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Post by Rena Brighteyes on Jan 25, 2024 19:45:00 GMT -5
Rena hums softly to herself, idly preening little Distant Whistle as she waits for her sister to catch up. a large wheelbarrow sits nearby, piled with building materials for use by the people of Sky Peak. she's been having Bell scout ahead for pitfalls and obstacles, and only now does the ghostly crow return, a smile on his slightly crooked and dented beak as he glides in close.
Rena glances up, joy evident in her silver eyes as she stands and gently tucks her daughter back into the sling with her skeletal...son? bit early to tell by bones alone, in all honesty. the chicks squirm a little, Whistle settling against her sibling and beginning to gnaw at Locust's arm, eliciting quiet chirps from her skeletal sibling. Rena smiles at this, silver eyes shining with joy as they flick back up to meet Bell's amber orbs, "...stars, I still haven't gotten used to how perfect they are..." she coos softly, slowly going through a few stretches before moving back to her wheelbarrow.
she lets out a small grunt as she lifts up the steering end of the wheelbarrow, smiling brightly as she begins to wheel her load toward town once again. a small break was just what she and the little ones needed - Whistle had started getting grouchy, so she'd figured it was about time to feed the little one, and Loci had been starting to cry from the grit in their joints.
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Post by Sylvari Dawnsage on Jan 25, 2024 20:08:04 GMT -5
Sylvari would have been huffing for breath if she was still a mortal. Well, more precisely, Sylvari wouldn't have found herself in this situation if she was a mortal. Carrying twin logs larger around than her armored torso and longer than she was tall, especially up a steep incline as she did now, was only possibly due to the inhuman strength in her body, possessed of cursed energies [Bull's Strength]. She had stopped to help a small girl without the ability to swim who had fallen into a small pond and now hurried to catch up to Rena and her growing family.
It was hard to imagine that the vampiress and were-crow had met in a wood not so very far from here with the latter starved, nearly crazed with her curse threatening to overtake her, especially compared with the bustling life the two had shared together in the time since. They had traveled to Sylvari's home on the Crescent Isles and together had woven the threads of necromancy and spirit calling to reunite Rena with her family. But those first bumbling steps were moons ago and leagues away.
The time since had been fraught with danger and training, as the justiciar was incentivized to bring her friend overland to fight the myriad monsters that stalked the lands of Charon on a journey to grow in strength. This latest venture was a happenstance of fortune, more than anything: a plea from Sky Peak Village to help in rebuilding efforts. Sylvari just happened to have experience rebuilding towns and motivation to help this one especially as the home of a dear friend. Rena had been gracious enough to help as well, she and her brood.
The vampiress caught up to her party at last, smiling companionably at the odd little flock of friends. "Well, I daresay once we deliver these supplies to the crest of the hill, our work for today will be done. Of course, gods-willing that storm doesn't manifest too quickly and undo all our work." Sylvari eyed the forming dark clouds, worried her black luck would cause her fears to come true.
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Post by Rena Brighteyes on Jan 25, 2024 21:51:24 GMT -5
Rena smiles softly, letting out a pleased chirp as she spies her sister coming over the ridge. She spares a moment to shift the sling holding her little ones so they can see their aunt. Whistle and Locusts both let out excited flurries of chirps as they see Sylvari approaching, tiny hands reaching out with grabbing motions toward the vampiric justiciar.
Really, Distant Whistle and Buzzing Locusts had grown to adore their aunt even in the short time they’d been out and about, often trying to climb on her whenever they had the chance. She still has downy black feathers in her hair from the last time, actually.
Their mother chuckles, softly cooing and trilling to the twins as she smiles, “...oh, y’wee goofballs want t’ go with y’r Aunt Sylvi, eh?” then she glances back up to Sylvari, silver eyes dancing with mirth and mischief, “...what d’ye think, sister o’ mine?"
The little ones continue their cheeping, squirming a little in their sling as they reach out toward their aunt with tiny, grasping hands. Bell smirks, raising one smoky eyebrow as he glances from his wife wife and their children to Sylvari, "...welp. time t' brace yourself, Sylvari"
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Post by Sylvari Dawnsage on Jan 26, 2024 12:04:52 GMT -5
Sylvari smiled widely as she crested the hill and managed to heave her heavy load into the designated storage space. She never had biological siblings, and so only ever expected to be able to help care for children in teaching them how to fight with her people. The justiciar loved little ones and was delighted to be surprised with aunthood after resigning herself to never again having family of her own.
She reached down and grabbed the two chirping chicks, seating them on a shoulder apiece, laughing clear like a bell at the young ones' obvious jubilation. The vampiress was normally very particular about the maintenance of her hair, but as the chicks burrowed into her long locks with grasping hands, Sylvari could only feel a steady contentment. Her sister's children would likely be her closest experience with motherhood that the justiciar was ever able to experience.
"Truly, truly, I see that children are indeed gifts from the gods. The little ones lift my spirits and warm my heart. The work today has seemed anything but in their company." Sylvari's wide smile was tempered a bit as another shock of rolling thunder caused the justiciar to look to the darkening sky with a worried eye.
"Perhaps we should get the children indoors..."
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Post by Rena Brighteyes on Jan 26, 2024 12:44:13 GMT -5
Indeed, the chicks let out startled chirps at the crack of thunder, burrowing into their aunt’s hair and quivering as they press close. Rena and Bell share a glance, nodding as the living crow finishes wheeling her own burden into the proper spot before Blinking over to gently grab Sylvari’s hand and tug her toward the houses below, silver eyes glancing skyward with worry as she trills, “...mmmyep…no good, no good at all…dinnae want th’wee ones catchin’ cold or some such…lost a few siblings that way…” the crow shudders a little, letting out a soft chirp as she glances around, then gently tugs her sister toward the nearby tavern, intent on getting her family out of the weather before things can turn for the worse.
Rena seems to relax once they get inside, trilling softly and smiling up at her sister and chicks settled on Sylvari’s shoulders, the little ones seeming less anxious now that they’re inside away from the weather. There’s…some looks from the people in the tavern - mostly directed at little Buzzing Locusts. Seems people are uncomfortable with the undead, even in the form of such cuteness and innocence.
Rena trills softly, tensing slightly as she notices the stares, eyes turning cold and hard, silver irises gaining flecks of bone white as she readies herself for any potential trouble.
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Post by Sylvari Dawnsage on Jan 26, 2024 13:34:16 GMT -5
Being a woman well-acquainted with managing people's scorn, Sylvari quickly whisked the little ones to a booth in the corner to keep them from center focus. The seating arrangement served a dual purpose of granting the justiciar vision of the unnatural storm clouds.
As the justiciar sat the playful chicks beside her on the seat, she noted Rena's frustration at the reactions, evident by tensing of her body and the hardness of her eyes. Wanting to avoid a potential incident, Sylvari presses a soft, armored touch on her sister's arm as she spoke in a low, soothing tone.
"This will be a continual battle, dear sister. We must be above reproach or else prove the ignorant to be right in the monsters they think we are. Center yourself on what is good and right. Do not concern yourself with the opinions of those who do not know any better."
Sylvari gave a little smile to punctuate her statement, before leaning back and staring out the window at the storm once more. The clouds had begun to swirl ominously, the winds moving in odd patterns in the sky.
"Rena... Does that look unusual to you t-" Sylvari's statement was cut off by her sudden gasp as she saw a creature within the storm cloud. The justiciar groaned. There was only one such creature she knew to command the sky like this, and they were a pain to quell.
Air elemental...
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Post by Rena Brighteyes on Jan 26, 2024 14:53:27 GMT -5
Rena blinks, silver eyes glancing out at the storm as well, though she doesn’t make the same connection as her sister until the elemental briefly dips beneath the clouds. She lets out a soft curse, then, already slipping a pair of bayonets into each hand and coating them with slick, sharpened black frost1 as she moves to step out of the tavern.
“...this is gonna be…problematic. ‘Opefully we can tire it out or lead it away from town…elsewise this is not gonna be fun…” she grumbles, cracking her neck and stretching out her wings in anticipation of what’s to come before taking to the sky, silver eyes narrowed against the wind and rain as she soars up toward the elemental…then she backwings, coming to a stop and assessing the situation as she trills.
Bell floats up alongside her, his amber eyes narrowed as an aura of thin fog explodes out from his form2, the mist suffusing the area immediately around him as he glares up at the elemental.
the little ones grow anxious as their parents leave, eyes wide and fearful as they glance around...and then they see their mother outside in the air, and they calm a little. they scramble over to the window, peering up as best they can to watch as their mother and father soar up towards the air elemental before stopping in the air.
1 - Permafrost and Cold Touch 2 - Spirit Guardian - Spirit Shroud
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Post by Sylvari Dawnsage on Jan 26, 2024 15:16:46 GMT -5
As Sylvari rushed outside alongside her friend, her lips curved downwards into a pronounced frown as she gazed up at the elemental, which was becoming more agitated at their approach. All our work today can be undone within the space of an hour if this creature isn't dealt with.
Sylvari craned her neck with worry to follow the flight trajectory of Rena and Bell. With the harsh winds the elemental was capable of summoning, she worried that her friends would be buffeted away and severely hurt. She quickly incanted in eldritch whispers, drowned out by the howling wind, as a mote of black flame appeared in her hand before launching at the creature, the flickering flames stubbornly resisting the battering breeze [Chaos Bolt]. The magical attack struck across the elemental's body, betraying its deceptive physicality, as the creature roared in pain, the gathered wind whipping all the more feverishly in response.
Sylvari quickly followed her attack up with a challenging shout [Knight, Challenging Mark], daring the creature to come and attack her rather than her comparatively defenseless comrades. The challenge worked well, but the elemental was not foolish enough to engage the justiciar in melee combat. Instead, it summoned cutting blasts of winds that streaked down towards Sylvari, who dodged some and quickly through up a magical shield to block the worst of the second attack [Black Shield]. She bared her teeth as the sudden dodge forced her to land awkwardly on her arm, dislocating it.
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Post by Rena Brighteyes on Jan 26, 2024 16:51:46 GMT -5
Rena grits her teeth, letting out a sharp trill and gesturing for Bell to go with Sylvari. His Shroud would aid in her spellwork far more than it would his wife’s martial abilities. In the meantime, the living crow flicks four bayonets coated in hard, black, sharpened frost toward the elemental, the slender blades piercing through the wind and slamming into the creature’s side.
Black frost spreads a short ways from the points of impact, forming four small black circles on the thing’s side, the blades stuck in up to the bandles. The elemental screams, grabbing at the bayonets lodged in its flesh, trying to pull the blades free to no avail.
Bell trills softly, traveling down to join Sylvari, the aura of mist taking too much out of him to let him help his wife's sister up, despite his best attempts to do so.
His wife grins, circling around the elemental from below, flexing her hands as her bone white eyes pierce through the wind and rain, boring into the creature’s windy skull as she works her wings to maintain her altitude and stability as she follows the thing.
The wind buffets her from side to side, tearing through her feathers and whipping at her dress as she flies.
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Post by Sylvari Dawnsage on Jan 26, 2024 17:18:16 GMT -5
Sylvari rolled to her feet, giving Bell a sharp nod as she came up, just in time to see Rena send a quartet of throwing knives into the elemental. The elemental howled in fury, causing the storm to intensify even more, but otherwise had no ability to repay Rena, for the strength of Sylvari's mark was too strong. A few more black flames thrown by the justiciar [Chaos Bolt], amplified with Bell's support, saw the elemental diving toward the ground, intent on bloodying the troublesome vampiress, as the black shield surrounding her made her unaffected by the creature's wind blasts.
The elemental drove a fist of concussive wind into Sylvari, who caught the blow on her shield, unmoved despite the massive size and force differential [Knight, Immovable Bastion]. Now in range with her weapons, the vampiress smiled, dangerous and predatory. As Sylvari lunged in with her wicked warhammer, dancing with frost and light [Spell Blade, Arcane Soul] [Celestial, Angelic Light], in her deadly pirouette style [Double Strike Enchantment], a second weapon flew, unattached [Spell Blade, Living Weapon] and invisible [Spell Blade, Unseen Companion], to strike the creature from behind. In its whirling frenzy, the flail struck the creature multiple times [Double Strike Enchantment], restoring some vitality to its mistress with each strike [Life Link Enchantment]. Like her main weapon, Sylvari's new flail flared with elemental magics, as golden lightning flowed through the elemental's now-flickering form [Spell Blade, Arcane Soul] [Celestial, Angelic Light].
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Post by Rena Brighteyes on Jan 26, 2024 21:24:34 GMT -5
Rena grins wide as she dives down to join the fray, grabbing onto the handles of two bayonets and wrenching them free before slashing her icy blades into the elemental’s side, carving furrows of black ice into the mass of wind. She trills sharply, dancing backward to dodge any potential reprisal even as the elemental screams and flails, desperately trying to get away from the fight, from the people who have begun to so thoroughly take it down.
Bell grins, carefully moving to keep Sylvari in his aura as he watches, fingers flexing in evidence of a very obvious desire to be able to join in the fight himself. He'd been something between a smith and a warrior in life, forging his clan's weapons and armor and tools, wielding his own work in battle with members of the other clans.
The chicks watch, fascinated by the display of violence, chirping and cooing curiously as they press tiny hands against the glass of the window. They'd never seen their aunt or mother do anything like this, and they were practically glued to the glass between them and the battle out in the storm.
The elemental screeches, slashing at Sylvari with talons of cutting, razor wind.
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Post by Sylvari Dawnsage on Jan 29, 2024 11:12:53 GMT -5
The elemental's manifested talons impacted uncaring metal as the justiciar raised her shield to protect against the savage blow [Shield Hit Preventions 2/3]. Sylvari's flail, still spinning invisibly, continued its relentless assault against the foe, who tried in vain to retaliate against its unseen attacker. At such intervals, the vampiress' warhammer sang with battering blows that each would have felled a man.
The elemental was a hale and hardy opponent indeed, but even its superior defenses were being steadily whittled down between Sylvari's twin weapons and Rena's unopposed onslaught of icy daggers. The creature's form began to flicker as the steady wind currents that comprised its body sloughed off in little torrents. The trio had nearly beaten the air elemental and the anticipated end of the fight gave Sylvari's limbs renewed energy as she struck with a furious frenzy.
Catching the enemy with a staggering blow to the head that left it reeling, the justiciar raised her voice to her sister to coordinate the final attack. "Now, Rena! Finish this!" Punctuating her command and providing a base against which to push for leverage, Sylvari charged forward, pressing the elemental forward upon her shield as she presented the foe as an offering to her friend.
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Post by Rena Brighteyes on Jan 29, 2024 13:14:37 GMT -5
Rena lunges forward, using the motion to impart greater force to her bayonets as she hurls them with all her might into the elemental’s core. The slender, ice coated blades drive deep and unleash their frozen payload into the unfortunate creature’s heart. Black frost spreads through the currents making up the air elementals form, tracing lines akin to veins and arteries as the creature struggles and screams and finally, finally dies, its slowly dissipating carcass pinned on Sylvari’s shield by a pair of long, slender bayonets coated in thick, black, razor sharp ice.
The living crow lets out a triumphant caw, already summoning the four bayonets she’d thrown back to her hands1, the ice coated blades glinting a wet black in the rain as her bone white eyes glance around for more threats, only calming when her husband lays a hand on her shoulder and smiles softly, “...you did wonderfully, ka’to’bi2…but it’s time to go back to the little ones, I think. No threats remain that I can discern. You both,” he glances to Sylvari meaningfully, “did marvelously. I haven’t seen a display of martial and arcane prowess like that in years. Certainly none of the Valley Clans would have been able to take down an elemental that quickly”
The chicks chirp excitedly as they watch their mother, aunt, and father finish off the air elemental, their growing minds alight with possibilities. The necromantic magic animating little Buzzing Locusts won’t allow them to fight without going into a frenzy, but there’s no such thing stopping Distant Whistle…and in any case, there’s nothing stopping either of them from learning. Even in a frenzy, Loci could benefit from training…unknown to their parents, the twins share a nod, their minds made up. They’ll learn how to fight, so they can protect themselves, so they can do battle alongside their parents and aunt.
1 - Summon Possession 2 - Ravenstongue - me/my/mine love/heart/dear
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Post by Sylvari Dawnsage on Jan 29, 2024 16:35:48 GMT -5
The vampiress commanded her floating flail, now visible back to its sheath on her side and turned to give the spectral crow a small smile. "The benefits of years and leagues, dear Bell. I am surely more than I was at the start of my journey, and Rena too, I'd wager, precisely because of the path that led me here. It is through the fire that a blade is tempered, and I daresay both my sister and I have faced our fair share of heat. But yes, let us return to the little ones, now that we are assured our hard work hasn't gone to waste."
As Sylvari sheathed her main weapons, she turned to pull Rena into a tender hug. "Marvelously done, sister mine. That elemental would have been a destructive pain without your aid. I hesitate to say any should have superiority of the skies with an air elemental, but our combined talents make it a close thing." The vampiress' crimson eyes, just visible from the fluttering of her half veil in the dying wind, sparkled with affectionate admiration, and the trio walked in companionship back to where the chicks awaited them eagerly within the warm hearth hall of the inn.
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Post by Rena Brighteyes on Feb 1, 2024 16:51:16 GMT -5
Rena hugs her sister tight, chirping happily as she smiles, “...you Marking it was pretty helpful. I…left all my armor in the Valley, and I haven’t exactly been keeping up on the training needed to move how I like to in plate,” she smiles softly, trilling softly and reluctantly pulling away from her sister, silver eyes glinting with joy as the group walks back into the inn. They find the chicks chirping excitedly at the door, bouncing up and down, their eyes wide and full of excitement - or, well, Whistle’s are. Locust’s eyelights had morphed into stars at some point, the undead nestling rattling their bones with sheer excitement.
The couple shares a chuckle, Rena gently scooping the chicks into her arms and cradling them close as they quiet down, “...and what’s got you two in such a tizzy, hm? Did-” she pauses, then smirks, “...you two saw mom, dad and aunty fighting, didn’t you?” those words elicit more excited trills and chirps, Buzzing Locusts nestling into their mother’s warmth, eyelights still starry.
Bell chuckles softly, nuzzling into the crook of his wife’s neck and trilling in amusement, “...I see those gears turning. You’re thinking of teaching them knives, aren’t you”
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