Blood on the Sands

It was finally time to put an end to the Prisms.

The group, consisting of Autgar, Zaius, Tiergan, Louma'li, Reks, Sejad, Geofri, Orion, Huginn, as well as Slashing Tombstone and Lerone, had finally arrived at the Burn to feed the aether contained within the crystals back into the land. Slash was left back at a makeshift camp under guard while the rest of the group accompanied Larone into the desert to oversee the release of aether. Nobody quite knew what to do or what to expect.

Except trouble. Everyone expected trouble in some form or another, and that's exactly what they got. When Lerone attempted to release the aether into the land, it was captured. The entire time the group had been traveling, Slash had been "praying" and the fruits of that labor were paying off as the aether was pulled from the land and straight to him. The group took as much time as they could to prepare as they saw the aether-glowing Slash begin to enclose upon their position.

Autgar, Zaius, Orion, and Reks took Lerone and the prisms and began to run to put some distance between the two. Huggin, Geofri, Sejad, Louma'li, and Tiergan stood with N'hara as the front-line against Slash.

The man had split himself into multiple clones, each a copy but also the original, with a core one situated within a dome of red crystal as he continued to pray. Both groups had to contend with a swarm of the copies, copies that started to turn and twist Lerone into a creature not unlike them the closer they got.

It was a scramble to try and destroy as many of the clones as possible. Huginn had his hands full with one particularly crafty clone while Geofri was providing ranged support from the top of a giant automata. N'hara, Sejad, Louma'li, and Tiergan cooperated in the destruction of the other clones and and the one in the barrier. Reks and Orion pooled their magic with Autgar creating another wall between Slash and Lerone, succeeding in destroying the others. Zaius, meanwhile, was offsetting the changes to Lerone by drawing the aether out of them and into himself.

There was a moment in the fight were all time seemed to stop.

Another copy of Slash had appeared, this one bearing the name of Spectrum. It appeared before Louma'li, touching the Moonkeeper in the chest and causing the man to quite literally explode, blood and flesh and viscera littering the sands in an instant. It appeared again before Autgar and drove a fist clear through the man's chest and the monk was dropped to the ground dead.

Something within N'hara snapped, sensing both of his friends deaths as the collective unconscious between them faded out of existence.

The half-highlander bolted towards Slash, unable to perceive anything but the pounding of blood in his ears and growl laced with murderous intent rumbling in his chest. He was vaguely aware of Zaius engaging the man at the same time, fire mixed with an inky blackness covering his body as he laid into the man with strike after strike.

All the Agents combined pooled the last of their resources into making sure Slash was put to death. Between being literally ripped to pieces and obliterated with the most powerful of magics the mages had to bear, the man was not long for this world and was truly and utterly destroyed once they were done with him.

N'hara didn't notice that a disturbingly familiar golden force had granted Reks the might to bring Autgar back to life and a suspiciously familiar green one rewound time to save Louma'li.

The seeker's senses could process anything, so disoriented by the horrid power that had almost burnt him alive from the inside out, leaving him standing in a small, smouldering crater, bleeding profusely and littered with bruises and burns. He was alive. They were alive. The aether of the prisms had seeped back into the land.

Mission accomplished, for what it was all worth.

Featuring @astraladvent

Emptiness

It was time to get rid of the Prisms. Their corrupting influence had plagued the Advent for too long and it was decided how they were to be dealt with: the Burn was a location critically devoid of aether. The company would clear out a section of the Burn of the native creatures and use that space to channel the aether of the prisms back into the land.

The first step was having to deal with the beasts in the first place.

The group was split into two core parties: N’hara elected to accompany Kotoe, Sejad, and Reks into a section of the Burn where the monsters were much fiercer. Berrod would lead Autgar, Louma’li, Martin, Tiergan, Zachary, and Frae into another section with less intense creatures, though far more numerous.

N’hara had never been there before and the moment he arrived, he wanted to leave. He was used to sand, but sand at the ocean was one thing. The dry, moistureless, lifeless sand of the Burn was another and it didn’t help in the slightest there was a sandstorm happening.

Their mission was to press on through the wasteland and press on they did. The sandstorm enabled small rockslides as they ventured through some cliffs, a “sandfall” had put much of the tiny grains in unmentionable places, but on the other side lay a tunnel system that gave them a reprieve from the adverse weather. It shouldn’t have, but did, come as a surprise to the group to find a section of constructed tunnels beneath the dunes, all of them bearing the obvious architecture and glowing panels of Allagan technology.

The end of their designated run lead them to a stone outcropping that overlooked a fast swath of the Burn, nothing but horizon as far as the eye could see. Within the space lay the corpse of a giant worm of some variety, sharing the desolate landscape with some Allagan magitech in the distance and a Garlean airship that had long since been claimed by the sands.

Their return to the base camp was blessedly uneventful, the group taking a moment to collect themselves, recover what aether they could, and stay hydrated. N’hara practically allowed himself to collapse onto the ground to rest, looking up at the clear sky to center himself and meditate.

It was a fair bit before the other group managed to return. They were bruised, but not beaten. Apparently some ticks had grown too large for their own good and needed some culling. An airship was due to pick them all up for a time to rest and recover. They would venture back with the Prisms at a later date to finish the work they started.

Featuring @astraladvent

A Frozen Heart (2/8/21)

Focus, and release. Focus, and release. Focus, and –

“Release.”

Keep reading

Refulgent Memories

Reks was in danger.

A trip into Amdapor Keep had seen Reks lost within its walls, swallowed by ice and light. An emergency call had gone out to rally a rescue mission. Natja, Autgar, Zaius, X’ani, Louma’li, Martin, Tarot, Orion, and Tiergan had been available to answer. While nobody was perfectly sure which place within the empty halls had their ally captive, the presence of Prism aether and an intense shift towards ice and light made the search much more possible.

N’hara was glad to have a strong affinity towards ice and fire, enabling him to better survive in the environment that Reks’s out-of-control magics were creating.

They had found him deep within one of the sanctums, a place that looked almost like an Ishgardian chapel than anything. The Seeker wasn’t even trying to hide. He’d been waiting for them. Everyone could see something was wrong with Reks and were cautious of what was coming next. The caution proved warranted, as aether lashed out at all of them, creating a phantom drowning sensation in the building. It took a coordinated effort to break the barriers the mage had surrounded himself in to disrupt all of the magicks Reks was weaving.

Three phantom creatures pulled Reks from the engagement and took his place: the Heart of Regret was a beast in the shape of a man that attacked with claws and rage. The Heart of Emptiness was a tall mage that struck with blazing light. The Heart of Yearning was a similarly tall woman who supported the first two with protective and healing magics, negating what little damage the party could do.

It took a coordinated effort from the whole group to eventually drop the creatures one by one.

The group was being worn thin and still the assault wasn’t over. Whatever force was pulling on Reks’s strings seemed to take full control now. It surrounded the Seeker with clay bodies and resplendent wings. If this entity was as powerful as it looked, the fight would need to end quickly. A pulse of horrid cold over the group only punctuated that. They were running out of time. N’hara pulled as much of his internal aether together as he could, focusing it into his hands. He needed every onze of aether he could spare and needed extra focus due to the chill that was still gripping him. Hands cupped together, he focused that aether into a volatile sphere, compressing it to make it even more potent.

Nothing in his arsenal hit harder than Lightbringer and that violent outpouring of aether was aimed directly at the creature that Reks had been taken over by. The attack was blocked and much of N’hara’s aether was spent. Options were running out and the half-highlander wondered just how desperate he was in that moment.

Pretty damned desperate was his conclusion.

He reached into a pack and pulled free a phial of glittering blue liquid. N’hara had worked hard to overcome the phobia of medicine that he’d been suffering from for a very long time. He still hated the idea of taking one, hated the thought of possibly falling back into old habits. He hated the thought of being useless even more. He put the phial to his lips and drank the whole thing down.

The medicine immediately got to work helping to restore his aetherial reserves and N’hara hated how good it felt. He charged back into the fray, Army of One magnifying his strength as he launched into an all-out-assault on the clay hide of the creature that had taken over his friends.

Strike after strike after strike rained down, beating the creature into submission until the true target revealed itself: the prism crystal that had caused this whole mess in the first place. N’hara grabbed it with a forceful hand and Louma’li helped yank it free. A burst of light enveloped the arena and the fight was over. And yet, the danger wasn’t passed.

Reks was fading.

The toll of the battle, of channeling the dark intentions of the souls within his soul crystal had taken a toll on the man’s corporeal form. The spirits of the three Hearts, unknown individuals connected to Reks’s past, appeared to help stabilize the fading Seeker. Aether was needed and the group of people who had rallied to save their friend and ally offered what they could.

The ice melted. The spirits faded. Amdapor was quiet once more.

Reks was, for a mercy, fine. Exhausted, but fine. With what little strength the group had left, they staggered their way back to the company house to rest and recover.

The prism rested locked in one of N’hara’s pockets… that would need to be dealt with…

Featuring @astraladvent​ and @reksblanc​

Among Us

It was time for the Advent’s All Saint’s Wake party and the group gathered together to enjoy pumpkin-flavored treats of various types and enjoy whatever festivities had been planned for the day.

Straume, Blazh, Ta-heng, Omor, Natja, Kotoe, Andronikos, Lian’dr, Reks, Bayan, and Gregos showed up for the party. N’hara had opted to wear a costume emulating some great sage that drew upon dark powers to extend their life. It was not nearly as horrifying as Kotoe coming in dressed as a pumpkin-colored pig. Still, the lot of them were enjoying their refreshments and funny costumes when the festivities were set to begin:

There was a traitor among them! Someone who had cursed the manor and it was up to the Agents to undo the curse all while avoiding being hunted by the traitors.

If there was ever a time when N’hara’s heart was pounding in his chest, it was the 1-2 minutes he had to spend at each station doing his “tasks” in order for the Agents to emerge victorious.

There was a comical bit of misfortune the first round. Blazh and Gregos had been chosen as the traitors, yet neither knew the other were and, in a startling “murder” spree, Gregos’s first victim was poor Blazh. The next round did the hrothgar no mercy as he ended up getting killed in the same room. The third round was even less forgiving, as he was the first to die again. N’hara had to promise not to terrorize poor Gregos; the highlander was not the traitor the second round, but the half-highlander was finished with his tasks and sought only to give the man company. Said company was misinterpreted as a desire to “kill” him.

N’hara opted to sit out the third round, not about to push his luck with being in remote areas of the house and not getting “murdered”. He got lucky, as Bayan went on a murder spree that round and ended up winning the game for the Traitors.

It was a good party. More terrifying than the last one, but in a different and rather fun way.

Rain On Me

The group was divided into three groups: The Wards team would focus on ensuring the wards around Apoplexy were in place, protecting the mages maintaining the wards, and providing ranged support. This team consisted of Autgar, Viktor, Jancis, Andronikos Thorne, Tiergan, Sejad, and Milo. The Assault team would directly engage Apoplexy on the front lines. N'hara, Berrod, Huggin Sigrun, Natja, Zachary, Reks, Edari, and Orion were on this team. The Piercer team would be opperating a series of ballistae to assail Apoplexy from afar. Kotoe, Martin, Gregos, and Louma'li would be handling them.

Everyone knew their role. There could be no mistakes today. Apoplexy was a threat to the realm and countless people would die if they didn’t destroy it here and now.

Orion, who had been mistaken for Apoplexy’s master, managed to lure it out into the open. The assault team had prepared a crude trap for it, a trip-wire that ran the length across the major road. The simple trap ended up working as intended and, attempting to follow the road towards the bridge that lead out of Ternli, it stumbled. The battle began and N'hara bolted into the fray first, fists thrumming with power from chakras and enchantments both. He, Huginns, and Orion assaulted its legs to cripple it while Edari let loose a hail of bullets. Reks and Zachary assisted in shielding and defense while Natja leaped into the air and brought her massive weapon down on it’s body like a guillotine. The slice cleaved the creature in half, dropping the body to the ground in a bloody mess.

Nobody expected that to be the end… especially not when coins and gems… and weapons began to fall from the sky.

Above them all, the red mists parted revealing the true lake of blood of Ternli. It began to rain, the blood falling to the ground and pooling into puddles.

The puddles began to shift and move, slowly rising up and taking hold of the fallen weapons as each puddle turned into a solider… a soldier in an army of the dead.

The group pulled itself into a defensive position, circling Orion, Reks, and Edari. Blade and fist, spell and bullet tore through one ashkin after another, their area attacks cutting vast swaths of the creatures down, but overwhelming numbers were still in favor of the monsters. Several moments of intense fighting had only reduced them down to about three fourths of their strength. The missing head of Apoplexy showed itself in that moment, decending from the sky in an explosion that rocked the wards and shattered them whole. The blood creatures converged on the head, as if to protect it from their advance towards it.

They wouldn’t give it any moment to grow stronger. If anyone could end the creature in a single strike, it was Natja and her murderous greatsword.

N'hara called upon all of his chakras and his internal aether to loose Lightbringer in its direction, cleaving a path towards it. Orion followed suit, using a summoned bird of flame to continue burning the path. Edari unleased a torrent of flames from a flamethrower. Zachary and Huginn burtalized ever more. Reks blessed the battlefield and shielded the viera.

Apoplexy broke from the head, reavealing itself with a roegadyn-looking body, but parts that looked like they came from the company’s various allies.

Natja, furious, made the charge. Her blade cleaved through everything around her, a ballet of glorious slaughter as he made her way to Apoplexy. The other teams were moving to intercept it; the piercer team shot a ballista bolt at it, halting its tracks. The wards team made a barricade to keep it from advancing out of the city any further.

The Astral Advent struck true. Blade and bolt and magic wrought utter destruction upon the creature, obliterating it in a moment just before its vile magics could try and kill all present. The blood vanished, the mists became just that, and the din of battle grew silent.

The day had been won.

The group took time to rest and recover, to bandage themselves up and recover at least a little bit of the strength they’d spent taking down the voidsent. A few were recruited to help collect some of the treasure that had fallen when the lake of blood dissipated. Although N’hara wasn’t much for collecting treasure after a fight, it certainly was a lot of money… and perhaps some of it could go to refilling the company’s coffers to compensate for all everyone was getting paid for their heroism.

N’hara mainly wanted a bath and a good night’s rest. With the voidsent gone, all things were sure to heal in time…

Featuring @astraladvent​

Apoplexy

Previously, the group had gone to investigate the cave that Mads had suggested his insane plot. Within the cave had been found a group of pale, white-clad individuals attempting to return the aether within the prisms to the land. Another, assassins emblazoned with the mark of a red skull, were seeking them out to take the prism’s power for themselves.

Naturally, the Astral Advent had a problem with this.

It came as quite a surprise, then, when one of them, a roegadyn man by the name of Slashing Tombstone, called out to the Astral Advent for help.

The group, composed of Natja, Orion, Gregos, Zachary, Iex, Reks, Autgar, Milo, Martin, Viktor, Sejad, Edari, Dylan, Jancis, and Kotoe Kawanami ventured to the Sea of Clouds where they had last done battle with the Red Skull group to parlay. The situation, as it turns out, had taken a grim turn. A voidsent had torn through their ranks and decimated them all, leaving only Slashing Tombstone left alive. Unable to muster up enough strength to destroy the voidsent, even with a prism crystal embedded in his arm, he sought out the Advent to form a temporary and uneasy alliance in the face of such a threat.

N’hara was hard-pressed to trust the word of a murderer who had traded blows with his company. He didn’t like the idea of a monster getting loose and rampaging around killing innocent people, but there were far too many ways for this to go wrong. Slashing Tombstone could take advantage of the group fighting the creature to kill them… if the creature existed at all and this wasn’t some attempt to catch them all in a trap.

A few ideas were tossed around, but the important truth quickly became known to the group:

If he was telling the truth, a voidsent with the power to wantonly slaughter innocent people couldn’t be suffered to let live. However, without knowing what kind of voidsent the group was dealing with, they couldn’t draw up any plans.

A consensus was reached and the Astral Advent agreed to spend what time they had left before the seal holding the voidsent Apoplexy back was broken. They would use that time to train, study their adversary, and plot out the best battle plan they could muster to bring it down and ensure it didn’t hurt anyone else.

Making sure Slashing Tombstone got his comeuppance was a secondary objective.

Featuring @astraladvent​

A mysterious person who appeared on one of our missions. 

Mad Plans

The man’s name was Mads.

Work had been called over the linkpearl, a request for assistance from a knight of Ishgard. The call was urgent and a good number of people answered: Sejad, Mholi'to, Louma'li, Tiergan, Orion, Reks, Martin, Autgar, Natja, Cerina, Edari, Viktor, and Vit Aviasti and Andronikos Thorne. They were directed to meet the contact in a small pub outside of the Observatorium just south of Camp Dragonhead. N'hara never liked the cold and dressed as warmly as he could on such short notice.

Mads greeted them, introducing himself as a former knight of Ishgard now searching for the two people that Mountain’s Shadow had in his custody. He would do anything to save them, believing that Mountain was keeping them against their will. More than a few people in the Agents already believed the same. However, Mads’ desire was to kill Mountain to free them. Cerina was eager to help, the rest were rightfully cautious. Mountain was not a man to be trifled and many had seen first-hand the seawolf’s skill with magicks.

Mads claimed to have a means of killing him, to overcome such intense magical strength. He wished to prove his method and so took the group to a cave far west of the Observatorium.

The general atmosphere of the group went from wary to preparing for a fight.

The whole of the cave was filled with the same aetherially dead, white, chalky stone that was created by the prisms. It was impossible not to feel the pull of aether trying to be drained from them. Mads spoke of a creature that was supposed to be the “true” form of Halone: a woman of marble white wielding a sword. He spoke of how this woman chose him as her champion and she in her radiance would answer his prayers.

None could quite predict Autgar drawing free a magicked dagger and stabbed Mads in the helmet. Nobody, besides Autgar himself, could have realized that Mads had been dead for some time and the suit of armor they’d been following had been just that, a suit of armor.

“Mads” had possessed one of the prisms, his goal had been to request the one held by the Advent in order to gain ever more power. The crystal spilled from the armor… and cracked.

From the crystal’s broken form emerged the creature that “Mads” had spoken of. They had all seen such a creature before. They’d seen it the Shroud when searching for Hartslad. They’d seen the head when they attempted to have a second vacation at the beach. This… thing… was not Halone and a barrage of magics shattered it to dust before it could properly manifest.

N'hara had been on edge the whole time, ready for a fight he was sure was coming. It took a while for him to finally breath when it seemed sure the fight would not actually come.

The group decided to collapse the cave to keep anyone else from going inside. Thankfully, the group was comprised of more than enough mages to do so without issue.

Berrod had been attempting to contact them via linkpearl for an unknown amount of time. Free of the aether-draining cave and it properly sealed off, the group reported their findings and there was promise of a warm meal to be had when they returned.

N’hara was on edge, still. The creature that had emerged from the prism that “Mads” had been carrying, the same type of creature that had attempted to crawl into their reality in the Shroud… he didn’t like any of it. It all felt so wrong to him in a way that he wasn’t sure able to put to words. At the very least, it was one less Prism shard they had to worry about… hopefully…

Featuring @astraladvent​

Catching up with Breaker (Budulinek)

May 2020