Terror of the Tides [Lion]

[Anonymous]

Nothing remained but death and destruction. The small human village had been thoroughly sacked as numerous bloody, mutilated corpses were scattered throughout the vicinity. Rivers of deep crimson bleed flowed through the dirt avenues as the low buzzing of famished flies and the stench of rotting bodies permeated the air. It was pitch black midnight yet the entire area was lit up as straw huts continued to burn with intensity, the flames slowly consuming them. The marketplace was in shambles, baskets spilled their contents onto the ground as entire stands were toppled over. The cane fields encompassing the village had already burnt down, the townspeople's main source of income gone. Even the livestock...chickens, pigs, goats were all wastefully slaughtered and butchered; nothing in this village uttered a single ounce of life.

The cold.. it was setting in now and creeping through her skin, the environment was lonely and dark yet in the perfect light of the situation. A sudden rush of heat now, not from the outside but the inside like a nerve was struck. Was it fear? Probably was since nothing else would cause all these strange feelings and emotions. Serena Sira'kess stood on a moonlit beach in the darkness, no wind to speak of and the perfect silence graced the scene, only the sound of waves slowly caressing the shoreline as she observed her own work, relishing every bit of it. Though her night raid succeeded brilliantly, the Kigzesl sea witch had an uneasy feeling that this night was far from over.

[Lion]

The Mana was particularly strong here and it was calling to her like a lodestone.  It was not an easy feeling, to feel as though she were some sort of fly being summoned by the warm, beating heart of the universe.  The clockwork of it all ticked away in the mechanisms of something greater.  Each being a cog, a gear, a piece of the framework that shaped the entire world.  There were few things that could possibly have the power to disturb such clockwork.  It was a system, yes, and there were many that wanted to be free of such systems, to roam and do as they pleased all by themselves.  And what they perceived to be their destiny, they found too that their choices formed the very mechanisms of universal clockwork.  This was how Cassa understood the universe, and the energy that powered it, that force which almost nothing could describe it, also flowed through her.

Though the Mana had called her, feeding her like a minuscule insect, she assumed it was because this must be a possible location of her search for the last Terra Scroll.  She had traveled far and for many months to find that object that was her sole mission to accomplish.  And at the same time, there those moments when she felt as if she'd never find it.  Even so, the drive never stopped, the need to keep searching never waned, only waxed in fervor as she marked off the possible places it could have traveled.  And here she was, to these lone islands to search diligently until the very breath of her ceased to be.

Cassa didn't know what to expect when she happened upon that burning village and the chaos that had struck it like a whirlwind.  "No..." she breathed, certain that there had been some kind of mistake here.  This place should be teeming with life!  Where was everybody when the Mana had shown her that this place should have been full of people?  She viewed the piles instead, seeing them resemble of sideways eight.  The corpses seemed infinite.  There must have been a mistake...  There was...but it was not the Mana's.  It was hers.  Here was a wound in its energy and it had called to her to find out a way to heal it.

Clad in her armor, Cassa cradled the hilt of her sword with a steady hand and stepped through the piles of bodies.  It then she saw a strange snake-like figure lingering on the shores.  "You there!" she called out.  "Can you tell me what happened here?"

[Anonymous]

Just as she was about to retreat back into the familiar safety of the tides, a voice called out to her. Serena hissed in irritation. Had not she annihilated every single form of life in this pathetic village? Raising her longbow to confront this potential threat, Serena spotted a lone armored figure wielding a sword, around the average size of a human. Judging from the tone of the voice as well as the shape of the figure, she deduced that the warrior was female. Strange...she didn't recall seeing any knights on these islands. This one must be a vagabond. Not that it matters.[/b]

Normally, Serena would cunningly use her rhetoric to make herself seem innocent and skillfully escape unscathed in such a situation. However, this case was different. This armored warrior surged with mana, the Kigzesl sea witch was taken aback by it. The mana emanating from this one is astounding to say the least. I cannot let such a formidable being live.[/b] And so, without even bothering to say a single word to the warrior, Serena pulled back the drawstring. Immediately, the end of a frost arrow made from the coldest ice, appeared on the nocking point as the arrow was perfectly fitted. Aiming carefully, she fired the projectile which accelerated straight towards the center of her target's chest.

[Lion]

The arrow was fast, like an elongated bullet pelted with ice that sliced through the air with a Pfffffffftt! that resonated in the stillness.  Not even the rage of the waves could deafen to her the sound of that flying omen of death.  Cassa was not imbued with special abilities to see perfectly in the darkness, but even her adjusted eyes could make out the shape of the thing that fired upon her with such briskness.  She could not even cry out in surprised before the arrow struck true upon its intended target.

If only it had been aware of nature of that target though.  Even as it struck upon its target, the arrow's velocity and force could only be enough to knock back Cassa as if she'd been struck with a giant bat and the blow knocked the breath out of her as she collapsed in a wave of sand and dust.  A Templar's armor, though not impenetrable, was intended to protect its wearer until its very breaking point.  Like her sword, it was imbued with the ebb and flow of the Mana, making it stronger and more durable than anything ordinary of its kind.

Cassa's head exploded in color as her head struck the moist, hardened sand and she fought to maintain her consciousness.  When she found her strength again, soon after and climbed steadily to her feet, not yet ready to unsheathe her weapon unless absolutely necessary; though that didn't stop her fingers from unleashing it a few notches from the hilt.  "Wait!  I mean you no harm!"

[Anonymous]

Though her arrow had accurately hit its mark, Serena cursed under her breath as the warrior took the shot and struggled to get up. Certainly not the result she was hoping for. Her mana flow is greater than I expected. Normally my arrow would have been easily able to penetrate that armor especially at this range. The Kigzesl soon began to weigh her options. She could continue barraging her adversary with more frost arrows; after all, the warrior would be weighed down by her armor to be able one let alone several of the lethal projectiles.

However, retreat was also on Serena's mind as her serpentine body slithered backwards, sliding against the wet rough sand as her scaly tail splashed against the oncoming tides. Though it seemed like another serene night in the Yoreiq Isles, Serena could feel the tension gathering in the brine air after the first shot had been fired. Though the warrior seemed more willing to negotiate, Serena knew that these land races could not be trusted. Any moment, whether it was a misspoken word or a happy trigger finger on Serena's part, and this confrontation would certainly turn violent. These sands would be sprayed with blood as the sea would consume the vanquished.

Her bow still aimed directly at the woman warrior as she drew back the bowstring once more, Serena hissed disgustedly at Cassa, clearly agitated not only by her words but also by her very existence. "What do you want, land dwelling swine?" Her acrimonious tone was as scathing as her lethal venom. Serena did not care whether or not she insulted the woman. Although fear slightly gnawed at her, she knew in her mind that in the end, she would prevail over this inferior creature.

[Lion]

The tension indeed was very thick.  Cass could feel it in the air that she breathed.  Perhaps the presence of such a powerful Mana force was not just the wound of the destroyed village but possibly this serpentine woman as well.  Cassa was still not going to fully unsheathe her sword just yet, not going to bring the attack upon the creature until she knew for sure that such a thing should not be allowed to live.

She breathed in sharply, taking in what fresh oxygen would flow into her and channeled her inner being like a furnace, from a kindled candle to a roaring flame.  Cassa took a few steps closer until the serpent woman drew up her bow again and shrieked in a voice that raked against Cassa's ears.  "You're the one that killed these people, weren't you!?" she shouted, her voice rising above the howl of the wind.  "Why have you done such a thing?  Who are you to even wish to do it?  Admit to your crimes now and no more life need be lost.  I am Cassa Rine, as a Templar Guardian, I swear to you on my honor that I come in peace.  And under the honor of the Council of Truth.  Now tell me your name!"

[Anonymous]

Serena flinched slightly at Cassa's words as if the warrior's blade had already struck her. Of course, the two figures were separated by a good fifty yards but that gap was beginning to narrow as the Kigzesl slowly advanced, her aim not faltering a bit even as her serpentine body slid against the rough sand. She was growing tedious of this land dweller's babble. All it took was just one well-aimed shot and this confrontation would quickly conclude without much bloodshed. Yet, that would be too easy for Serena. She wanted to have fun with this one before ending its miserable existence.

The sea witch let out a haughty laugh that sounded like a mix of a hiss and a shriek. "Who are you to tell me what's right and what's wrong. I have done what is necessary to survive in this depraved world. Do not condemn my actions, Templar Guardian, for you are no more just than I am. Ohh and I almost forgot my manners..."[/b] Serena let out an eerie chuckle as she momentarily lowered the bow and halted in her tracks, now only thirty yards away from Cassa. "My name is..."

In just a mere second, she raised her bow and fired a frost arrow. This time the projectile accelerated towards the arm that Cassa was going to use to unsheathe her blade. At the velocity it was going, the arrow would be too fast for Cassa to react and successfully block with her blade unless she had unusually quick reflexes. Even so, it would be a difficult move to pull off. And if she just let the arrow strike her armor like she did the previous time, the mana-imbued frost arrow would turn her arm into a hunk of solid ice, rendering it useless. Serena smirked. This was going to be too easy.

[Lion]

She saw the serpent woman sliding closer along the sandy shores, which she quickly calculated in her mind that was going to come close to approximately thirty yards give or take.  Good, she thought to herself.  Her opponent approaching her would lessen the time it would take to close the distance if she needed to get in close.  She was coming to see now that any chance for a negotiation between them was long gone.  This serpentine creature was hell-bent on her annihilation, just as she'd been the one to utterly annihilate the village and all within.

Cassa had no time to speak in return before another arrow was cutting through the air her way.  But she was prepared this time and lashed out her swordarm, channeling her inner Mana through it.  Out lashed a swirling curl of lightning that engulfed the whole of the blade, emanating from her hand, through the hilt and out as if it was an extension of the sword itself.  The arrow snapped in half like a twig and Cassa worked with the momentum of her skyward slash and pivoted it around until she brought it from the ground up.  A wave of lightning was triggered out, headed straight to the serpent's midsection.

She did not let up her assault there and dashed forth, throwing up sand in her wake and moved to close the distance as quickly as possible.  It would be the only way to make the enemy's ranged attack almost completely useless.

[Anonymous]

Slightly taken aback by how quick the woman had reacted, Serena immediately reassured herself that there was nothing daunting about this warrior. After all, the sea witch had encountered several like her before; she knew that their true strength lied in their prowess in melee combat. Approaching her that close certainly was not a wise move on Serena's part, but there was no time to regret now. Serena had to defend herself or fall prey to the same fate as her kin.

As the lightning sped towards her position, Serena reached out with her two free arms as the other two were still clutching the bow. As Cassa charged towards her, Serena began firing several frost arrows at the warrior, the projectiles coming in at different angles. She had to bombard her new foe with arrows to prevent her from closing in for the kill. If only Serena could disarm her opponent of that wicked blade.

When it appeared that the lightning was going to hit its mark, Serena's two free hands "caught" the lightning as it ricocheted off the palms and straight back towards the charging Cassa who should be preoccupied with the barrage of arrows Serena had fired at her. With that done, Serena quickly began slithering backwards, inching towards the tides which were only a hundred yards from her position as her back was turned to the sea. While she was making her retreat, she continued firing arrow after arrow to hinder her opponent from pursuing her.

[Lion]

Serena must have had an exceptional arm to maintain her pace of arrows the way she was.  They proved fast projectiles that hailed upon the young Templar as if they were launched from some mechanical contraption.  She'd heard of such mysterious objects from a strange land up north of the continent, but had never seen such things.  Now she figured she didn't need to with this real-life flesh demonstration.

Sand slowed her advanced, and despite her training, she doggedly dodged against the hail, narrowly missing several arrows, slashing more several more.  As she dashed, a glowing blue ball ignited in her free palm.  The serpent most likely was attempting to make an escape as soon as possible.  Cassa doubled her pace, throwing out the icy ball that soon erupted into a shield of frost, catching even more arrows that snagged into it.  With a leap, she bounded up into the air and thrashed through the ice with her sword leading the way, and landing on the ground in a crouch.

But just as she did so, she did not see the reversal of her lightning blast and was struck with it in a force that tossed her to the side.  With a cry, she landed hard on the ground.  Upon her body appeared the slashes of several burns, steaming as they'd slashed against her, her armor also scared from the strike.  It felt like fire had been sucked into her lungs, her throat was so dry.  Air flowed in violently, and she struggled for breathe as she tried to get up once more.  Cassa laughed outloud, despite the hoarseness of her voice, and said, "Is that the best you've got!?"  She struggled to her feet, using her sword for support and readied her stance challengingly.

[Anonymous]

Serena haughtily laughed, she was relishing every moment of this warrior's suffering. Looks like she had found her adversary's Achilles's heel. As she continued to slither back towards the tides, she reached out with her two free open arms and streaks of electricity soon emanated from the palms. Lightning. The element that many beings including her own people, the Kigzesl, feared. It was extremely powerful and supremely fast, but it was also notoriously unstable. Even though she was a proficient sorceress, the elements of its instability and power were painfully obvious as it drained a significant portion of mana from her. The white hot lance that shot forth like lightning itself wasn't straight; it had more than five prongs in fact, looking more like a white claw instead of a lance.

When the prongs were about to strike its target, Serena continued slithering back, waiting to see how her opponent would react. She raised her bow now and aimed at Cassa, just in case the lightning didn't finish her off. After all, she could never be too cautious.

[Lion]

Cassa calculated her options in a swift mind and channeled her inner Mana to flow freely inside of her.  The furnace that burned gradually raged and her eyes were focused on her opponent.  A Templar Guardian never used the Mana to attack in rage, never brought war to others where it was most unnecessary, and more importantly, never relished in battle when they participated in it.  Such was the path of the traitorous Ronin and one Cassa vowed never to stride along.  But nor was she going to allow herself be so easily defeated by such a sly opponent.

The lightning lance was faster than the arrows, but she reached out to touch the tip of it with her sword.  The lightning flew into the blade coursed around it wildly, throwing out whips and strands that wriggled with violence.  Cassa maintained her position however, despite the lightning's resistance and conjured its Mana to merge with hers.  For a second the flashes and coils around the blade and her arm vanished.  And soon she dashed forth toward Serena, adrenaline coursing through her like a poison.  She slashed the edge of her sword into the sand, forcing the lightning out in short bursts as she did so.  The sword dragged along as she ran, hardening the sand before her into shards of glass from the heat of the lightning then yanking the blade out of the sand in a forward motion, sending the lightning to burn the rest of the sand in front of her into more glass.

As it did so, the violence from which the lightning traveled in chaotic tendrils cracked and broke the glass as quickly as it created it, sending it flying at Serena in a wave of thousands of deadly shards, mimicking her barrage of arrows.  Cassa did not rest and soon closed the distance right behind the shards, leaping into the air to bring her sword down upon the serpent's head.

[Anonymous]

Serena had greatly underestimated her opponent and it seemed that she was now about to pay dearly. As the thousands of glass shards accelerated towards her, the Kigzesl sensibly erected a mana shield in the form of a wall to block out the projectiles. However, she was not quick enough with her spell as several glass shards struck directly at her vulnerable chest just before the mana shield was summoned, embedding themselves in her shoulders, upper chest, and stomach. Deep purple blood seeped out of these small wounds as a jolt of pain rattled the Kigzesl. Serena screeched in anguish, a terrifying sound to behold.

However, she quickly grit her teeth and reassured herself that pain was not an unfamiliar feeling. Before Serena had time to curse herself though, one of her eighteen snake hairs observed that her opponent had not finished her assault. Air bound, Cassa leaped over the mana shield and prepared to split Serena's skull with that massive blade of hers. With little time to react, Serena immediately parried to her left, but just as she did so, another one of her snake hairs did not move quick enough as it was sliced halfway by Cassa's descending blade. Serena hissed in annoyance. Oh this girl was about to get it.

Letting her rage take control, Serena horizontally swung her massive tail in a sweeping motion that caught Cassa right below the neckline, the force of the impact would be enough to knock her down and cause her to drop her blade. Excellent, the warrior would need to be disarmed of her blade. Just as Cassa was about to hit the sand, Serena's tail caught her and began wrapping itself around her abdomen and waist. Once that was done, the tail began slowly constricting. After all the trouble this bitch has given me, she deserves an excruciatingly slow and painful death.[/b]

[Lion]

Gravity pulled down the Templar Guardian, down to the earth intent on burying her feet ankle-deep in sand and glass.  The serpent moved like a portion of the wind itself, but Cassa did not focus on viewing the reaction of her enemy.  She was too intent, too driven even as her sword effectively sliced through her snake-hair and the disembodied portion of it writhed on the ground like a chicken without a head.  Her feet dug into the sand, its crystalline stones flushing like a rising rush of water, but she was still quite a distance from the shore.

As she landed, however, she had no time to recover herself before she was warped up into the air, crying out from the blow and pain scorching through where she'd been struck.  The surprise of the attack knocked the sword out of her hand.  But before another wave of sand could hurl up, the tail was around her waist and gradually wrapped around her like a vice.  It was a thick scaly thing that was crushing the breath out of her and would do so permanently if she didn't do something swiftly.  But her Mana was still coursing strongly, looping inward and outward in insane coils that she could feel it hissing as if from steaming pressure.

Cassa's head was exploding from the contrasting forces, and knew one would get the better of her only too soon.  Her guts were boiling with heat and with her hands free, she placed them upon Serena's tail and surged volts of electricity through her tips with as much might as her aching body could muster.  The electricity would burn through hotter than boiling oil and would out in the form of a psychic pulse that would fling herself away from the serpent, slipping her out of her grasp.

[Anonymous]

Grimacing and then screaming in pain, Serena could feel her blood boiling and her tail flesh cooking as it took the brunt of the lightning. Her body, damp from the warm waters of the ocean, only helped conduct the electricity as it spread throughout her body. Scorched marks were clearly visible in multiple areas, most severely in the tail where the lightning struck. Far too disoriented to notice Cassa escaping her grasp, Serena fought hard to suppress the pain. In desperate retaliation, she took out her bow and fired a frost arrow at Cassa, hoping to catch her opponent off guard as well.

In her current weakened state, Serena realized she would be no match for this formidable warrior. Her mana was still recovering and her aching wounds continued to gnaw at her. There was no other choice. She had to retreat into the safety of the tides and alert her fellow Wrathfins. Aggressively, Serena lashed out with her tail but instead of striking Cassa, it slammed into the ground. A wave of sand splayed towards Cassa, enough for some to get into her eyes.

With that momentary distraction, Serena immediately slithered towards the beckoning sea. Each second the distance shrunk and the sound of the waves echoed in her eardrums. Occasionally, she would turn back and fire a stray arrow to distract Cassa. Oh how humiliating it was for her to be in this position. Still she valued her life far more than her pride. Now as she was gently sprayed by the waves, Serena reminded herself that she would return to finish what she started.

(OOC: Don't let her escape.)

[Lion]

The storm had become too real.  Though the seas raged abound and the atmosphere titillated with the edges of anger and adrenaline, the real storm raged between the serpentine woman and the young Templar.  She'd survived, only for a minute and managed to slip away from the creature that could have crushed her in an instant.  Cassa's desperation to live, to cling to that thin and fragile thread she called life by the instincts of her being, allowed her this much.  She relished in the air that swept through her lungs as she was flung to the ground when Serena struck out at her.

Only in the next instant, did she remember her sword.  It was not as if she was incapabale without it, but she was more effective in her defense if she could claim it again.  The glinting object of metal lay strewn a few feet away from her and she scrambled for it.  The frost arrow narrowly missed her back as she ran for it; she could feel the coldness of it as it darted across the air.  But at last the hilt slipped into her palm and she rolled away as a wave of sand came thundering for her.

With the reins of survival firmly in place, Cassa brushed the tiny stones from her face and saw that her opponent was getting away.  No, she could not let this be, not without the beast having been brought to some kind of justice.  "Fie on you, coward!  That you be filled with such bold talk, only to tuck your tail and slither away!" she shouted as she zipped after her, working desperately to dodge the occasional arrow that made its way at her.   She was not yet spent in her pursuit though she bled along her face and arm.  As soon as she was near the serpent's tail, she grabbed onto it with all her might, having to wrap her arms around it and maintaining her grip on her sword at the same time.  Though she was merely a young mortal, the Mana gave her strength and she tugged on the serpent to prevent her from entering the seas again.  So much so that her boots dug into the water drenched shores and did not give her even footing.