Thread VIII: Power, Players
The cave was silent for a moment after the High Priest spoke, the Acolytes basking in the feeling that everything would be alright soon, while the light from the pillars mixed with that from the fire Sun Fox had set, making the water of the lake and the Acolytes' weapons glint eerily.
Then, suddenly, a voice spoke, low and menacing, breaking the silence like a stone's throw.
"You will not keep anybody safe; your mere human body will yeld to the power of the plague like everything else always does."
Many a head turned in the direction the voice was coming from, and the man who'd used it. He was tall and broad shouldered, and his figure was wrapped in as red a robe as Vshna's Bishops, yet it couldn't have been more different. Their robes were old, somewhat tattered and worn on the edges, and not always fitting, the cut often a dull one that merely covered, without hiding or emphasizing the wearer's fiture.
The Cener's robes, on the other hand, where fine, thin embroidery of green ivy branch running along the sleeves and on the rim; they had been clearly been shaped to measure, making the muscular figure of the man clearly noticeable, but they were elegant too, layered in such a manner that his hood kept his face in shadows artfully arranged to make only his dazzling green eyes visible. It also allows everybody to see a sort of ripple running across the man's figure, yet it was no shiver, for he stood still and tall in the manner of one who has full control over their muscles - nor was the buzzing sound that came from his figure in any way natural.
Behind the red cener was a varied group, both a menacing presence and a prove of the man's power, for how they waited for a command from him to move. Many were Vazhag, armed with short swords or spears and covered in scraps and blood, yet grinning like madmen at the enjoyment they were taking from the battle they'd just been throught. More impressive, though where the four soldiers wearing polished armors, the sigil of a tigers on their shoulder pads; the only part of their body not encased in steel were their head, all similarly looking in their corpselike pallor, long white hairs falling on the shoulder, and empty eyes devoid of any pupil or iris. Among them, it would be pretty easy to almost miss the black cloacked woman to the Cener leader's right, except that the tip of the spear she held was glowing blue, just like her eyes under the hood she was wearinig.
The High Priest said nothing at the challenge, his mask hiding all his features, but he did turned his head toward the side, to the Acolytes who'd been fighting the attacking group, and who were now reduced to about six people, one of them wearing red and wielding a golden staff, who had knelt when he spoke, but looked now ready to rejoin the battle at his command.
Instead, the man moved, flanked by the other two bishops, and wlaked into the small boat that connected the island to the rest of the cave, and once thei all were inside, he raised his hands. Suddenly, a wind started to whip around the room, and then, without any apparent force moving it, the ship started to move forward across the water, delivering the trio to the shore. As the ship moved, the air started to look darker, and many an Acolyte looked upwards in wonder and admiration - for, within the closed cave, a vast blanket of clouds had suddenoly formed, and was covering the entirety of the ceiling with menace.
Once his feet where at the shore, the High Priest spoke, his words once again echois across the cave everywhere.
"You, who believe you can withstand the unleashed power of Vashna, I'll give you the one chance; repent, or you will know that such arrogance is always punished with death."
A thunder from nowhere suddenly shook the room, as if to punctuate the man's words, and the Cener stood silent for a moment, before suddenly bellowing, as he pointed both of his closed fists forward:
"Attack!"
And at that, swarms of monstrous insects exploded from the holes that were now visible on his hands, while at the same time, with a single motion so perfectly coordinated and syncronyzed that it went beyond mere discipline, all four white soldiers lowered the staves they were helding, unleashing a barrage of glowind death rays on the Acolytes, while the Vazhags darted forward, bellowing as they charged.
Merely a moment later, just as the Acolytes raised back and answered the charge with one of their own, another robed man appeared atop a tent near the cave's wall, noxious smoke of four different colours raising from his figure and then darting toward the follower of Vashna as he moved his hands to direct it, and the woman behind the lead Cener raised her spear high, blue fire erupting out of it in a brutal explosion before reforming in hundred of bird made of flame, divebombing the Acolytes.
And then, the raised hands of the High Priest closed into fists, and within the underground cave, from the dark clouds that now covered the entire ceiling and were so black as to resemble smoke, it started to rain, a torrential downpour that washed down on everybody and everything within the cave.
And then I said: let it be Chaos. :)
So, just to make a couple of points clear, the High Priest is still standing next to the boat, with the two bishops at his side; everybody else is busy fighting, except for the small group of Acolytes standing by one side which are actually Sabre Fox, Water Hornet, Frost Ferret, Sun Fox and Silver Raven covered by an illusion... not that anybody knows that. They'll be noticeable soon, though, if they keep standing still while the fights explode - especially since things are going to get a lot more vicious from now on, and, as I hope it's well clear by now, there's going to be plenty of deadly and devastating area of effects attacks going on in this one fight.
Sun Snake, you and your current companion are currently near one of the elevated tunnels that give entrance to the cave, overlooking things from there; you're placed so that, if you wanted to, you could strike at the back of the group of Ceners - a perfect position for a pincer attack, if you will, although two people being an useful pincer support force for an army does feel like a little bit of a stretch, especially considering the circumstances here.
Dusk Rat and Swift Fox, you're still tailing Sun Snake as you were earlier, hidden in exactly the same manner, so you're free to do whatever you want from that position; your passenger is still out of it for now.
Any questions you have, feel free to ask! ^_^