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(BETA: CD) Ashior


Incubus

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(No, this isn't a PbP Kingdoms Game. Nor does it have anything to do with said game. PbP Kigndoms proved to be about a hundred times more work than I anticipated, system wise, because my attempt to write a simple system failed abysmally. It's dead, move on.)

No one was quite sure what happened, or how. The only thing that seemed to matter, however, was the results. The dreamscape, a combined resonance of humanities hopes and dreams had quite suddenly become a very dark place. What was once a mostly peaceful realm was now covered in monsters who wandered about, committing vile acts. Humanity no longer dreamed, this was just one big nightmare.

It didn't take long for the Angels to move into action, their resources poured into the dreamscape in order to try and find the cause for this, and cleanse it. Their orders remained unchanged for the norm, protect mankind from spiritual danger, save those who will be saved and punish those who choose not to be. For in this dreamscape, the minds of those dreaming wandered and took form; some victimised by the monsters, others influenced by the twisted nature of the place to become monsters themselves.

Angelic judgement would have to be both swift and wise, for they themselves were not above corruption. Unjust decisions or falling under the influence of monsters would erode the core of their being and should they stray too far, they themselves would become just another monster of this nightmare world.

Ashior, one of the heavenly Inquisitors, stepped through her entrance into the world and surveyed her surroundings. From here, things looked normal enough; she was in a well groomed glade, a simple yet idealistic stone path trailed through pleasant looking trees and a little wooden bridge crossed over a small stream. Not a hint of darkness in sight, but this was only proof that heaven's influence from the portal she had stepped through was able to keep this taint at bay, at least for now. With only one way to go, forwards, it was only a matter of time before she began to notice the effects, presumably.
 

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Re: (BETA) Corrupted Dreams

Ashior surveyed her surroundings with a dispassionate glare, her hands clenched into fists. In another time, the peaceful surroundings might have pleased the angelic maiden, but with her duty to preserve this place at the forefront of her thoughts, Ashior stepped forth into the dreamscape with a heavy heart. Her white feathered wings stretched out behind her as she cleared the portal, stirring the low grass slightly. Her flowing white robe seemed to hang heavily upon her, though it was more the weight of her duty that bore her down now. The upper half of her face was hidden beneath the hood of her garment, her golden eyes and all but the ends of short crimson hair hidden in shadow.

She paused, briefly, to take her kite-shield down from her back and strap it to her arm. For the moment, she left her mace hanging from her leather belt, the only part of her form that wasn't either pure white or gleaming silver. If need be, she could reach it there at a moments notice. So, down the stone pathway did she go, marching off into the dreamscape with her shield strapped to her arm, searching for the first signs of the corruption that was slowly taking over, and preventing all of mankind from dreaming.

(Action: Follow the road.)
 
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Incubus

Incubus

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Re: (BETA) Corrupted Dreams

Crossing over the little bridge and moving further down the road, the changes began to appear to the Inquisitor. The trees slowly, subtly became less friendly looking, changing in shade from a peaceful light green to much darker shades of leaves, with more and more branches stretching out skeletally, their leaves missing and what remains looking weak and sickly. Dark clouds seemed to gather in the sky, reducing the amount of light and the peaceful chirping of birds was replaced by the dark caw of a carrion crow. All in all, good omens.

Up ahead, the path seemed to come to a crossroads, but it was what was in the centre of those that attracted the interest of the inquisitor. A large, greyish steed with a horn erupting from its head, clearly a unicorn, was locked in combat with three much smaller creatures who darted around it on light wings, stabbing at it with small tridents. Sprites of some variety, the were garbed in dark green clothing, and laughed joyously as they outmanoeuvred the cornered beast, striking at him like a pack of wolves; stabbing at his flanks while his attention was focused elsewhere and darting out the way before he could get at them. The poor beast didn't know where to turn and it was clearly a losing battle for him...
 

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Re: (BETA) Corrupted Dreams

Ashiors pace quickened as signs of corruption began to appear aside her path. The sooner she found the source of it, the sooner she could halt its spread, and allow the dreamscape to begin the road to recovery. When she happened upon the combat between the unicorn and the three winged, trident-wielding creatures, Ashior calmly drew her mace into her hand, and pushed her shield in front of her. She could not leave so noble a creature to be savaged by such malevolent creatures. Wordlessly, she rushed toward the green-garbed sprites, the Angelic Inquisitor, moving as silently as a ghost. As soon as she came within range, her mace descended down onto one of the little sprites, trying to drive it into the ground, before she brought up her shield to fend against any retaliation.

(Rush in, swing, ready shield. 6 AP unless movement requires action.)
 
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Incubus

Incubus

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Re: (BETA) Corrupted Dreams

(Movement, hadn't even thought of that. Call it 1AP for now. Recharges every round anyways.)

The charge proved successful, the mace striking one of the sprites with a resounding crack, sending it to the ground where it showed no intention of getting up. "Hey, who's this then?" one of the remaining sprites asked the other. "Dunno but she doesn't seem friendly," the other replied with a laugh as the pair backed off, before turning to fly away.

The unicorn, however, was still thrashing about madly, only the angel's honed reflexes saved her from a goring with the horn, bringing her shield up in time to deflect the blow, and it reared back, letting out a mighty cry as it pawed the air with its hooves threateningly.
 

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Re: (BETA) Corrupted Dreams

(Movement is a bit of a pain in the ass to figure out, in my experience.)

Her angelic mace raised itself high once more, preparing to strike down another of the creatures, when they flew off. So the corruption-spawned abominations could speak? That could complicate matters, though she realized that it shouldn't have come as a surprise. This was the land of dreams, after all. She might have given chase to the creatures, if it weren't for the unicorn still bucking and thrashing about wildly. She turned toward the creature just in time to block its horn with her shield. This wasn't good.

With a jump, and powerful flap of her wings, Ashior hurled herself several feet backwards, coming to a halt upon the ground with her shield up and ready. "Calm yourself, oh purity. I mean you no harm. I am a maiden of the heavens, and a friend. Those that would harm you are gone from here, for the time being." While she meant what she said, Ashior prepared herself in case the mythical beast took aggressive action against her, her shield readied and her legs and wings tensed to dodge aside if the unicorn charged.

(Move back and use the shield. 1 AP movement, and if I can use more than one action for it per turn, put 8 AP into defense. Otherwise, just put the 2 points into it and let the rest recycle. Also, I'm guessing that I can't actually fly?)
 
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Incubus

Incubus

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Re: (BETA) Corrupted Dreams

(Yeah, if only because flight would be a pain in the ass to deal with. And no, you can't sink extra AP into more defence, sadly.)

The unicorn continued to trash about for a little, still hurting from its wounds, but slowly, it began to calm down; the angel backing off certain aided that. Eventually, it came to a halt, although it lowered its head and gave a threatening snort, eyes narrowed at the girl before him. It seemed that whilst the sprites could speak, this creature could not.
 

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Re: (BETA) Corrupted Dreams

(Okay.)

Lowering her shield as the unicorn seemed to calm itself, Ashior said; "If I were able to, I would try to heal your wounds, but I sadly lack the ability to use the healing arts." Then, the angel bowed, one of her wings sweeping forward in a regal gesture, before she straightened and continued; "Though you do not speak, I believe that you can understand me, so go now in peace, oh purity." Then, unless the unicorn made to do something, Kaila would approached the fallen sprite, in order to examine it.
 
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Incubus

Incubus

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Re: (BETA) Corrupted Dreams

The unicorn gave what appeared to be a suspicious stare, before slowly beginning to limp away, clearly still in a lot of pain from its wounds. Examining the sprite, Ashior could see it was a small creature, three to four feet tall wearing a set of loose leather clothing. The blow from the mace had done a number on its skull, so it wasn't getting up, but rolling it over, the differences between its features and a human's were obvious enough.

For starters, its eyes were a sharp golden colour and its face more angled, features sharper and more akin to a predator. Looking into its mouth, its teeth were all pointed, further proof of this; perhaps they had intended to eat the unicorn once they had killed it. A chilling thought, speaking metaphorically, to eat purity like that. On its back were a set of wings similar to that of a dragonfly, long and slender; it was obvious that they were an inherently magical creature as such wings were not nearly large enough to support their weight. And the short black trident lay there still, the tip coated in a silvery translucent, obvious to be unicorn blood.

Other than the scuffle, the clearing here was empty, but the path branched off in three different directions. East the unicorn travelled, the path seeming to continue along as it had been, trees on either side. To the north, the sprites had fled; the pathway seemed to open out into great fields of tall grass, littered with withered flowers that presumably once bloomed brightly. And to the north, the path seemed to lead off into some foothills, disappearing from view behind one. Under normal circumstances, such dramatic changes of scenery would seem... unnatural. But this was the dreamscape, and it did tend to wander from one idea to another like that.
 

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Re: (BETA) Corrupted Dreams

After taking in the details of her fallen foe, Ashior decides that it might be best to follow the two that had fled. The creatures were clearly dangerous, and were also at least intelligent enough to speak. They might posses some information for her, and even if they didn't, they were clearly beings of corruption, so removing them was clearly in line with her goals. So, the angelic woman replaced her mace onto her belt after giving the sprite another solid blow to the head, and then started down the way they'd taken, through the tall grass.
 
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Incubus

Incubus

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Re: (BETA) Corrupted Dreams

Before long the angel was completely surrounded by the long grass, the tips of which reached out onto the path and brushed against her as she walked down the stone path, no longer the aesthetic design it one was, now cracked and uneven causing her to have to watch her footing.

There was already no sign of the sprites, as she glanced about the sea of grass, looking for some kind of clue as to where next. And then she heard a rustling sound, to her left, a short distance away; but as soon as she whirled to examine it, it had stopped.

And then another, now behind her, but again, it stopped as she turned to face it. This was always such a good sign.
 

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Re: (BETA) Corrupted Dreams

Ashior turned this way and that, trying to ascertain the source of the sounds that kept popping up around her, and yet not once had she managed to spot the source of them. Clearly, a different course of action was required. She drew her mace, and then turned her back to the place where she'd last heard the sound, closing her eyes and concentrating. She lifted her shield into the air, and uttered a single word of power, causing her body to emit a pulse of white light. The tall grass around her momentarily flattened, and her shield began to glow with a soft white light. "Come then, and die upon this field, cretins." She muttered, lifting her shield and listening for the source of the sound once more, waiting until it began to close before she turned to meet it, her shield ready.

(Use Faiths Shield, and then put 2 AP into Defense.)
 
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Re: (BETA) Corrupted Dreams

Suddenly erupting from the grass, thin, vine-like tendrils lashed out and wrapped themselves around the angel faster than she could react; she just wasn't facing the right direction to put the shield between them and her. Grabbing her by the waist and the wrist of her mace hand, they began trying to drag her off the path, into the waist high grass either side.

(You can try to break free using your body score, the more AP you sink into it, the greater the bonus you'll get to the roll, but the less chance you'll have to do anything else before it can act again. Your spell does remain active though.)
 

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Re: (BETA) Corrupted Dreams

Ashior began to struggle immediately and determinately as the vines began dragging her into the brush. It had already ambushed her once, and if she got pulled further into the tall grass, she'd be at an even great disadvantage, even if she did pull free of them. Ideally, she would be able to free herself and swing her mace at them before they could recede back into the bushes for another go.

(Put 5 AP into trying to escape. If escape is successful, take a swing with the mace.)
 
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Incubus

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Re: (BETA) Corrupted Dreams

With a great tug, she pulled against the creature and broke free of its grasp, although the sticky vines tore away a strip of her robe around her waist as it came loose as well as leaving a sticky trace of green goo on her wrist. In retaliation, she swung her mace at the vines, connecting and outright severing one of them as the remainder disappeared back into the grass.

The severed piece of vine continued to squirm and flop about on the path, the green ooze pouring out of it even as another rustling sound alerted Ashior to another attack. This time she was more than ready, whirling fast enough to slam her shield into the vines as they rushed at her, leaving them wide open for another counter-attack.
 

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Re: (BETA) Corrupted Dreams

Tasting victory, Ashior lessened her defense, whirling her mace through the air and trying to strike the tentacle-vines twice. The tear in her robes and the trace of green goo on her wrist could, at least for the moment, be ignored.

(2 swings, 8 AP total.)
 
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Re: (BETA) Corrupted Dreams

With righteous zeal, the angel struck once more against the vines, the first blow smashing through another, although the second failed to connect to the now withdrawing vines. Now two disconnected vines danced upon the paved path, flailing and writhing in spasms.

However, the fight wasn't over yet, and this time the vines came for her ankles, grabbing onto each of them separately from behind and giving her a firm tug, once again intent on dragging her off into the grass.
 

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Re: (BETA) Corrupted Dreams

Stumbling as the vines wound around her ankles, Ashior tried to recover and pull herself free. With two vines severed and writhing in their death throes on the ground, the angel doubted that her attacker, whatever it might be, could last much longer. So, she dropped to a kneeling position, trying to retain enough stability so that she could swing her mace down on the vines that were trying to yank her off of her feat and pull her into the grass. Her wings spread above her, and began to flap, adding to her stability and pushing the tall grass down via the wind they generated.

(5 AP into escape, and use the last 4 for another attack if I get free. How's the system holding up so far?)
 
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Re: (BETA) Corrupted Dreams

Once again the angel tore free of her attacker, swinging with the mace and claiming another vine in the process as the other one escaped back into the grass. Any thoughts about impending victory were soon dispelled however, the sound of the earth moving reverberated and a large pod rose out of the grass, a short distance from the path.

The broken vines flailed around the pod madly, clearly extending from it, as well as the one remaining intact one, and the pod opened slightly, puffing a pinkish powder into the air, perhaps some kind of pollen. Either way, the best she could do was huddle behind her shield, as the cloud was large enough to easily envelop her and the area around her.

While she couldn't avoid inhaling it, her body got to work destroying any harmful toxins in the pollen and she regulated her breathing to take in as few as she possibly could. Before long, the pollen had dissipated and she felt no adverse effects from it, as she stared up at the emerged pod.
 

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Re: (BETA) Corrupted Dreams

Trying to control her breathing as the wave of pollen swept over her, Ashior wondered what the pink substance was supposed to do to her. Her resistance to magic allowed her to ignore the small amounts of the pollen that she had no choice but to breathe in. The pod that had released the substance must have been the source of the vines as well. If she could destroy that, this fight would be over. Once more forsaking defense for aggression, Ashior rushed forward, slamming her mace repeatedly into the pod.

(Double attack on the pod. Use an AP to move if necessary.)
 
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