Well Missy looks like you got me, I know when to throw the towel in!" He said smearing the blood all around with his hand in an failed attempt to wipe it away. "I'm going to head to the creek to get some of this blood off, I think gladiator over there will probably have some critique about our fight for ya." He said as he sheathed his sword and carried his helmet under his right arm.

Twas a marvelous battle, but no battle lasts forever and sadly theirs had to end sooner than he expected. They weren't out here to kill each other after all, or at least he hoped he hadn't angered the giant girl that much. Looking around the area they were fighting it, the damage was more than he expected. It looked as if someone had lit several barrels of black powder. He moved over towards Kable and gave him a slap on the back. "Next time its your turn lassie! Now how about you and me head down to the river to allow master and pupil some chit chatting time eh?"

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Ilda took the punch to the head, but tilted into it, letting his knuckles crack against her skull and less of the side of her face. It hurt regardless, but a strong punch to the face was always dangerous in a fight. She quickly created space between them by creating a wall of frozen ice and moving backwards. "I think this is merely the beginning General. Let me ask you, have you ever heard of a Valkyrie? Well instead of carrying defeated warriors to the afterlife, I steal what energy their spirits have left..." Earlier the fighting between them had slain some of Lucius' men, concentrating she reached out with her hand to the various bodies scattered about, purple energy waves flowed to their bodies piercing into them and pulling out the warriors white translucent spirits and sucking them towards Ilda. She felt her body be rejuvenated and felt stronger than before. "Till we meet again my sweet soldier boy..." She blew him a kiss as her body became a whirlwind of snow along with her warriors, then a mighty gust of freezing air blew it into the cloudy sky and off towards the top of the mountain. The clouds parted slowly afterwards revealing a starry night sky.

 

Roxanne shrieked in a combination of pain, rage, and surprise when Tess's blade pierced through her. Why was Tess able to get through the pain shield?! Black blood pooled from her many injuries, especially the newest one. Roxanne knew she didn't have much of a choice. Whatever was causing Tess to gain so much power, there was no more time to allow this fight to continue. She coughed as blood escaped into her mouth from her injuries, giving her an all together more disturbing look as she began to laugh. No matter what, she could always just keep reviving. "You're right. We've dragged this on too long." the adrenaline and pain only pushed her even harder than before as she darted forward and tackled Tess, allowing her knives to stab through her on impact as she pulled the same move on Tess that she had just done with Merrick. Only this time, Roxanne was on top of Tess, and there was no one there to pull Roxanne off of her. Her enemy would be consumed in the hell fire with her. And when Roxanne reincarnated, Tess would be dead. Then she could deal with Merrick and Jaxx. "Let's see you heal from this one!" she growled into Tess's ear as both of them were set ablaze.
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Her investigation of Karsish had proven fruitless at first. The description of the so called "Lilith Newgate" should have been easy enough to find even in a crowd. She thought even if she was not able to pick out Lilith she would be able to recognize Voltair or Kable. She had seen enough Gladiator fights to know what Voltair looked like and Kable... well he might actually avoid her if he knew she was in town. The thought briefly brought a smirk to her face as she wandered the streets of the small village. A group of children played with a worn looking ball in an alley to her left and as she walked past them one of the children missed. The ball went flying straight at Paige's head. She heard it flying through the air and turned, managing to catch it in her hand before it would have smashed against her face. All of the children looked nervous as Paige grasped the ball in her hand and walked toward the children. "Gee sorry ma'am..." the one who had kicked it was saying before Paige chuckled, handing it back to the kid. "Not a problem. That's what I get for spacing out while I'm walking huh?" she smiled.
An older teen, seemingly in charge of watching the kids, approached Paige then. "You looked like you were plenty aware to me when you caught the ball." the girl spoke with a large staff in her hand as she walked toward her. "I don't think I've seen you around here before. Are you visiting or are you new?"
Paige smiled "I've visited this village a few times. But I'll admit it's been a few years. I'm a traveler looking for someone around here." she explained.
The teen frowned, "Well, to pay you back for returning my brother's ball maybe I can be of assistance. Who is it you are searching for?"
"A young girl is said to have been here not long ago. She claimed to be Lilith Newgate and she had other companions with her. Do you have any idea if they are still here?"
The girl's continuance brightened at the mention of Lilith and her companions "Yes! Of course Lilith played with the village children just yesterday. A few people doubt if it's actually her. But I have to believe it is. Her presence has really brightened the mood of this place. Something we desperately needed considering the state of how most of them came to be here..."
Paige smiled "Sounds like her. Do you have any idea where they are now?"
"As far as I know, they left. But you might check Gainsville. It's a smaller suburb of Karsish. If I were visiting here and in need of some privacy I would probably stay there. It's nearly uninhabited these days."
"I will do that. Thank you for your help." Paige turned, remembering the location of Gainsville from one of her many visits to this place. She wondered why she hadn't thought of it before.

 

Lucius his arms up to shield his face from the howling wind. When it subsided, he lowered them down to find Ilda and her men vanished. Only a faint chuckle could be heard in the wind, as if she was the very air itself. Lucius cried out in rage and slammed his sword into the ground, carving a giant chunk of the earth out.

"I want spies everywhere to find Ilda Ironside!" He bellowed out. The remaining soliders around him saluted and took off. Lucius glanced up the mountain path, then turned and began his trek to Carmilla Star. He had a mission, and he was going to accomplish it.

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Kable was astonished by the fight that took place around him. Lilith certainly had her potential, but she was too reckless and not fully aware of her own control. Oryx, on the other hand, fought with no fighting style Kable had ever seen in his few years as a soldier and a mercenary. He wondered for just a monent how a fight between the two of them would play out, but he pushed the thought to the side. Oryx came up to him and made a comment about "chit chatting" down by the river, and slapped Kable's back.

"Sure Oryx. I could use a refreshment anyway. When we get back, though, we should discuss our next move." He made the comment more to Voltair than anyone else. As much as Kable distrusted him, the man knew what he was doing and Kable wasn't going to deny any help. He and Oryx began making their way downhill.

 

Roxanne groaned from the burning of the light that was scalding her through her own scythe that was penetrated through her. She was finally starting to feel the fatal effects of the wounds given to her by Tess, and by Raven. Blood gathered in her throat and pooled out of her mouth and wounds and the loss of blood was causing numerous muscles to spasm and contract. Particularly in her abdomen and chest where the more serious wounds were. The spasms caused her body to make random jerking movements, which occasionally caused the scythe to tear into her even more.
As Raven got closer, and she was finally able to get a clear at her, she realized who her attacker was. And she chuckled once again, gargling the black metallic substance in her mouth. "Raven the Emperor's angel. Truly, now I have been graced. The royal whore herself come to finish me off." she cackled, spitting blood and saliva on Raven's boot which was digging into her wrist. Raven was guarded enough in her exterior, but Roxanne could feel the fear and chaos within her. She intended to use that, her last ditch effort, to distract Raven long enough to finish her reincarnation. "I have to say, I'm rather disappointed. I heard you were a fierce warrior. Not a sniffling coward only willing to take on an injured foe."
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As Paige wandered farther out of the village, it didn't take long to spot something suspicious. Not too far from where she stood, maybe a mile or so, she could tell there was some sort of action happening. Loud clashing noises could be heard even from this distance. And she could have sworn she saw a few trees topple over. If that didn't say the massive, supposed, Lilith Newgate was in combat Paige didn't know what would. "Ah, I've found you." she muttered and quickened her pace in that direction.

She made it to their camp just as Oryx impaled the boulder and turned it into a massive hammer. She would recognize that sort of move anywhere. In fact, she was on the receiving end of it herself once. It was marvelous! She had already expected to see Kable and Voltair, which was peculiar enough. But Oryx!? That was a face she hadn't seen in ages. Let alone in Azureth. His presence in this group just made it all the more fascinating. How on earth could such a diverse group of powerful people end up travelling together? Paige had intended to rush in and introduce herself the moment she found them. But she could not help but stay back and watch the fight from a distance. The child who claimed to be Lilith was just as amazing as Paige had hoped she would be. She fought clumsily, but beautifully. With the right shaping, she would truly become a force to be reckoned with.
What did puzzle Paige was Oryx. Though he did fight Lilith valiantly, Paige knew from experience it was not his hardest. He hadn't evened summoned his flames! By the gods why would he hold back!? So disappointing.

Only moments after the fight, Oryx and Kable had both left. Paige was left to the conclusion that they were going to the river so that Oryx could wash the gore from his face. Meanwhile, Lilith had turned to face Voltair. Using her power, Paige gleaned the knowledge Lilith sought the gladiator's approval. But what about? About the fight? Were the two of them an item? Hades, Paige! Stop being a creep. she shook her head, blocking out the empathic waves from Lilith. As long as they hadn't noticed her, Paige decided to have a little fun. Now where did Oryx and Kable get off too...?

She backed away from where Voltair or Lilith would have been able to see her and followed Oryx and Kable's trail down to the river, picking up a few stones along the way. Once she was close enough to know she was at risk of being seen, she climbed the tree nearest to her and made the rest of the way hidden among the branches. Finally, she found her desired targets. She sat on a branch a few yards away and watched the two men visit for a moment before deciding they had peace for long enough. Taking one of the stones she had, she lined it up perfectly before tossing it from her hiding place above. The stone hit Kable on the back of the head. It wasn't hard enough to really hurt him as much as just be annoying.

 

Kable was in the middle of talking to Oryx about fighting techniques when a small rock knocked into his head. He flinched forward and spun around, his eyes raking through the treeline. He saw a faint movement in the treeline. Kable grabbed his own rock and launched it forward. The rock sped forward as fast as he could throw it and rocketed past the figure.

"Now that we have each others attention," Kable said calmly, drawing his knife out from its holster. "How about you come down so we can have a few words?"

 

"Gerik... Am I... Am I holding you back?" Claire asked as she looked up at him.

"What do you mean? Where's all this sudden pessimism coming from? Weren't you angry at me a moment ago?"

"I am. That doesn't matter right now though. You want to go with Raven, right? You're worried about Jaxx, right? But you're staying here with me."

"I told you before. You're my priority here. You come first."

"So if I wasn't here you would hurry along to the others?"

"If you weren't here then I probably wouldn't be here. I'd probably be wandering around Aezureth, trying to learn from the people who live here."

"You're still worried about her though, right? And you aren't rushing to her because I'm holding you back."

"Claire, it is nothing like that. I'm not that worried about Jaxx and the others because I believe Raven has everything covered."

"What if Raven wasn't enough for these monsters?"

"Then I'd do something about it while ensuring your safety. Where are all these questions coming from Claire? Is there something you'd like to tell me?"

"It's just that..." Claire paused and looked at the ground. "It's nothing." She whispered. She looked back up to Gerik. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it." She forced a smile.

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"Odd. I wonder why I just got so angry for a moment just now. Almost as if I heard a nasty comment about somebody I wouldn't want to hear nasty comments about." Voltair thought to himself, not paying attention to anything nearby, Paige included.

Bringing his focus back to Lilith, he started to talk. "That fight... Well that fight was certainly something. You both have plenty you could work on. Like, puh-len-tee of things to work on." Voltair spoke to Lilith. For a moment after talking he suddenly looked distracted by something again. He looked in the direction of where Paige was moments prior. "Looks like we're going to have a visitor soon enough." He looked back up at Lilith. "I could go into detail more later, but I've got a hunch we've just gotten a rare opportunity in front of us. How would you like to pretend to have affections for me for the chance to mess with somebody?"

 

The creek was not very far from the others, only just barely out of earshot. Oryx got to one knee and cupped the water in his hands and splashed it onto his face several times, the blooding washing away with every rinse. He took a large breath and shoved his head into the cold water for a second before throwing his head back, his beard throwing water into the air like a majestic mermaid as she rises from the water. "Aye lassie that was some fight eh? For a second there I thought Lilith was actually mad at me or something. Perhaps I'm reading into things too much though!" He said as he stood up. "In honesty though I was holding back, don't think that was the fullest of my capabilities. I like to keep a few tricks up my sleeves for a sticky situation." Oryx said as he looked across the river, enjoying the view when a rock hit Kable in the head.

"By Odin's Arse! Did a rock just hit you in the head!?! That must have been some battle if rocks are still falling from the sky!" He exclaimed in excitement, however Kable had spotted the person responsible for the rock and called out to them to show themselves. "Oh yea.... That probably makes more sense." Oryx said his heads still in the clouds a bit, perhaps Lilith smashing his head in had rattled his brain a bit more than originally thought. "Which tree is it? I could probably rip it out of the ground and shake them out." Oryx said to Kable in a soft tone so that Paige would not hear them.

 

Paige paused while considering Kable's offer for her to come down and show herself. She might have, had Oryx's comment not distracted her. She laughed silently before calling out "I heard that Oryx! Nice to see you again, by the way. It's been too long."
Having given away her position, she quickly and stealthily moved to the tree behind her and then many to one side. "Tell you what, Kable. My view is better up here. So why do you not come up instead? You find me, I stop throwing rocks at your head. What do you say?" She spoke as another small stone went flying toward the pair of friends from a different direction than the first one had.
It had been long enough since she had spoken to either of them, she wasn't sure if her voice would be recognized.

(I was with Hope and wrote the end of that fight with her.)

 

Kable shook his head and was about to reply to Oryx when a rustle from the tree lines caught his attention. Whoever was there knew Kable by name, which confused him. The voice did sound familiar, like an old acquaintance of his. Before he could speak, another stone came flying out towards the pair. Kable caught it instantly and glanced at Oryx. "How about we flush whoever this is out, buddy?" Kable asked with a smirk and began advancing forward. "If you know who I am, then you know what I can do! So save us the trouble of bringing you down here!"

 

Paige rolled her eyes, in spite of knowing he couldn't see her. "Yes, I am fully aware of everything you're capable of." she said. Knowing the statement probably sounded suggestive, she decided to say it in a mockingly flirtatious way.
"But really do you think a harmless game of hide and seek is worth bringing out scary Kable? I doubt it." she laughed, tossing another stone and making her way to a different position once again. "But fine if you're both going to be so lazy, I'll make it easier for you. At least guess my name. If one of you can do that, I'll surrender." she raised her arm to the square as if to make the oath official.

 

Voltair sighed. "Y'know, I knew you were going to say that. I had that tiny tiny sliver of hope though. I know who you're in love with. Like I said before. You sure as hell know how to pick 'em. That's not the point here. We are going to have this golden opportunity soon. Y'know, a beautiful opportunity just falling into our lap. You don't have to mean it, in fact it would be weird if you did. That's why it is pretending. Also, come to think about it, this is a good chance for you to develop as well. You're too rigid and... Innocent? You need to spread your wings, have some fun in life. Mess around every know and then, y'know?"

Deep down Voltair knew it was practically futile to try and convince Lilith of these things. In his eyes though, it was definitely something see needed to work on. The poor girl didn't really seem to have a sense of humor. She seemed to be rather literal minded on certain things. Almost like she couldn't pick up subtle nuances in conversation that meant somebody was being playful or not literal. It would definitely be something difficult for him to break her of.

 

Kable racked his brain. He was starting to get annoyed by this. Why was this person trying to get under his skin like this? Who was it that sounded so familiar to him? And apparently she was getting Oryx into this, for whatever reason. Then it hit him. Scary Kable. Only one person in the world would mock him like that. Someone whose presence annoyed him even further.

"Okay then. Come on down, Paige." Kable called out. "You've had your fun."

 

“She was alone” Tess answered Raven quite curtly. Merrick picked up on the tone Tess used but he knew better than to draw attention to it. He was impressed with what was happening in front of him anyway. Jaxx’s bones and flesh were busy stitching themselves back together. He took the opportunity to move to the river side, Tess followed. She’d had her hands on his back were Roxanne’s scythe had dug into his skin. Merrick had assumed it was to try stop the bleeding but her frustration seemed to be growing minute by minute.

“I appreciate the concern, but you should tend to yourself. How’s your shoulder?” he asked her as he removed the remains of his shirt. “You took quite a hit from that thrown dagger right?” Tess let herself smile a little. “Reditum” A blue flash briefly appeared and when it abated her armour was gone. Merrick looked her over and saw where the dagger had hit her should and where Roxanne’s flame had burnt away some her top. He was awestruck. He looked her over for any sign of injury and was surprised to find none.

“Did Raven heal you?” he asked. He received a punch in the arm for response. “Ouch” he said casually, not because it hurt but more to acknowledge it. “You can heal yourself?”

“Watch” Tess replied with a smile, she took one her remaining throwing knives and dragged it across her palm. Silver blood quickly began to pool in her palm, and Tess enjoyed the attention Merrick was showing. His facial expression didn’t change when he saw the green light emit from beneath the blood, but Tess could see in his eyes he was impressed. He took her hand and led it into the water. The silver blood quickly mixed with the water and Merrick scrubbed at the palm gently. When he was sufficiently satisfied he took her hand out and examined it. Tess had to suppress a laugh as he turned her hand around and looked the back. The action reminded him of a curious young child who’d just seen a magic trick.

“Impressive right?” Merrick nodded in response. “I used it on you earlier but I can’t seem to do it anymore.” Tess said the frustration returning to her voice. Merrick looked at her confused, “You mean when I died?” he asked her. Silence was the response.

“Don’t worry about it Tess. He was true to his word and I went to him. But he said there was still something we had to do, and our chances were increased if both of us were alive. He sent me back Tess, they have something planned.” Tess wanted to ask a question but was interrupted by Merrick before she could get started. “Not here Tess, when we have some privacy we’ll talk about it.”

Tess nodded in agreement. “Do me a favour” Merrick said lightening the tone; “Pass me one of those vial concoctions you have to help ease the pain. I’m in a bad way.” He said examining his wounds.

He was still bleeding from wounds received by Roxanne, and he had plenty of burns along his body. His knuckles were raw and bloody from his burst of anger, and his wrist had begun swelling from the dislocation.

Tess handed him a vial from her pouch and watched as he drank it. “Roxanne has gotten a lot stronger since we’ve separated from the guild. We should leave Merrick, before it’s too late.”

 

By the time Kable figured it out, Paige was in a tree right above him and Oryx. "Aw." she sounded clearly disappointed as she allowed herself fall to a branch lower to the ground, hooking her knees around it to stop her fall hanging upside down right in front of Kable and Oryx. "How did you figure it out so fast?" she pouted. Then again, she had a few guesses. Paige knew very few people who knew Kable's secret, like she had revealed that she did. She knew of even less people that were brave enough to be so familiar with him if they did know. She let the rest of the stones fall out of her hand onto the ground above her head.