Irulia: The Spirit Changers Quest

[Deleted User - 819397]

Mandan made care to steady Sera as she attempted to embrace him, missing because he'd stepped back. As she thanked him with zeal, he simply replied, "You owe me nothing…we're siblings, right?" He immediately regretted saying this, however, as the girl, still holding onto him, enquired after what he'd been about to say…he couldn't simply continue to claim it was nothing, as she'd be able to throw the sibling card back at him. Cursing his luck, cursing the fact that fate had it out for him, he frantically tried to find a way to get out of telling her…and he found none. He knew she wouldn't tell the others without his permission, and she knew he knew that, so he couldn't use that as a bargaining chip…he was well and truly backed into this corner.

"Sera…I…ever since he spoke to me…I…I haven't…I haven't been able…to…transform." The dark boy's voice had faded to practically nothing by the time he managed to spit it out, and it was in a slightly more audible tone that he continued. "I've tried…I can more effectively block out emotions and think rationally when I'm the panther…I was hoping I could use it to sort through things without my emotions crushing me from every angle…but since I…I've not had that option, thus my current state." He neglected to mention the lack of eating or sleeping, figuring that since they had the same source it would be redundant to bring them up. "I've…I've never had an issue before…it's been effortless to be the panther for years, so much that I've felt that perhaps in a past life I was one…and now suddenly I can't manage it, no matter how much I struggle…I…how am I still a Spirit Changer, when I lack our titular ability?" Mandan's voice was tight with pain and anger, though it wasn't clear where the rage was directed…at The Ultimate One, or himself. "How can I be destined for great things when the one thing that I had truly mastered is now beyond me? It defies all logic…"

 

[DeletedUser28032]

Despite having just crashed into him the pair of them recovered fairly quickly though no doubt her cheeks would be glowing pink once again, something that was beginning to happen far too often for Seraphim’s liking, though being referred to as Mandan’s sibling was quite nice.
Remaining quiet so as not to put him off, Seraphim listened as Mandan reluctantly confessed to what was really wrong with him; the girl fully understanding why he had kept it a secret as he finished by asking what kind of Spirit Changer could he be if he couldn’t even transform? “The same kind that can’t see I guess” she replied with a small smile and a quiet voice “...we make quite a pair don’t we? How are we supposed to save the world when we can’t even look after ourselves...she’s seriously backed the wrong horse hasn’t she?” she said with a wry shake of her head hoping that Mandan would appreciate the irony of the situation.
However realising that this would help matters she instead cast her mind around for a solution to his problem, wishing that they were back at the citadel where she could ask one of the lecturers or at the very least look through the library...well...ok ask someone else to look through the library for her as reading was yet another thing she wouldn’t be doing. The thought of never again being able to sit in a corner and escape into a fantasy world and forget that she was the plain looking girl that everyone picked on if only for a few hours almost made her burst into tears. It was only Mandan’s comforting arms and his own problems that stopped her from doing so “Is it just the panther you can’t...you know...or is it all of your forms?” she whispered, not wanting to say anything too loud or obvious as she was unable to see if anybody was paying attention to what they were saying “also...you’re going to think I am being silly but...have you tried doing the exercises we were taught?” they hadn’t done them in years, silly mental exercises they’d been told to do as children to help them transform the first time, even as a five year old she’d thought them silly but without any better idea’s she didn’t know what else to suggest, besides it wasn’t like Mandan had anything to lose by trying.
It was around this point that she heard Seamus announce that it was time for them to start moving again causing her to give a sigh of resignation “We’d better start moving again, we wouldn’t want to upset our illustrious leader now would we?”

 

[DeletedUser31931]

Sam ate his lunch alone, in silence. His thought were his own for now and they could remain that way. Seamus gave them five minutes to finish eating and so he did, finishing up and putting the food away in his backpack; he stood up and moved over to where Seamus was, waiting for Lecta and the others to make their way over.

Rakasi
Daniel wiped the sweat off of his brow. He and the other Spirit changers had been standing guard here for several days now, when the wall had been erected they had known something was happening and had congregated in the towns and villages, their intention to defend them from whatever ill might be about to befall the land. He could not have predicted the sight he saw before him though, Arthur stumbling along the road, his shoulders hunched and his clothes pulled up to cover his face from the sun. Daniel recognised the boy, he'd done extra physical activities with the boy, who had always been in incredible shape, even for a Spirit Changer. He called out to Arthur, yet elicited no response from him, almost as if the boy failed to even recognize his presence there. "Arthur... Are you alright?" He called out. And then he saw the cracks, he'd never seen them on a person before, but he had studied their history, he knew what they meant, the red veins running down his body. "Sound the alarm! Evacuate the town! That boy is a Demon changer and we must defeat him." Daniel's throat caught during that last sentence, but he had learnt the true meaning of duty in his time as a Spirit Changer. Whatever relationship he had with the boy, the lives of the innocent people came first. As he drew his broadsword, wisps of smoke uncurled from Arthur. And then the slaughter began.

The Mountain Cave
The boy had escaped, that could well be problematic, but Reibald was not worried, he would most likely cause large amounts of trouble for the Spirit Changers, more than he would to the Demon Changers. "They're going to have a very long list of worries by the time I'm done with them." He muttered to himself as he rubbed his hands together, in some approximation of maniacal glee. He entered the room where the acolytes were, all ten of them gathered round a crystal, a crystal into which these acolytes had been pouring their life essence, it would leave them a drained out husk by the end, but it gave the Demon changers the necessary power and was considered to be a great honour. "It's tiiiiiiiiiiiime!" He cried out and the shadows unfurled from his body, flicking back to form a pair of wings behind him that grew and extended to surround the circle. The acolytes, instead of retreating to a safe distance, pressed themselves against the crystal, their souls were not enough this time, the spell required physical bodies. The shadow wings slammed into the crystal, absorbing the acolytes and infusing itself into the crystal. Reibald uttered a sentence in the ancient language, calling forth the demons to do his bidding, and so they did. And that's when it happened.

For several seconds, across the entire world of Irulia the skies turned pitch dark. It was like what had once been described as a solar eclipse, but darker somehow, it was clouds blocking out the sun and they seemed dark, foreboding, almost... malevolent one might say. They were not merely just blocking the sunlight but actively taking it. Then, suddenly, it was back to normal, the light shone in the sky and the world seemed as at peace as it had ever been.

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

Mandan made a noise halfway between affirmation and despair when Sera mentioned that The Ultimate One was backing the wrong people if he wanted to save the world. She then questioned as to whether it was just his panther or his other forms. Having not tried to shift into anything other than his favorite, he quickly attempted to access the other three, to no avail. "All of them, it would seem," he muttered, miserable. The girl mentioned that perhaps the exercises they'd used as young children would enable him to reconnect with his forms. While he'd found the workouts involved with this procedure idiotic even when he was young, he had to admit they provided results. Resigning himself to the attempt, he dropped his head slightly. "It couldn't hurt to try…it's not like anything else is working…"

It was as Sera suggested they listen to Seamus' order to pack up that it happened…the sky went dark, clouds obscuring the world. The dark boy gaped openly in shock, veil stretched taut. Realizing that Sera couldn't see what was happening, he spoke up for her benefit. "Sera…the world went dark…clouds…something's wrong…very wrong…" They were too late. The Ultimate One had been wrong, so wrong about them. Not only were they not able to save the world, they hadn't even reached the fool. He was indeed a failed person…it was over…whatever the Demon Changers were doing, they'd won.

It was as he had just about completely lost the will to stand that the change reversed itself, quick as it had come. "Sera…the clouds are gone…" Whatever they'd tried, it hadn't been perfect…but surely this failed experiment meant it was too late, that they'd fix it in a matter of minutes and that'd be the end of it? Again he felt useless. He was sixteen, how was he supposed to handle this? He was sixteen, struggling with the overwhelming concept that his worldview was incorrect, that he was doomed to die unless he changed it…or regardless, apparently. Nothing for it…he was a Spirit Changer who couldn't transform, couldn't do anything right…the world was over. "Sera…I don't think we can do anything anymore…I think we're done…" He knew that the others would want to keep going, even faster now that this had happened, and he'd follow them because there was always the chance that he'd be able to help at least one of them before they all died, but he no longer believed they had even an iota of a chance.

 

[Apelatia]

Lecta's eyes were drawn upwards when suddenly Irulia's sky turned black, and dark, foreboding clouds shifted far above his head. A hint of fear crept into the boy's eyes as he gazed transfixed at the sudden change in the skyscape. However, almost as soon as it had come, the darkness was gone again, and the brightness returned to the land just the same as it had appeared before. Lowering his head slowly, Lecta walked over to where Seamus and Sam stood, before asking in a nervous voice, "What just happened? That...didn't seem entirely natural to me. I'm worried..." His fears as potent as they had ever been, Lecta felt a sudden urge to leave his human form for a short moment. "Excuse me...Seamus, but I'm going to transform for a bit. I'll stay near, so don't worry. Mandan can lead Sera." Closing his eyes, Lecta concentrated before shifting into his pelican form. This done, he took off, flying a short distance above the group, but not so high as to be spotted easily...

 

[DeletedUser28032]

“I wish there was something more I could do to help Mandan, but...this is so far beyond anything we’ve ever been taught” Sera replied sadly to Mandan’s agreement to try their childhood mental exercises if only to prove them useless as well “Maybe it’s just a temporary thing and all you need is sufficient incentive to transform?...after all I only found my first form because I wanted to hide” it had been a particularly bad week when she’d finally managed to find her mouse form. Abigail for some reason had taken a serious dislike to her and had threatened to lock her in the cellars in order to get even with her by trapping her in the dark. Sera didn’t even know how she’d upset her, all she’d done was agree to help Peter with some of his homework, why had she deserved tormenting over that!?
It was as these rather unpleasant memories were circling her mind that Mandan suddenly announced that the sky had turned black prompting an irritated look to appear on the young girls face ”Seriously!? I am blind Mandan not stupid!” she said in an indignant voice as she came to the conclusion that he was making fun of her. However from listening to Mandan as he continued to speak and the few snatched words she caught from Lecta she suddenly began to doubt that he really was joking and that perhaps the sky really had turned black, could it even do that? She didn’t know but it didn’t sound good either way “You...you are joking aren’t you?” she asked hoping in vain that Mandan would suddenly burst out laughing, though perhaps that was asking a little too much when she came to think of it “But that’s not fair we haven’t even had a chance!” she said miserably; embracing Mandan in the hope that his presence would keep her from crying. She’d never really believed that she and Mandan would save the world; the idea of her being anything out of the ordinary was just simply preposterous. But to fail without having even time to make an attempt, however feeble was almost too much to bear.
It was also clear by the way Mandan spoke that he too felt that their cause was now lost, even going as far as to state that even though the others would wish to continue that their part in the Ultimate Ones plan was no longer relevant and that they had failed “Then we forge our own destiny, the Ultimate one’s plan may have failed but it doesn’t mean we have to” she said with a conviction that she’d never possessed before “We head north, by ourselves if needs be and live in the wastes. We’re earth caste Mandan even with our...disadvantages...we’re still more than capable of living off of the land and raising a guerrilla army. We may not beat them but we can sure as hell make them bleed”

 

[DeletedUser13682]

It appeared as though everyone was finally ready to leave; everyone taking full advantage of their 5 minute window. If it didn’t take them that long to get ready, then maybe the time limit should be shorter. Things seemed to be going well as the group began their departure, then something happened. For a moment, the sky turned dark, the air grew cold, and the Sun was blotted out from the sky. Almost as soon as it happened, the sky returned to normal. The group seemed to freak out over the event; Lecta had decided to turn into a pelican and fly away. “Scout ahead while you’re up there!” Seamus called after him. “Tell us if there are any concerns on the path ahead!”

The rest of the group seemed to become skittish; Mandan had given up entirely and Sera, after an initial dismissal as a cruel prank, seemed to think they needed to lead a guerrilla force against the Demon Changers. “All of you are jumping to conclusions. That was a mere solar eclipse.” Seamus, not entirely sure himself what had happened, believed the best path was to convince everyone that it was simply a mundane cosmic event. “I doubt any of you remember, but I had built an antikythera a while ago, and it predicted cosmic events. This was one of them. I had utterly forgotten about that. Come along now; we must keep moving forward. We must at least get food.”

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

Sera, after an initial phase of disbelief, joined Mandan in his thoughts that they were done, but suggested that they form a resistance of some sort so that they might at least do some good. "I…can agree to that, but let us stay with the others for now, regardless…I…" his voice dropped to a whisper again. "…promised that I'd not let another one die due to inaction on my part, like with Leo." It was at this point that Seamus tried to pass off the event as a solar eclipse. In a fairly disheartened and miserable tone of voice, Mandan spoke up, "No. A solar eclipse is gradual, and it's very easy to see the moon overtake the sun. That was all at once, with nothing except the new clouds to cause the change. No mundane event happened there." With his piece said, the dark boy fell silent, allowing Sera to continue to hold him for her benefit…and for his, though he'd never admit it. The event had been too much for him, and for the first time in his life he found the physical contact comforting instead of unnerving.

 

[DeletedUser31931]

(Plot twist number whatever we're on now)

Sam
As the eclipse happened, his world fell to pieces. He sank to his knees. Was it all wrong? Was all their work in vain? He'd failed the group and he'd failed himself, he couldn't even help Mandan! Sara, in her blind state, was doing more to help him than he ever could do. As Seamus tried to dismiss it, Mandan rebuffed him and Sam had to agree "I guess we could try and finish the quest anyway. Whatever they were doing, they failed for the time being, so surely it would be worth it to try. If we can be initiated, unlock our true power, we'd stand more of a chance, wouldn't we?"

Lecta
As he took off the world seemed quiet, almost peaceful... Enylia was far off in the distance and he could see smoke rising from chimneys, it was all peaceful, he could not see at this distance but the streets seemed clear, as if people had hidden after the eclipse. Behind him, over the marshes, lay Rakasi. It was further off and he could barely make out the small town, but one thing was obvious: A large amount of smoke rose up from the town, more than normal and enough smoke to be worrying.

Sera
After Sam had said his piece, suddenly she heard a voice in her head, the voice was unmistakably that of Reibald and he addressed not her, but a group of people "My brothers and sisters, stage one is complete. The spell is cast and even if that boy is loose, he will cause more trouble for the Spirit changers than for us... We must continue, we have no time to lose, if the Spirit Changers catch wind of our plans or if this year's initiates manage to complete the journey... they could still end this. Recall to the mountain and we will move onto the next stage from there." It appeared that her loss of sight had given her an alternate sense, she was tuned into the network through which the Demon Masters communicated, she could hear their messages in her head whenever they were broadcast.

(OOC: Obviously, when there are messages I will post about it).

 

[DeletedUser28032]

With only Seamus managing to remain calm; stating that what had occurred was merely a solar eclipse Great a once in a lifetime event and I've missed it! Sera tried to come up with a plan of what they should do next. Mandan had kind of agreed with her idea of going north though was reluctant to leave the group just yet; citing the oath he had made as his reason for doing so.
Before Sera could go any further voices started whispering into her head; the fear of what this could possibly mean for her sanity causing her to go numb with fear. It was the demon changer, the one they'd seen in the cave though how and why he was speaking to her she couldn't even fathom. But wait...he wasn't speaking to her, he was speaking to someone else almost as if she was listening through a keyhole.
The voice cut off before she could learn anything useful like what they were doing or which mountain they were meeting at only that there was still time and that defeating them was still possible. Assuming of course that she wasn't going mad and imagining it all “Maybe it would be best for us to head into town? If only to find weapons and food” she suggested quietly, they could always head north afterwards if they needed to, and it would be nice to carry a real weapon again.

 

[Apelatia]

Lectanus soared above the group, flapping slowly with a constant rhythm to gain momentum, before swooping around so as not to lose the group. Everything was quiet, almost as if nothing were happening in the world...and that it lay dormant, waiting for something to spark it into action. As it was though, he preferred it this way... The less running around and hype, the better as far as he was concerned. He could spot Enylia in the distance, with wisps of smoke rising from the tall chimneys as should be. However, as far as he could tell, the streets seemed...deserted, as if all the inhabitants had decided of one accord to pack up and leave. Slightly confused, prepared to turn back towards the group for the final time. It was as he swung around that he noticed in the distance, across the distant marshes which they had travelled through, a town burning with a toxic smoke rising from its dwelling places. If his geographic knowledge was correct, that was most likely...Rakasi. He'd never been very apt at geography back at the Citadel, but his meager knowledge told him that his assumption was likely correct... Alarmed, Lecta dived towards the ground as fast as he dared, returning to his human form 5 metres above the ground. It was at this point that he realised that he misjudged his speed, and such found himself landing completely off-balance, causing him to fall forwards onto his face, further muddying his already dirty clothes.

With the group just metres away, Lecta groaned from the dull pain that assailed his legs, as it was them that had taken the main force of the fall. His lack of ability to heal wasn't going to serve him well here, unless... Reaching down to his leg, Lecta closed his eyes, before trying to open himself to the healing power. This was to no avail, however, and as such, Lecta groaned again before slowly pushing himself onto his feet, before staring bleary-eyed at the group. It was then that he remembered why he'd rushed to make the descent. "Guys! Disaster! It's...Rakasi?! The town...back across the marshes, it's burning - smoke rising in big balloons - terrible event happening - Enylia empty - no smoke there - just 'empty'." Lecta's mangled speech would have made little impression if he were in a public speaking performance. As it was though, the group would have managed to grasp the main meaning of what he was saying. Lecta then bent over to nurse his bruised knees, hoping that no one would feel the need to inquire about why he wasn't healing them...

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

The group had seemed to agree to keep going, to go into Enylia and get supplies before continuing on. Having no objection, Mandan kept quiet, lost in his own head. He was suddenly shaken out of his personal world when Lecta swooped down from above and declared that Rakasi was ablaze. The dark boy staggered as if struck, eyes widening as a hailstorm of emotions swept across him. He couldn't figure out what to feel…his parents had abandoned him, given him up…he hated them, wanted nothing to do with them…but the news that they may not be alive anymore had brought something that he had nursed in the back of his mind, even as he hated the thought, to the forefront…an image of him finding them, getting answers from them...and possibly reconciling with them. Not enough to be a proper family, but to at least reach a neutral ground instead of him hating them. These two ideals, continuing to hate his parents and reconciling with them, battled within his mind, and he found himself unable to move. He didn't want to go to Rakasi…didn't want to see the place he'd've lived if he'd been allowed to live a normal life…didn't want to see his parents…but neither did he want them dead…he wanted to see them…he didn't…in a sudden motion he extricated himself from Sera, moved a couple feet away, back to the group, and pulled his veil off as he collapsed to his knees, retching. His stomach completely empty, this accomplished nothing aside from dry heaving, but the fact it had reached this critical point spoke wonders for the emotional torment roiling through him.

After a few moments he managed to get himself under control enough to stop dry heaving and replaced his veil. He made no motion to rise though, remaining on his knees, eyes vacant and unseeing as his two ideals continued to fight for dominance in his head.

 

[DeletedUser31931]

Sam
As the group continued to debate as to what they should do, Lecta dive-bombed the ground and transformed, misjudging it slightly and coming tumbling down. He then panted out that Enylia was empty... and that Rakasi was ablaze. Sam didn't even wait, he was already running, transforming into the cat for greater speed he set off, shouting "I'm going to help!" He was from Rakasi... he'd never seen his family and one of the things he had waited for was the end of their training, when he could return home and show them who he had become. He would not be a failure for them.... he would not let Rakasi burn with them inside, he would save it... somehow.

Rakasi
The Spirit changer twirled, shooting another dagger of wind out of his hand, sending it slicing through yet another tendril of darkness, as it fell to the floor and dissipated, he was sent staggering backwards clutching his shoulder as he found a spear lodged in his shoulder. Grunting, he pulled it out and looked at the spirit changers around him, there were only seven of them left now, they were barely containing this dark force as it kept on attacking them. There had been thirty or so to begin with and now... so few remained. He ducked to avoid a sword as it was sent flying towards his head, his air attunement giving him inhuman reflexes. It was the tendrils, they were learning, becoming more tactical. As the last of the humans fled their homes, there were few flames in Rakasi, there had been one fire were a house had been left with flame unattended but that had dealt with itself, most of the smoke had been created from the dissipating tendrils. The plan was to get the townspeople to the Lake and head across the marshy path, towards Fortress Drasia. The man sent two more daggers flying, one knocking a arrow out of the air whilst the other sliced the tendril that had been bombarding him. "Sir, we need your assistance on the far side!" Came a cry from one of the junior changers, the boy could have only completed the quest one or two years ago... this was a far cry from anything the Spirit Changers had had to deal with in the past, an attack on this scale had not been seen in several hundred years, they were described only in the history books and lessons taught to the changers. "I'm coming boy!" He cried back, and then sliced a tendril as it shot towards the junior, the tendril falling to the ground only a few inches from the boy's feet. Cursing his malfortune, he called out for the others to retreat, and slowly they began to run from Rakasi, leaving the dead to be taken by whatever demon they had been facing.

 

[DeletedUser28032]

They hadn't gotten very far when Lecta suddenly returned with a crash; and although she hadn't seen it for herself it wasn't hard to work out what he had done to illicit such a rough landing. The news that Rakasi or at least what Lecta thought was Rakasi, was ablaze was greeted with obvious concern amongst those within the group though nowhere near as extreme as the reactions from Mandan and Sam; her brother suddenly leaving her side to dry heave onto the road and the other boy to start running presumably towards the burning city "Wait! We don't what’s down there!" Sera called after Sam as he raced away. Before the accident she would have been able to chase him down but now she didn't stand a chance "quick one of you had better follow him before he gets himself killed!" she spoke to the rest of the group before cautiously moving to kneel beside Mandan; her hand eventually finding his shoulder after searching the air for several moments "are you alright?" she asked knowing that it was a stupid question, obviously he isn't alright else he wouldn't be here!
"Your parents came from Rakasi, didn't they?" she asked already knowing the answer, everyone pretty much knew where everyone came from. Their classes back at the citadel had been arranged by home towns for the first couple of years before they were finally integrated together. "Calm down they're probably fine, we don't know what’s happening it could be a simply house fire gone awry...besides I thought you hated your parents

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

His senses practically shut off as his mind battled itself, Mandan didn't hear the ensuing chaos as Sam ran off towards Rakasi. In the same fashion he barely registered Sera grabbing ahold of his shoulder, attempting to console him as he remained on his knees. Her words were lost on the dark boy, who was completely focused inward, unmoving, breathing hard. Sera, with her hearing heightened by her lack of sight, would be able to make out that he was saying something with the breathing, the same three words over and over, so quiet and so whispery it was very nearly lost in the ragged gulps of air he was taking. "...don't care I don't care I don't care I don't care I don't care I…" It wasn't clear whether or not he was aware of his mantra, as he was completely unresponsive, eyes unfocused and unseeing, almost completely still aside from his chest rising and falling and his mouth moving, repeating the same phrase as though it could protect him. "...care I don't care I don't care I don't care I don't care I don't care I don't…"

 

[Apelatia]

Lecta stared aghast as the scene erupted in a frenzy, Mandan had collapsed on the floor, and was now breathing heavily, and Sam had rashly decided to run off towards Rakasi, thinking that alone he could defeat whatever darkness had come to take the town. What was clear to him was that both of the distraught boys had come from Rakasi, and that they were both deeply affected by the news. Realising that only himself and Seamus remained in a fit state to do anything, he walked over the the other boy and looked him in the eye kindly, before speaking, "I'm not skilled in the art of persuasion, so I won't be going after him, Seamus. Plus, the more we...split up, the more exposed we become to attacks, and with those two in their current states, I don't see any option but to keep going to Enylia. I'm worried though... The town looked...abandoned from the air, so I'm fearful that something is going on that we don't know about... We need to make it to the Ultimate One... Even if they don't exist, it's better to risk our lives trying to do some kind of good than trying to kill ourselves by running headlong in our current state into a burning town with some unknown enemy of some kind..." Placing his left hand on the other boy's shoulder, he tried to get across a feeling of unity and kindness that might help strengthen their friendship...

 

[DeletedUser28032]

A sense of dread slowly began to grow within Seraphim as she knelt beside a clearly disturbed Mandan; the boy repeating the same phrase over and over like a mantra “Mandan? Are you alright Mandan? Please speak to me” she asked, fear edging into her voice as she shook him by the shoulders “Mandan stop it you’re scaring me...Mandan!” her hand suddenly moved from his shoulder to slap him hard across his cheek. She hoped that it would snap him out of whatever dark place he had fallen into if not then she would have to try something a little more drastic.

 

[Deleted User - 819397]

Mandan remained unresponsive to Sera's shaking, only reacting when she slapped him, not holding back. He fell to the side, not breaking his fall, the impact knocking his veil askew. This shocked him out of his reverie enough to realize that he'd fallen. "Wha…" he mumbled, shaking his head as though to clear it, not realizing for the moment that part of his face was exposed, though Sera's blindness would keep her from seeing. "Th…thank you…I needed that…" the dark boy continued, voice soft and deadpan. "I…I don't know what to feel. My parents abandoned me, I've hated them since I realized…but…I can't bring myself to feel anything but shock and horror that they are possibly dead. I don't…I don't understand, Sera. Why do I care at all? Why is this affecting me? Why…" He raised his hand to rub the cheek Sera had slapped, starting when bare skin touched bare skin. Realizing his veil had fallen out of place, he rapidly fixed it, listening to whatever response the girl had to give him.

 

[DeletedUser31931]

As Sam ran, he didn't notice the shimmering haze... he didn't see what was right ahead of him until he slammed face first into it. Changing back he slammed his fist on the wall of shadows. The wall was like a magical aura, but if examined closely, it would become apparent the barrier was made of flitting shapes, the shadows were not shadows but beings of darkness, they formed of darkness incarnate and hatred itself, darkness and red beady eyes, staring out at those. Sam did not see this though, he just slammed his fist down onto the shield repeatedly, choking on tears as he did.

Arthur
The shadows swirled around the body of the teenager, exploding out and finding their prey. The Spirit changers had put up more of a resistance than expected, which resulted in the Demons having to expend energy, but the earlier burst of magical energy had helped, the Demons absorbing the power released by the Demon Changers and adding it to their own and now the bodies fell. The majority of the town had escaped, but the Demons had their feast and it would be bountiful, certainly worth the energy expended to gain the feast, especially those Spirit Changers... Suddenly Arthur's body was rocked as a mass explosion rocked the far side, destroying the magical aurora on that side and blasting a hole in it. The Spirit changers had sacrificed one of their number in order to overload the shield... The body of the boy grimaced, deep inside it's conscience still lay the boy once known as Arthur, but now he was consumed by an all-burning hatred, the passion and power of the demons coursing through him, he was no longer himself but was a conduit for their concentrated rage. As the people began to flee the area controlled by the demons, the tendrils pulled away and instead gathered those left behind, dissolving their bodies into spirit energy before absorbing them. Arthur floated away and began to head south towards the wilderness. He would come out of this ordeal stronger, however, for now he needed to rest.

 

[DeletedUser13682]

Things were not going well, not very well at all. The town of Rakasi was in flames, maybe, and Sam was compelled to run off to help out. Mandan was suffering from some fit of some sort, taking him and Sera out of commission (someone needed to get Mandan out of his paralyzing fit). That left Lecta and himself to sort things out. Lecta suggested that they keep heading towards Enylia, despite the report (how reliable that was Seamus didn’t know) that it was empty. The touching shoulder thing at the end of his suggestion wasn’t strictly necessary, but it was fine. “I agree,” Seamus replied, returning the shoulder touching action thing. “We’ll head to Enylia. Even if there’s nobody there, maybe there will still be supplies we can use. Now to get those two…” Seamus walked to Sera and Mandan, who were both currently on the ground. Mandan was recovering from his fit; the slowly reddening handprint on his face probably having something to do with that. “Get up, we’re going to Enylia. We still need supplies and that’s the closest place. Sam will catch up to us. He knows where we’re headed.”