XELVAK THE FIRST HERALD OF NIGHT

[thewatchers]

XELVAK, THE FIRST HERALD OF NIGHT

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The Herald’s coming was marked by the solar eclipse. Tensions rose noticeably in the sweltering heat as the moon slowly but surely moved to block the sun from sight. And at its apex, the world went dark. But light never returned. And in the center opened a multitude of eyes. The Herald had come.

Claxons blared in the control room as the call for attack was made. Off-shore, a barrage of missiles erupted from the waiting fleet - cruise missiles hurtling toward their target with grim, unerring accuracy. Explosions lit the darkened sky, one after another completely covering the lone figure in a blast of shrapnel and heat.

Those with eyes that see magic, however, saw differently. Undetected by the earthly computers, barriers of green energy arose around the lich, with each missile exploding harmlessly upon it. With nary a crack, the Herald tilted his head in faint amusement.

“Target is still standing!”

“Launch the second wave!”

The sound of engines blasted as aircraft scrambled from the airstrip and the waiting carrier. Streaking through the sky, their jets leaving faint trails of fire amidst the darkness, they flew in tight formation before breaking apart and encircling the target, launching a salvo of missiles from all directions before moving to reform and break away. On the ground, a battery of tanks poured forth from the base, launching heavy rounds at the lich while artillery sang a deadly song, the crackle of explosions obliterating all sound as they overtook the lich.

“Damn thing’s gonna waste a lot of ammunition,” one of the generals muttered. “But looks like you boys and girls can just go back to your school and leave the fighting to the big kids.”

Almost before he could finish his sentence, however, a voice echoed through the minds of every person assembled.

How quaint.

It was an overpowering sound that cut through even the sound of explosions. And in their wake, the lich was still untouched.

And then came the screaming.

Screams of horror, screams of agony, screams of death, before, finally, guttural screams of undeath. Rage. Bloodlust. To those with magical sight, the world seemed to come alive with a fetid green mist. All around them, tanks and planes began to stop, some crashing. But in another instant, those that remained moved again, firing on each other with reckless abandon. And over all of the comms, the sound of cackling, maddened laughter wrenched from a throat that was once human but now was not echoed throughout.

The generals grew pale, silent. Some sunk to their knees in horror. But, like points in the darkness, a few voices remained.

“This is Echo-5! All units seem hostile! Requesting extraction!”

“This is Bravo-7! It’s a madhouse down here! Disengaging!”

Daybreak’s presence did not necessarily change what was to come. But it did, to an extent, mitigate it. For in having brought their runecraft to the base, they caught the eye of several soldiers. Some curious, some thinking it couldn’t hurt, and some, perhaps, even true believers. Whatever the reason, they accepted Daybreak’s support. And for that reason, they seemed spared from the mists of undeath conjured forth by the lich. And as they fled, some, at least, whispered a faint prayer of thanks to the students and faculty who had given them the most precious gift of all - the gift of life, and of living.

As the generals conversed in horror, another voice cut through the screams.

“This is Jules Flammel, Flame Commander. Daybreak forces, deploy at once and complete your mission.”

The sound of jets blasted through the air as Runewings took flight. Aboard them, the forces of Daybreak, students, faculty, alumni, and affiliates, all with one mission - to stop the lich where he stood.

“Your radiance shall protect you. Go forth, brave Candles, and become the raging inferno to purify this land! Cut through his defenses and rend his body apart!”

Foolishness.

The Lich raised his arms. The shattered, twisted scrap and mangled corpses of the combined military forces began to shudder, and tremble, before rushing forward to meet the Runewings - a mass of twisted flesh, bone and metal like a wave of death crashing upon the shore. The Runewings broke apart as the wave spread to chase them.

“You are free to deploy!”

And with that, the bays opened and the forces of Daybreak emerged in freefall, descending upon the lich and his twisted wave with naught but their weapons, their powers, and, perhaps a featherfall necklace for those students that needed it. The battle against the first Herald had begun.

And, from within the Outland, a calm voice spoke to those assembled.

“It is time.”

The forces of Daybreak who had been held in reserve turned as one to face the castle. Their mission: destroy the lich’s phylactery so that he would rise no more.

[OOC: The groups are as follows:

Combat
Group 1:
Faculty - Bai Lin
Students - Serena, Vivi, Seiji, Akechi
Group 2:
Faculty - Ky Kiske
Students - Kokoro, Yuya, Gunvolt, Nana
Group 3:
Faculty - Valvatorez
Students - Desco, James, Gon, Anastasia Rose
Group 4:
Faculty - Bowser
Students - Ruby, Grimm, Kohaku, Akko, Weiss, Aiko

Extras - Snow

Infiltration
Group 1:
Faculty - Ziggy
Students - Sarona, Keith, Doreen, Sherlock
Group 2:
Faculty - Jailbreak
Students - Puella, Minako, Ren, Ekkehardt, Reira
Group 3:
Faculty - Nekane
Students - Adelaide, Lie Ren, Xanatos, Héctor, Imelda

Mission Control
Hieke, Christo, Wen-li Yang, Count D, Android 18

Any characters who did not sign up may tag freely into the Control Room, or, if desired, they may contact a faculty member leading a group and request to join. Please prioritize joining groups with less characters. No group may exceed 6 characters.

There will be open group mingle posts up where characters can discuss the events leading up to the mission or the immediate aftermath. We will post the full log threads for each group in 24 hours, at which time we will PM the Faculty members with details on their mission]

code bases by tricklet

Comments

Valvatorez's Team - Combat 3

[thewatchers]

[arcadianvampire]

Things down below looked like a disaster, to put things charitably. The dead soldiers slain by the lich's very presence stalked below, eager to continue spilling the blood of the living and adding their numbers to their legion. Some of them even took notice of the Runewings flying overhead, and in some places, they eerily all turned their heads up to look, in perfect unison.

Before the bay doors opened to the Runewing, Valvatorez turned to his team of four brave students.

"Xelvak's power is not to be underestimated. When I said to stay together, I meant it. James... we will be relying very heavily on your power as a Candle. Use your power, that will produce Radiance... the very thing that can turn aside most of this fiend's power. Everyone, keep close to him, and keep each other safe.

...That aura, that permeates from him. It's no mere energy. It's far worse than that. Somehow, he controls a swarm of parasites... that's what turned those men into the undead. Radiance and powerful magic, especially barriers, can stop them from harming you. In addition to James' power, I will be using some dark magic to keep the lot of you shielded as best as I can.

Beware the lich's magic. If he was chosen as a Herald of Nightfall, it will be powerful beyond reckoning, and using Radiance and other forms of magical protection will be your only defense against it. And whatever you do... do not allow the fiend to touch you. Suffice to say... it will not end well for you. Not that I will allow him to do that in the first place, though.

Remember your training, and remember our planning. Call for me sooner rather than later if you need help. We will show this bastard that humankind will not go quietly into the Night!"

The Runewing's bay doors slowly opened as the craft decelerated.

"Professor Valvatorez, this is your stop! Get moving, we've got zombie fast-movers vectoring in!"

"Understood, Mr. Vaeris. Now, kids.... I will jump first. Count to three, and then follow me down. Use your featherfall rings and don't dally. See you on the ground."

With that, Valvatorez leapt from the Runewing, but the eagle-eyed would notice he had no Featherfall ring equipped himself. He didn't need one. On the way down, a surge of dark magic and smoke obscured the daemon's body, hiding him almost entirely from view. That is, until two large black draconic looking wings shot out from it... wings themselves spanning larger than the professor. In a dark flash, the obscuring energy vanished, revealing something.... quite different. With a flap of its mighty wings, the creature dove toward the surface, and let out an unearthly scream, producing a massive, magical shockwave that obliterated much of the undead in the immediate landing zone in one fell swoop.

The creature then slammed into the ground feet first, and then slowly rose, chanting in some long forgotten and ominous tongue. Dark magic circled the creature... and would form a protective barrier for the students to land in.

Of course, a showy landing doesn't go unnoticed... either by the undead, or the lich nearby. For now, the fiendish Herald turns very deliberately toward the group, each of his four eyes looking at a different person simultaneously, an unearthly, antediluvian glow in what passed for irises.

[descolation]

Desco watches from the bay doors, in awe of Valvatorez's sudden and massive transformation. Honestly? It was REALLY cool. The kind of transformation she hopes to achieve someday. Admittedly it did bring up a few of her insecurities, making her realize just how much farther there was to go in her training, but she was not about to let stop her. Not now. Not when the lives of so many people were on the line. They had to win. Failure wasn't an option. This lich might not be a daemon, but that didn't matter. He was bringing Nightfall to their doorstep and she had much of a beef with him as she did the family that tossed her aside.

Her muscles tensed, then relaxed. A sigh escaped her lips as she took to a running start, jumping out of the runecraft and shifting into a free fall. She could feel her body cutting through the air as she plummeted further and further down. With the ground approaching fast, she quickly reacted in time and began to slow her descent. Maintaining her presence in the air, she flew over to Valvatorez and hovered next to him. Each exposed eye on her body began to survey the area, studying the terrain and what they'd be dealing with outside the safety of Valvatorez's magical barrier.

It was a real bloodbath out there. She'd never seen anything like in her whole life and now she had a grand, almost 360 degree front-row seat of it all. All those poor people, dead because of this monster. Some of them were jerks, but that didn't mean they should have been torn apart like paper. It made her stomach turn. It made her angry.

However, in position she stood, awaiting the arrival of her teammates before anything else.

[highelves]

Valvatorez's transformation is certainly impressive, but there isn't time for Ana to marvel over his new appearance. She's fearing for her life, first and foremost, and seeing the Herald like this makes her almost freeze up. So does the idea of jumping out of a runecraft like this, but she has to. She has her ring on her. Ana remembers that before she launches herself out of the plane and onto the ground, staying especially close to James when she can.

It's horrifying. It's bloody. Ana's heart races in her chest. Like always, though, she cannot allow herself to be held back by her fears, even if she feels sick to her stomach.

Thankfully, they're positioned near the coast, which is exactly what Ana needs for her runes to work. She holds onto the pendant around her neck and gets ready to follow her team into battle.

[onebetter]

The teacher transforming into a giant beast would have been unsettling in any other situation imaginable, but all James can think now is 'thank god he is on our side''. The thought doesn't last too long because as soon as Ana is jumping, so is he. He's made two promises regarding this battle. 1) To come out alive and return to Keith. 2) To protect Ana best as he can from the fate Toki saw in his visions. James intends to keep both of these. He's holding onto it as a source of determination.

Yet he feels sick as soon as they land - or rather, James is hovering a few inches above ground, which also counts as landing. The fallen undead around them... There is a good chance that James has shared a dinner hall with them only yesterday. He hopes desperately that he'll never recognize a face.

Not that he can focus too long on the thought when the Herald is right there and.... He raises his arm with the inbuilt energy canon, aiming for the creatures' head, but he's... not sure he wants to make it angry before all his team is in position.

[betheman]

Does Gongenzaka have much to his name?

...No.

No he does not.

Gongenzaka has 'being a bear', and that's about it. He's gotten some runes inscribed on his clothing for a slight boost of protection, but that's also 'about it'. And when the runewing's doors open, he abruptly feels a little outside his berth.

The featherfall ring helps- with the landing, anyway. The multitude of scents that assail his nose the minute the door opens gives him a fair amount of pause, enough that he's just about the last one jumping from the plane. Blood.

Blood is everywhere, and it's suddenly very difficult to keep his wits about him. He's guaranteed himself a way to keep from attacking the others- he's got something special with him in his pocket just for Emergencies- but he somehow didn't expect things to hit this hard.

Gongenzaka lands on two legs, refusing to go onto all fours. His geta are moved to his fore-paws as weapons, held like tonfa, as he refuses to use his claws. Fight like a 'Man', and he'll keep the mind of one. So go the teachings of the Gongenzaka dojo.

Keep close to James. Keep James protected perhaps, he adds quietly, given that James' ability basically means 'be the canon'. He takes position where the others can't necessarily see, hoping to keep any blindspots well covered.

"I am ready, when you are!" he announces to the rest.

Running off into the fight will only get them hurt after all.

[arcadianvampire]

Valvatorez only took his eyes off the Herald for a split second, making sure his charges landed safely. With a small nod and a shield of pulsing black energy covering his students, the daemon turned its gaze back at Xelvak, an almost draconic sounding growl crawling from the professor's throat. He didn't drop his transformation yet, long pointed tail swinging back and forth slowly with malicious intent.

Xelvak, on the other hand, looked completely unimpressed with the entrance, the horror simply raising one of its appendages in a sweeping motion. Each of his eyes continued tracking a different target, though they would quickly jump between them, creating a deeply disturbing uncanny effect... worsened by the eyes inside his "cloak" all looking between them as well, each blinking out of sync with each other.

The creature finally spoke, but no orifice existed that even resembled a mouth. No, all that came from speech was a gnashing, clawing sensation in the recesses of the consciousness of everyone nearby. Its unholy cacophony threatened to tear one's perception of the world around them into shreds as it echoed through the depths of their minds.

"...Children. I come to bring the very end to all mortal things, and they send children to stop me. It would be comical... if it were not so pathetic. At least there's one Candle among you. ...I like the bear, though. It's a nice touch. ...Might keep him as a skeletal pet after this." Two of the creature's main eyes turn to Valvatorez, though one briefly sizes up Desco in the process. The other two eyes dart back and forth between Gon, Ana, and James, while two more of the creature's appendages bend in front of him, touching each other at the tips. "...Even one of the daemons is a child. ...And you. You're quite the powerful one, aren't you? I believe I already know who you are supposed to be. Once I pull you out of that ridiculous form, I will allow you to watch as I bring this world into endless night." It was an obvious goad into an attack, but the professor didn't fall for it for a second. Xelvak chuckled ominously, separating his two limbs and spreading them wide... and the tips began to glow with an ominous green energy. "But now... prove your worth to me, children. Try not to let this world's death rattle be a whimper."

In that moment, a large squad of undead soldiers arrived from around a ruined building, and the ominous rumble of a possessed main battle tank followed, and a magical barrier flashed up in front of Xelvak... but it didn't stop there. Xelvak wasn't simply going to sit there and do nothing while the cannon fodder went to work. Instead, he started lazily firing off rays of necrotic energy toward the group, mostly to be a nuisance than actually threatening yet. These rays wouldn't explode violently, and would fizzle out on contact with a hard surface, but could still prove to be very painful if struck.

"Take out those soldiers and someone who can, hit that tin can with something hard! Then join me in..."

The main battle tank fired a shot from its cannon at Valvatorez, which caused him to recoil a bit, but didn't seem to leave any lasting damage. Instead of continuing his speech, the giant daemon opened his mouth and let out another blast of cosmic power, this time toward the Lich. However, it broke across the barrier like a wave on the bow of a ship.... but the professor kept it up, increasing its strength. He would power through eventually, and that forced the Lich to keep more attention focused on him for the moment. For now, though, he was buying time for his students to clean house and join him in applying pressure.

[betheman]

An army and a tank is bad enough on its own. An army, a tank, and Xelvak himself paying attention to them is just a bit worse. Gongenzaka's fur bristles as the Lich speaks, but despite the rising fear, anticipation, and rage he manages to hold his stange.

For now.

"Nh-!" And so came the attack. A tank is far more than a car, Gongenzaka tells himself as it and the others approach, the bear already aiming to try and either dodge or somehow deflect/absorb any blows with geta and debris. It's far far more weight to throw around than a car...

But the cannon? The cannon spout is not. "I shall take the machine -!" he snarls, his words half a roar as he runs. Even if it doesn't appear to have harmed Valvatorez after all, it is a distraction- and more importantly, what 'distracts' the giant dragon-looking daemon is probably going to hurt them A LOT.

The bear charges, primarily using aikido 'throws' to practically dance past the soldiers- one blow simply glances to the side, another moves over until the soldier is stuck flat on their back. He runs until he is close enough to the tank to gauge what comes next.

His jump. The timing. The force of the tank itself-

Gongenzaka alone could lift perhaps 2, maybe 3 tonnes easily enough, and the tank weighs a lot more than that. But he doesn't need to lift a tank in order to jump on it, and he certainly doesn't need to lift an entire tank in order to force the cannon in an entirely different direction.

Just the cannon, specifically. It bends with an echoing groan, and not long after doing so he's quick to run back to the others, knocking any undead in his way back toward the thing's treads in the process.

He doesn't want to be stuck next to that thing when it tries firing now.

[onebetter]

A kingdom for ear-plugs. Or mind-plugs. While the fact that he is able to speak makes the Herald appear just a little less other and a little less terrifying in itself.... the quality of the voice is bone-chilling and James would give a lot to not have to listen to its taunting.

Don't let it get to you, he repeats in his mind, over and over.

As soon as Gon sprints towards the tank to take care of one attack, James puts his full energy and focus into the energy guns from his rune armor. With a swipe of his fingers their intensity and range ramp up to the maximum and once he fires, he has to make sure to not let the recoil blow him over.

This is what he practiced for. This is it. Every shot fired at the Herald's head, all his pesky eyes. It may not be enough to wound the beast, but James hopes for a nasty distraction, an opening for his team.

[descolation]

All of the eyes around Desco's body watch carefully as each of her allies joins the fray, happy that they are unharmed. She had been maintaining her position as they all landed, making sure the drop sites remained clear and blasting whatever undead horrors that dared to get too close. Nobody else would die today. She would do everything in her power to ensure all her allies made it out alive.

With all of her teammates in place, the daemon child quickly goes on the offensive. Although most of her teammates might not appreciate Xelvak's talking, Desco does try to make a mental note of everything he's saying. It's all very final boss-like and she kind of wishes she had brought her notebook. "Desco might be a child, but don't underestimate her! She and her friends are going to be the last thing you ever see!"

Flying low, Desco uses her tentacles to rip and tear apart any daemon that happens to get near her as she makes a beeline straight for Xelvak. One of the blasts hits the ground near her and explodes, causing a considerable amount of pain, as well as several burns, but she keeps on going until she manages to flank him. She lets loose two beams of magical energy from hers onto the lich's back, flying around with the beams still training on him. However, she backs off once she sees Gon running. He handled that tank pretty well, but she thinks he might need some help, so she flies over to him as fast as she can.

"Gon! Catch!"

Light engulfs both her and the creature on her back as their two bodies become one and begin to change shape. Desco and Octy are replaced by a sword with the hilt heading towards the bear.

[highelves]

While Valvatorez, Gon, and Desco handle the tank and James...shoots at the Herald, Anastasia opts for the surrounding undead soldiers. They may not pose as much of a threat, but they're still not ones that should be left unattended.

Still mindful of being within range of James, Ana positions herself a little closer to the coast so she can latch onto its water and form a water whip of sorts. She starts using it to cut through the soldiers, waving her arms around, slicing through all of those who pose a threat to her and her team.

"I'm covering the undead!"

There's just...so many of them. But she think it'll be fine.

[arcadianvampire]

Xelvak's two left eyes keep focused on the daemon blasting his barrier with some sort of cosmic power; such an unusual magical source, neither dark nor elemental. Something more of the essence of the stars themselves. Fascinating. Though it would be moreso if he wasn't trying to defend himself from it. The lich's two right eyes turn towards James as he shoots at him, shots pinging off additional barriers he hastily erected in front of his face.

"Hmmm, seems you little ones aren't quite as weak as you look. Initiative in going straight for me, too. You're quite brave, little Candle."

Before anything else could be said though, there was an ominous rumble from the tank... though the creatures inside were semi-intelligent, they weren't quite smart enough to realize just what Gon had done... or perhaps, they didn't care. The rumble was brief, before the tank violently exploded as it attempted to fire again, the ammunition inside cooking off and sending shards of armor and splintered off pieces of the vehicle into the crowd of undead soldiers. Gon was right not to stick around...

Ana's own work toward another flanking group proved to be highly effective, cutting them down where they stood before too many shots could be fired off. The rune-controlled water proved to be surprisingly effective against the undead; a reminder of the real power of the elements when harnessed correctly.

But as Desco curved around behind Xelvak, his strange cape turned... almost inside out, its cascade of eyes looking right back at the little daemon, glaring at her, almost daring her to attack. When she obliged, another barrier appeared and absorbed her energy blasts, but with the constant strain of attacks, Xelvak knew he couldn't stay defensive for much longer. As Desco attacked, two of his appendages turned on her to spray more rays of necrotic energy at her, though he was still holding back from using full strength in that instant... but seeing the girl change into a sword and fly away... that was new.

"...Magichange. I see. Well, now that you've made things interesting, I think it's time I stopped playing."

Valvatorez kept up the pressure of his roaring energy blast; he could feel the barriers weakening and while Xelvak could still probably throw up more, breaking this initial one probably would give them a better shot at overcoming others. After all, even for a lich, maintaining something this strong would have to be draining. And when he spied a moment to get a shot in, Valvatorez's draconic spiked tail waved back, and then sprang forward like a spear. The tip crashed into the barrier, shattering its main layer. Xelvak looked only mildly irritated.

"...Tell me, Daemon. Do you really think you can win? Especially with that load holding you back?" Xelvak's fourth arm pointed at the core of students... centered on James. "They are your weakness, are they not?" In that instant, that arm flashed a sickly, bright green, and a much larger Necrotic Blast shot forth from it, centered right into the group of students.

...True to form, Valvatorez ceased his attack on Xelvak, and despite his sheer size, managed to move fast enough to intercept the ray before it impacted, the area of effect largely being covered by his transformation's large size. Still though, despite his huge size, the Necrotic Blast still proved to be devastating. When the blast wave cleared, Valvatorez was knocked out of his transformation, back to his true humanoid form, sword drawn, cape tattered. In fact, he actually looked quite banged up from the attack; he was already trying to catch his breath, so to speak.

"So it is you. ...They called you a Tyrant? One attack and you're already running on fumes? Color me disappointed."

"We've not yet begun to fight, Xelvak. Students! Show him no quarter! Show him what we're all really made of, and watch his spells! Keep on the move!"

Xelvak's eyes narrowed a little, his appendages taking aim. Now it was his turn to go on the offensive, and he was not shy about throwing out another Necrotic Blast at the team. Of course, more magic being thrown into offense meant less powering his barriers. Best take advantage of the opportunity when you aren't running for your life...

[onebetter]

James has worked himself into a good mantra of 'don't listen, just shoot' and he even manages to not get distracted when the tank blows up, a teammate turns into a sword and... god-knows-what. Daybreak is chaos. Of course a Daybreak battle squad would also be chaos. If James lets himself get held up by his ideas of norms forever, he isn't going to last in this world. He might not even survive this battle.

And he wants to survive.

More than anything, he wants them to win and to return home to that campus he hates, because that is the only thing that can possibly give everything a chance to get better.

For that chance he will shoot, again and again. If he never lets off, some of it is bound to get through the barrier. If he runs from a blast, he just has to see it as a changing of vantage point, something to maybe surprise the Herald.

He's gotta stay optimistic.

Optimism sadly doesn't help him much when a blast knocks him backwards and sends his extended arm right into the remnants of a military craft. There's a crack sound that is sickening and for a moment, pain blinds his senses. Then adrenaline takes back over for it, and shakily, he lifts his remaining usable hand to shoot again, leaning against the vehicle for support.

closed

[highelves]

[ the battle seems to be going on for an eternity, but thanks to the efforts of her team and the rest of the academy, the mist has nearly completely dissipated and xelvak is now being attacked directly. ana stands tall, if only bruised and battered from all the tumbling and skidding she's had to do to avoid being devoured by a parasite. she's stuck by james' side the entire battle, too, shielding him whenever she needed to, keeping him safe.

the battle is working in their favor. ana takes a brief moment to catch her breath, hands on her knees. ]

Give me a second...

[onebetter]

[ James isn't sure if he feels his body anymore, and considering the fact that he can't really move his left arm anymore, that's... probably a mercy. No practice session has ever exhausted him as much as this battle and yet his senses feel on high alert. ]

I'll hold your back.

[ If there is an attack from the front, Ana's going to see it coming, but if anything comes at them from the back, any remnant of the stolen undead army... It'd be much harder to defend when you're currently trying to take a breather.

He moves around until they are back to back and never lowers his right arm entirely, in case he needs to shoot. That arm, too, is feeling numb but he pays it no mind. ]

[highelves]

Thank you.

[ she's okay, she just needs to catch her breath. she breathes out one more time before she straightens up again, surveying her surroundings. she's on high alert, thanks to toki's prophecy, and it appears that the undead in her immediate line of vision are staying down. that's good. there aren't any parasites coming towards them either, thanks to james' radiance.

it's only when she starts to feel a little relief when she notices the herald turn towards them. ana's eyes go wide. ]

...James. James!

[onebetter]

[ James whirls around in the blink of an eye... which is a bad idea because the pain from his arm shoots through the general numbness and makes him wince. Half of his mind considers shooting, but that's not going to help them when it's one measly weapon against the Herald, even if he is ever-weakening. ]

RUN!!

[ That's not going to help them much but it's better than staying in place. ]

[highelves]

[ ana's body wants to freeze in place, but she forces herself to move, trusting that james will follow behind her. she runs as fast as she can off to the side, trying to get out of the range of the attack that xelvak is preparing for them -- it appears to be one of the only attacks he has left in him, but it's still powerful nevertheless.

they're just outside of the radius by the time the attack starts to launch, but ana is fearing the worst. in a last ditch effort to keep james safe, she closes her fingers around her pendant and summons a small stream of water from the ocean surrounding them. the water comes to her quickly. ]

I'm sorry!

[ it surges around him, providing a mini barrier, while the water under his feet sends him backwards and out of the blast zone just before the necrotic blast goes off.

it's a big flash of light. ana doesn't get caught in its energy, but the blast sends her flying back. she lets out a scream before she makes a landing. but that landing it's pretty. it's head first. ]

[onebetter]

[ Running is good, running is great. In James' case it is more of hurried floating, because he has to produce radiance - as much radiance as humanly possible, enough radiance for both of them, somehow---

And then everything happens fast, too fast. One moment they're fleeing alongside one another, the next he's engulfed in water and then--- then he's just wet and on the floor and Ana is nowhere to be seen in his immediate vicinity.

James scrambles back to his feet as fast as he can, ignoring all pain and confusion and--- why would she do something like this? Doesn't she recall the prophecy? James recalls the prophecy. And when he makes out her form on the ground, he feels sick with what he's expecting to see. ]

Ana--

[ He rushes over, trying to identify her injuries as he comes close. ]

[highelves]

[ thankfully for james, there's movement. she's breathing. she's alive. but my god, is there blood pooling out from the back of her head. she's also got some gashes on her limbs, too. those won't be fun to clean. but by the time james makes his way over, ana groans in pain, teeth grit. ]

Ugh...

[ was this it? was this what toki saw? ...was this the twenty percent chance she had at living? or will she die when they take her to the infirmary?

she has so many questions, but she can't think straight. everything's a blur. her world is spinning. she can only vaguely make out james' form hovering above her. ]

...You made it.

[onebetter]

[ She's not impaled. That's good. Or it should be good, but really, being presently acutely impaled at least sort of stops the bleeding and this is.... decidedly not the case here. ]

We both did.

[ Arguing with Ana about that absolutely inane maneuver she just pulled... it doesn't take priority right now. He certainly doesn't want it to be the last thing she ever hears, but that's... that's a really unpleasant thought best not to linger on at all.

He looks over to the Herald, making sure that its attention is elsewhere. But they can't stay here anyway. Moving Ana risks hurting her further, but doing nothing... No, unthinkable. Getting back to base camp is the best he can do.

Looking at her armor and the way it's damaged, James can make out some of the body fabric cut loose from underneath. It's not graceful nor anything else, but he rips a bit of the clothes on her off to press the piece firmly over the head wound. It has a lot of similarity to the proverbial bandaid. ]

I'm going to get you out of here. Can you move at all?

[highelves]

[ they can argue about it later. for now, her injuries need to be treated. she can feel herself getting lightheaded from all the blood loss, and has nothing to say in protest in regards to james using her clothes to act as a makeshift bandaid. it'll do.

in response to his question, she grumbles a little. ]

Don't think so. ... World is spinning.

[ she says it a lot less gracefully than she normally would, but it's to be expected of someone who'd just been delivered a massive concussion. ]

I can make an attempt.

[onebetter]

Please.

[ Because he only has one functional arm and there is absolutely no way he can carry her.... Drag her seems more likely. ]

Wrap your arms around my neck.

[ He's kneeling next to her and still pressing his hand onto her wound, which makes helping her with this a lot harder.... but he tries. His left arm protests in incredible pain, but he grits his teeth through it. ]

[highelves]

[ ana obliges, though she does notice that something feels off. his movements, the way he grits his teeth. ]

Where does it hurt?

[ shakily, she presses a hand to her pendant. ]

Ice. I can ice it.

[onebetter]

Don't. Don't waste any energy.

[ How self-sacrificial can one girl get?! James' arm feels like it's on fire, but he's not the one bleeding out from the head. Crushed bones are something he can worry about later.

Not waiting for Ana to reply to his, he slowly pushes himself up from the ground, pulling Ana with him. Though his body is tired, adrenaline is at least incredibly helpful here. He's heard tales of how much stronger one can get in an emergency situation, but witnessing it first hand is impressive. ]