Darkness rippled, unseen under the yellow-grey sky, pooling outward into a perfect circle. Bare feet came first, pale under the filtered sky, flawless and untouchable. They settled barely a millimeter above the ground, not touching the twisted floor, yet standing on something solid all the same. A soft laugh floated outward from the purple-black portal, a body and hands flowing out next. Like the feet before them, the hands were soft and perfect, skin smooth and flawless without a touch of the darkness that lay beneath. Raven black hair covered the face that followed; glittering amber eyes glistened from between the black locks, twined orbs ever calculating- ever loving.

Twin demon stalkers walked out next, ever loyal and silent, eyes scanning the area for any danger to their mistress. A hand went to each, loving and caring, settling on the heads of the twin beasts. Only one such as she would see perfect, immaculate, beauty in such things. Her eyes long since lost into her own world, perception turned. She waited for her twin sisters to finish the journey, standing patiently by the black portal. She was always silent when her love was off, looking for something to gift to her. Long ago she learned patience, and now put it to use as she waited under the dim lit sky. All around her demons shuffled, grotesque forms squirming under their tasks. The demon gate cast its shadow nearby, foreboding as usual, but giving a sense of accomplishment that drove the demon horde onwards.

Reaching outward with her mind she touched briefly on the overseers in the area, glancing over the timetable of all projects underway with barely a thought. A smile crept across her face, only a small upward turn of the lips, serene and graceful. Her lips parted, as if to speak, but the harsh cry of a raven broke her train of thought and brought her attention back to the portal behind her. The twins were here. Black feathers littered the floor, soft and downy if they came from the sable wings behind her or rough and course from the ravens that fluttered everywhere. Her wings were spread wide, lips parted in a small laugh and smile that went unheard.

"Come dear sisters, our brother is calling for us. His anguish shall end today." She closed her eyes and whispered a thought, though where it would go she couldn't tell, her brother's voice echoing and obstructing her ability to pinpoint his location. Brother dearest, we're coming. Do not cry anymore.

The cold sky seemed to glow with satisfaction of blood, a large smear of yellow tainted it. The city that lay before him was expansive, the buildings were cracked and decayed with age, sad. Akara had once been a beautiful place, peaceful and nice. Now, because of the demon gate, it was smashed up and destroyed. A once beautiful, good place; was now a fucked up city.

Smoke rose into the air from ahead, the soft patter of voices could be heard in the distance. His lips curved into a malice, a grin of some kind. The wind lashed through the air in sharp gasps, the city of Akara was in front of him and he was in it. He walked, slowly, across the plains of this once lively city. The walls were cracked and decayed from age, like the rest of the city.

Walking around the town the voices seemed to be getting louder and louder, and as the Temple of the Brother grew nearer, they began to get louder. He then knew what was here, the expanse of demons looking for the source of power nearby in this area. Something was here that wasn't supposed to be, and it was damn fuckin' powerful. He had felt this by accident, it was like a ripple of energy had pulsed through him and pushed him back. He had felt it like an atomic bomb, except it did not kill him, it had made him stronger.

He was now closer and closer to the Temple and the voices could now be distinguished, the large pit of fire could be seen from here, the black and blue flames it emmited were now rippling throughout the city. He knew the demon patrols would be soon, and he did not want to die... yet.

He saw a demon walk by and he stopped, his pulse quickening every moment. The demon walked past and his pulse seemed to reduce a little. His face had turned quick and alert, Dace had come out within him. Watch out Bane, said the voice of Dace, clean in his mind The demon patrols will be around soon, you have to hide!
I know i know, just a second. With this he walked into a small, but stable building nearby. He knew it was a house but it was deserted, his face was streaked with his blood and sweat but he did not care. He ducked low in the building, he could see out of it but he would not be seen, for long that is. The rumble of voices was getting louder, the armies of demons had come. A demon lord was here...

The smell of sulfur and brimstone, the skies of smoke and clouds of poison, the heat, the noise, the aura of unbridled demonic power - Akara. It was their home in a way, the only place they had that was truly theirs, not merely under their control - but nowhere could be their home without him. The Twins stepped through the rift in darkness into the land of Akara - the land of the demonic, the closest thing to hell on this earth.

Delicate white shoes slid onto the surface in a refractive mirror of the tough black boots beside them. Nodding their thanks to their sister for the transport, The Twins then eyed up a felguard scout as he knelt before the three Demon Lords. "Miladies, ever true to our cause, ever-" "Cram your ass-kissing - Give us your report" Maritia's tongue lashed out at the demon, who was most likely terrified of even being near such powerful beings, let alone speaking to them, and especially so when delivering potentially bad news. "uh, uh... Our spies report some developments in Meloria. We believe the false god has been slain"

The news was not what the twins wished to hear - the false god Caspian was a man they had a mighty vendetta against, one they wanted to destroy themselves in vengeance of their beloved Suldaris. Now, with him killed by another, they would never have the closure of destroying Suldaris's killer - they would always be haunted by their inability to honour his memory, with the death of the one he died trying to destroy.

"There have been power fluctuations in the necronus ruins - perhaps a group of powerful beings have gathered there, or an artifact has been activated. Either way we are unsure." the words went in one ear and out the other for both twins. They had failed the only one they loved. "As for our patrols, one has found a recent set of footprints that clearly do not belong to our forces." the news continued to draw a blank for the duo as they fell into their own prisons of sorrow and fury, but such news was likely to stir their sister into action.

Linaya stood still, eyes pointed toward the sky, listening to what the felguard had to say. Most of what the creature was saying she already knew, nothing in Akara and its bordering lands goes on without her having some sense of it. When its report was done she spoke, eyes still watching the beautiful yellow-grey sky that covered their lands. "Take three felguards, find the intruder. It's nearby, hiding like a rat. How disgusting." Her eyes closed, face still watching the overcast sky. "Do not return unless the creature is dead." As the scout left she tapped into the minds of the overlords nearby, hardly higher in caste then the imps and other demons of burden. She commanded them mentally, requesting an update on their task. These five she had selected held a special task, unlike their brethren who oversaw the workings that happened around the demon gate. They had been given the order long ago to find the gem of their fallen brother.

Have you found him? she asked, more like demanded as her voice rang out in their heads like a crack of thunder. Each jolted upright where they stood, out in the city and wasteland around it, one even had the gall to look around. Answer. A second shot of thunder that echoed in each demon's mind with enough force to drop them to their knees. One by one they answered, half pleading, with a negative. Disgusted, Linaya broke contact and finally turned to look at her sisters again. "Denjess still hasn't been found.." she stopped for a moment, watching the two as if looking for something. "Sisters dearest, are you all right?" Unlike what most people believed about demons, she still held some of her emotions. Concern was one of the few emotions that still drifted into and out of her mindset, after all they were her family now.

An aura of power seemed to radiate in Akara; demonic prescences where here, and some not to be trifled with. The air almost seemed to shimmer with power, a power which grew stronger as Damean drew nearer. It is a pity that I am chained in such a weak and useless form, derived of my ancient power. If I was as powerful now as I was before, than I would scourge these demons from the face of the earth. Although his shadowweave hood hid his face, a bemused smile was sure to be under it. And yet back then, was I not on their side?

Damean sighed to himself, a barely audable whisper. His facial expression was concealed by a hood seemingly weaved by shadow; the same 'stuff' or essence which made up his cloak, as well as his tendril-like wings and any part of his body not covered in his plate armor. Damean's armor glimmered in the darkness, seeming to consume the shadows; one moment it seemed to glimmer bright white, the next a dark blacker than blackness.

Above the clouds had blotted out the sun, and yet it was hard to even believe that there was a sun in this forsaken place. I must not let my thoughts wander. For he had come here to seek fulfillment in his vengeance, and yet not even he could have predicted the demonic prescence here would be so powerful...or was he just weak? Shaking the thought aside, he looked ahead, surveying the immediate area. He had been careful in remaining unspotted by any patrols, and yet he could not shy away from the fact that he was not alone. Shoeprints had dotted the ground, and these were not of demonic origin. Someone else was here, for whatever reason, and that man had been careless.

And here, carelessness meant death. Damean was not so foolish as to leave something as a print; leaving a print in the ground was the mark of lesser men. For while his feet touched the ground, they did not sink into the dirt and dust, they did not engrave their shape into it. But was it ever possible to tell where a shadow had been?

Damean had to find this man, and warn him. An ally here could be a powerful thing, especially when it came to slaughtering demons.

It would have appeared than Vanguard was not the only weary traveler who had been drawn to the dark gates of Akara. Even now, as he entered the city's hallowed walls, he could sense the auras of others nearby, one with a clouded judgment, and the other with a mindset bent on revenge, and paying back someone.. or something, for something that had been lost. Smiling to himself, the young warrior slipped into the shadows, masking his presence with a simple thought, as a strange beast passed by him, apparently in search of an intruder.

"So the demons have arrived here as well. I suppose that will make this entire ordeal more interesting." Van spoke to himself as the beast passed by, turning and slinking into the shadows as it continued its endless search. Allowing his mind to open past it's limits, Vanguard sought the location of the other demon lords, two of which, the two that burned the brightest, were nearby, while another far more sinister one had just arrived a few moments earlier. "What are they looking for? A lost demon lord, or a gem..." Van spoke aloud to himself again, a strange trait he had shown in his months of lonely travel as of late.

If the demon lords were willing to gather in such force, Van could easily deduce there was something special about this place, the only problem was what. Knowing the demons, and what they were all about, Vanguard thought about the possibilities, as another presence came into his view, another one of the strange beasts in the employ of the demons. Luckily, Van was still invisible to the naked eye, and the beast moved passed him as well, as he returned to his previous thoughts. "There has to be a gem here. But I know that I won't be the only one searching for it. Guess it's time to get moving then." And with that, Van removed the temporary cloak upon himself, keeping to the shadows, as he slowly made his way through the city, and casting his psychic gaze forward, Van could sense the maleficent dark portal that had been formed in the center, and what was being spewed forth form it's dark depths...Demons..

Sara crouched in the shadows, bow in one hand, arrow in the other. The vampress stood looking out over the land before her. She saw three demons, presumably demon Lords, searching for an intruder. She could hear them talking about somebody "hiding like a rat." She knocked an arrow, but quickly thought better of it. She returned the arrow to her quiver and slid her bow in the side pouch. She heard somebody talking to himself, muttering something about a gem.

She thought this over. There had been rumos flinging around the forest of a hunt for Lords and some sort of power source to dispell the demons. She wondered if this man was searching for the power source. She decided not to wonder any more and to just find out.

Creeping up behind the man, she shoved her hand over his mouth and held her dagger to his neck. "What are you doing here?" She wispered fiercely.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LH, I hope you don't mind that move. if you do ill change it, or you can just flip her over your shoulder.

(OOC: sorry I couldn't post earlier, I've been having some hardware issues)

The blue eyes were overcast with sadness, the red eyes were struck with anger - thus it always was with this pair of Demon Lords. Their eyes met after their big sister asked of their feelings, and they managed to calm another down for the moment with little more than their companionship. With sighs that mirrored another, they looked back to Phiem - one of the few they truly had in this world.

"Caspian's demise is good news for our cause, but the gems he took are still unaccounted for, and... We had been hoping to destroy him personally. Suldaris... would have wanted it like that." Garnitia's voice echoed with her endless woe, brought to the fore again thanks to the mere reminder of the fellow Demon Lord The Twins were so fond of. "but for now, we... uh..." She alwas knew the long-term goals, and could invision any endgame a situation could lead to - but for the momentary needs, she was always stumped.

"The intruder must be either one with the power to make a stand, or one that's completely fucked-in-the-head stupid, to be in OUR territory alone. But if one's come here, others are likely to follow - these fools are like sheep. We need defense and scouting throughout the city, and anything out of the ordinary is to be terminated. As for us, lead the way, sister."

Amber eyes softened slightly, an expression she almost never used besides when looking at her beloved, graced her features. "Understandable dear sisters, however till we can find Suldaris, we can do nothing. Our fallen brother Denjess lies nearby, and our matters require us to find him first. If the demons who slew Suldaris arrive, they will be yours to attend to as you see fit. For now, find our brother please." The twin stalkers at her feet howled something, a low growl rising from the depths of one as it stared into the distance at something in the city. "From what I can feel, he lies in the direction over there" she waved towards an area with her right hand, "by the ruins of the dome shaped building. There are five groups of lesser beings looking for him now. If you could, please search, I'll go purge our beautiful lands of this infestation creeping upon it." With that her eyes hardened to sharper qualities that guaranteed that something, or someone would perish for marring her creation.

With quick mental commands, each thought flashing outward into the spiderweb of links that bound Linaya's commands to every demon in the city, she summoned her hunting party. Like clockwork they moved, never stopping as they passed through ranks and file of other demons. From the foundries a group of doomguards came, five in all, each carrying their respective twin bladed axe for battle. From the gate itself poured three hundred chattering imps, crackling on and on about things that made no sense to anyone who listened. The skies brought forth a dozen gargoyles, shrieking as they descended, talons flashing. Lastly, from the kennels, Linaya's own personal favorite location in the lands, came a pack (fifteen) of demon hounds.

Her commands echoed outwards; surging like thunder in their minds, while her own soft voice drifted outward on the wind. "We go to clean our lands of the filth that has come. Keep your senses open, anything that doesn't match our glory shall be exterminated." Her raven wings stretched outward in one sharp motion, sending the ravens around her cawing into the skies. "GO!" With a howl the imps ran off chattering, the demon hounds intermixed and the doom guards following close behind. Linaya floated after them, keeping pace with the little pack of lesser demons surging through the cracks and crevices of the ruins of the town they had settled. The sleek grey bodies of the gargoyles streaked through the skies above, their high pitched voices shattering what little peace was left. As faithful as ever, the twin demon stalkers leapt by their mistress, easily clambering over the rubble in their way. The hunt for the intruders was well underway.

Even as Vanguard sought to mask his presence from the demons, a swift motion blurred his eyes for a moment, and only a second later, his mouth was covered, and a dagger was at his throat. Attempting to turn his head backwards to see the face of his captor, Van grunted, and shot a small psychic tendril into the woman's mind. "I'm trying to find out what the demons are doing here. Apparently there is something of importance for them to be throwing so many imps and underlings around here." He spoke into her mind. "Now if you would please, let go of me.."

Even as Vanguard spoke, he thought he could hear the faint flapping of many wings, and the skittering sound of claws on the rough pavement below. At any moment a demon hound, or worse, bezerkers or doomguard could come crashing through the building they stood by, tearing the two apart in a matter of moments. Van, for one, wasn't exactly looking for death in that particular manner. He was more of a death-in-battle kind of guy, but that was just his personal preference. This crazy woman could go run through the demon portal itself for all he cared...

He had been careless. And he knew it. Even now, the scouting party must be fifty yards away...but there was nowhere to run. If he stood up from his crouched position, he would immediatly be revealed. If he ran...no, he would not run. And if he took to the skies, he would surely be spotted. No, there was nothing to do but fight, and hope he slaughtered the party quick enough to make a get-a-way. If not...well, if not then he'd be up shit creek.

While he dared not peak from the rock he crouched behind, he estimated the demons were now tweny yards away. As they neared closer, he could feel the adreneline coursing through his veins. Ten yards...in a moment they'd see him. And yet, before they reached him, a flood of thoughts; arrogant, albeit, filled his mind. No, he would not cower until they found him. He would bring the fight to them.

Damean took a deep breath, then stood up. He distantly heard the sound of imps cackling mindlessly, and a berserker roaring...but it didn't matter. Right now, all of his attention was on his magic. He could feel his shadow-woven form almost cry in excitement as the dark magic pulsated through him, devouring his life-force, his soul...but what did it matter, for that was nothing compared to the ecstacy of magic.

The air shimmered around him, the very fabric of the world being reformed. A portal without beginning nor end slowly came into being; a man could drive himself mad trying to find where the portal ended and the world began again. But no, he didn't need the portal; not yet.

He had little time to chose his next spell...manipulation or poison? While the poison would burn flesh, and inflict a deadly disease that would surely kill his opponent...but with manipulation, he could hopefully mess with the berserker's mind enough to stay his hand, at least for a few seconds; enough to focus his attention on the imps.

The berserker's second roar brought him back to the present. His thoughts had cost him to much time, and the demons were nearly on him. The berserker's gigantic axe missed Damean's head by inches; had he not ducked...what would have happen? For what happened when metal cut shadow? He was certain, however, that he would have pain in extreme pain.

Sweeping his left hand over his drawn sword, Damean once again reached into that unknown blackness, that wonderful ecstacy. The darkness raced through his body and down his left arm and into his hand. And from his hand dripped an acid green liquid; the liquid fell upon the sword, the dim light casting an eerie glow upon it.

The action had just taken a fraction of a second, and yet the berserker was already lifting his axe for another strike, and his three imp companions had finally closed the twenty yard distance. Making a split second desicion to go for the imps first, Damean lept out of the way of the berserker, his sword raised ahigh. As his feet once again hit the ground, he brought his sword down upon the first imp; a drop of poison dripped off his sword a split second before the actual metal touched the imp-the imp screamed in pain, but the screams were soon quelled as the sword rended the imps flesh. Spinning around one hundred and eighty degrees, Damean checked the second imp merely slapping its face with the flat end of his sword; normally it would have just enfuriated the demon, but normally it wasn't covered with poison.

Sharp claws raked into his back, ripping the flesh. Damean grabbed the third demon by the arm and flung him with all his might at the approaching berserker. For a second he dared to hope. But that was until the second scouting party showed up.

(OoC: Damn! Never meant it to be that long)

The army had wondered a long way, before James raised his hand as they were in the outskirts of Akara. Such a damned place, was once the greatest city of all, but now, nothing but ruins covered in darkness and dirt, mud of the sins of everyone who was here. Not a lot have survived to get inside, but no-one has entered and left alive. This was it. The final trial. Afterwards, they would choose where to go on their own, but this had to be done, and the men were sure about the final test. He sniffed the air, as he smelled something unpure, it was the energy coming from inside the city. Slowly, James continued on inside, with 500 men marching silently behind him, each looking back and forth as some saw dark shadows lurking in between the ruins. James knew that Marcus has mentioned this place on purpose, the gem must be here, and so must be it's guardian, he hoped. With the army behind him, James raised his hand once again and looked back at his men.

For now, you shall stay here, when I give the command, you must hurry as soon as possible to the inside of the city.

The men nodded as James walked through and into the depth of the city itself, it was so dark, something was blocking the sky from even giving the normal luminocity. You couldn't tell if it was day or night, nor could you tell where you were. He slowly crouched from ruin to ruin as he noticed three imp demons, and they seemd to notice him as well. The imps charged forward, but James slashed them into half silently before they would give out any warcry. His mission now was to find the other members of the sash...he slowly sent a psychic message towards each member's mind, telling them his location and his purposes here. But before he would continue his search, another group of imps charged forward at him, and James quickly hid behind one of the broken walls, hoping that the imps wouldn't find them in such darkness, even though they were pretty used to it already...

OOC: All members of the sash, please unite with James as soon as you can.

(OOC: just a note for everyone who didn't already know this - Akara is the demon stronghold, and has been home to the demon race since the second age. Don't be so surprised that their home is full of them)

A left hand grasped upon the hilt of Woe, a right hand grasped the hilt of Fury. The Twins' daggers were unsheathed with a haunting sound of bitter emotions. Their free hands reached for another, and with their contact, their gem-rings surged into life, filling both of the demonic girls with a combined power that far exceeded their individual essence and potential. As their eyes seemed to glow with blue and red, they took off after their floating sister.

"Denjess's diverse range of magic was almost unique amongst us, but a jack of all trades is a master of none..." Garnitia pondered aloud as the group traveled through the demonic cityscape and rubble. "Denjess was known for lurking inside a volcano, and was fond of fire magics - though not quite so much as Torelm. If we were searching for the Topaz, I could likely sense the gem with fire alchemy. Likewise, if... The Sapphire was our target, Maritia would be able to sense it with water alchemy."

"Sis, Denjess dabbled in both these elements. I'm sensing something in the same direction as Phiem, but it's not clear. Try harder - I doubt you're unable to sense what I am." The Twins paused for a moment as Garnitia closed her mournful eyes to focus upon her powerful alchemy. "Indeed... I sense a disturbance near the dome ruins too. We should quicken our pace - if we can sense this, the intruders may well be able to as well"

Sara's grip slackened on her captive. She slid her daggers back into her belt and reguarded the man. "A psychic, huh? That could be useful... Wait!" she paused, pulling her daggers back out. Three lesser demons were searching the area. She crouched low, pulling the psychic down next to her, and waited for the demons to get past them a bit. It was then that she struck, silently slicing each demon's neck before any of them knew what had happened.

Pulling the armor off of two of the demons and tossing one set to the psychic, she said, "Put this on and try to act as much like a demon as you can." Sara donned the armor and pulled the helmet over her head. She saw a lone warrior fighting off imps and a berserker off to on side. "Follow me, and follow my lead," Sara whipsered to the man.

She sheathed her daggers and pulled out her bow and a single arrow. She pulled some fire from a torch sticking out of the ground, and positioned it on the tip of the arrow. She knocked it, pulled it back, and let fly. It hit the berserker between the eyes, engulfing it's head in flame. She used her metal alchemy to push the tip of the arrow deeper into the demon's head until she punctured the brain. The berserker howled in pain, and fell to the side, dead, head still on fire. She ran over to the lone fighter and whispered in his ear, "I'm a friend. Lay on the ground and do not move." She grabbed a sturdy leaf and scooped some blood off of the berserker. She tossed the leaf at the man and said, "Lay down and pretend to be dead. Quickly! More demons approach!"

A group of demons walked up to them. "What happened here?" one asked. Sara looked at him, and put on her best "I'm a scary demon" voice. "This one took out an entire search party, but we handled him. She swung her leg back at the ground where she hoped the fighter was laying. "Move along now," she addressed the whole demon party. "We'll keep searching for more intruders."
---------------------
Archain flew low to the ground, dodging through trees and low branches. He spotted James and skidded to a landing near him. He shoved himself against a wall as a group of imps passed by. "I was wondering where you ended up," Archain whispered. "Any luck with the Wolf King?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
((OOC: Damn... crappy entrance for Archain... ah well.

And sorry if i kinda dragged you along behind me LH))

Black feathers and the croak of ravens signaled her arrival. The chattering of imps whirling around in a perfect cacophony to the wing beats of her own and the ravens around her. They pulled to a stop as half the demon hounds mixed into the horde of underlings perked up and growled, baring saliva covered fangs. Amber eyes followed their gaze, landing upon what looked like a pack of underlings with three others, and another dead on the floor. Curiosity peaked, her hounds found blood, Linaya reached out with her mind, questioning the demonling pack. What happened here. she demanded, receiving an update about someone having slain several of her kind. With a silent gesture she directed the pack to continue searching the city, Linaya her self moving towards the disturbance. By her side were her twin hounds, ever loyal, along with two of the doom guards. As she neared she could feel something wrong with the scene, the beauty that her race held was nowhere present in at least three of the people there.

With a single thought, sent directly to the lesser demons, little hairy things that her brother Achiem loved so much, they pulled back a few steps. So. You think to taint the beauty of our lands that I've worked so much to preserve? What foolish little rodents you are to come here. Linaya's voice echoed, ringing out through the mind like thunder. Her own authoritative presence lingering in her voice, adding a subtle edge to it. The harsh squawk of several of her crows preceded her next directive, her command only reaching the ears of the demons under her command. Kill them all, leaving nothing behind.

OOC: people that pack of demons that Phiem ordered to search the city is intelligent. If some of them get picked off they will notice. Don't forget there's hounds in with the imps and 3 doom guards, along with the gargoyles.

OoC: Yah, but I don't think every single scout/search party is composed of that. If it was, there'd be no point for lowbies to be here until stronger people arrive.

Sorry for short post

IC:

Even as the woman pushed him down, he felt anger towards her. Cowering from demons...he would heed the bitche's wishes for now, for the sake of her life. Beginning to care about people's lives...you've gone soft, Damean.

He would not, he could not cower on the ground like this, as if in fear. No, he could stand up and fight this demon who fancied herself something powerful, something better than the tain which 'lesser-beings' let off. Taking a small breath, Damean directed a thought straight at the demon who had just spoke. You truly believe that you're better than us? That you're more than the shit on my shoes? I swear to you, before the day is out, I will have my vengeance. And you shall be nothing more than another corpse in this forsaken place.

"You two...we can run or fight, I care not. For this is not the day I die." Damean said, turning to his two new-found companions.

After donning the strange, and quite distasteful demon armor, Van had followed his newfound friend, watching her skill as she easily slew three of the demon fodder, before approaching another warrior, who seemed to be on a similar mission to the other two in this foul place. "Grab some armor. This place is crawling with demons, and I'm all for fighting them, but I don't feel like getting killed just yet." Vanguard spoke quietly as he attempted to adjust the strange helmet that he was now wearing on his somewhat fragile head.

Looking back behind them, he ushered Sara and Damean forward, "Keep low, and stick to the shadows. I'm pretty sure the demons will know we've caused trouble by now." He explained in a whisper, as the new trio of companions threaded their way through the ruined city, keeping in as much cover as possible. A strange, pulsing sensation was beginning to grow on the back of his mind, though Van couldn't identify the source of the power, or where it came from. "This is not good..." He thought to himself, Van knew the powerful demons were close by, but what could they do to stop them....

Don't know where I am either...- James whispered to his friend and kept himself even lower as some imps and a hound dog ran by, perhaps they were given orders as they were in a hurry. James looked round the corner at three other demons, that reminded him so much of humans since he didn't feel any demon energy coming from it. He was about to call them but something boomed through his head as he caught it with both hands and screamed to the inside of his body. It screeched, something was searching for them, something that was about to kill them all. He knew it was a demon, far more stronger than Achiem, but who exactly? The pain then stopped as the psychic energy faded away, and James looked over at the three who were momentarily hiding in the shadows as well.

You three...get yourselves here before you get killed...- James hissed in a low tone and grabbed his katana slicing the imp that was about to cut James and Adrian into pieces. He awaited for them, the more of them together, the better the chances were that they would kill the demon lord quicker. And it was then when the crows appeared in the sky, and James starred at them as they circled the dark ruins, probably searching for them. They had to group before they were found or all chances would be lost.

As Damean made his way across the wrecked landscape towards James, a feeling of dread began to fill him. It was unexplainable, but there never-the-less. When he reached James, the entire world seemed to fall into blackness...

Pain. Excrutiating pain. It seemed as if some divine force was slowly peeling away the fabric of the world which held him together, slowly ripping him from existance. His soul seemed to be afire. Images flickered before him, some from his memory, some from the other's.

*Flicker*

"For you, Damean." And the Disciple plunged his own blade into his own heart...

*Flicker*

"You'll never learn, Damean. There are powers greater then the works of devilry in this world, powers more ancient and more powerful."

*Flicker*

Damean wondered what the hell the man was thinking. He seemed so...sure of himself. The man was mad. "What scourge? The demons? The scourge you brought upon this land? I will never help you."

"Then help the world Damean. Yes, I may have released these demons, but will you just let them destroy the world? Destroy the angels and the heavens?"
Damean laughed. "Yes."

*Flicker*

His entire life, and the other's too, passed before his eyes. What was happening to him? Had the cold hands of death finally sought him out? For one last time, blackness enveloped him.


From the view of an outsider, they would have merely seen the shadow-woven angel fall to the ground on his knees, his hands clutching his hooded face. A blackness seemed to surround the fallen angel, and when it disappeared a man was left in its place.


When Aeron opened his eyes he was on the floor at James' feet; his entire body covered in sweat. A strand of black hair had fallen in front of his face, he quickly brushed it away and stood up. What the hell is happening to me? I can remember his actions as if they were mine...

Aeron looked up, and his heart sped. Somebody had been there when it happened...what the fuck was happening? His eyes met the stranger's (James) and for a moment he staired. His own reflection looked back at him from the stranger's eyes, and something odd struck him...the eyes, Aeron's eyes...had turned a metallic silver color-the blue which they had been was no longer. "What the fuck is this..." he muttered to himself. A thought came to him unbidden. [I]Two souls were never meant to inhabit one body...

Was he becoming one with Damean?


OoC: Apologies to everybody who just read this post, none of it really concerns you, it's just a bit of character developement for me.

Archain smiled at James's response. "I do believe that we are in Akara. That's only a rough guess though. I figured, thousands of demons in one place kind of screamed Akara." The hyrid looked over at the three who James had just called over. They were dressed in demon armor, but they were certainly not demons. Something about them, perhaps it was the fact that they weren't disgustingly gross looking. One of the three newcomers collapsed on the ground, clutching his face for a few seconds before he came back to reality.

"You all right there?" Archain asked, looking down at the man with extreme disinterest. He turned to the other two. One approached them and removed her helmet.

"What is going on here?" Sara asked. "Who are all of you? And what exactly are you doing in Akara?"

The winged hybrid explained an abridged version of the situation to her quietly. Afterwards, she turned to James. "We need to split up," she whipsered. "Together, we are strong, but not strong enough to take on thousands of demons. We are also much more visible as a group. Apart, it will be harder to find us, and harder to kill us. They will have to take us out one by one instead of all at once. It would also give us a much better chance of finding this gem that you are all seeking so earnestly."

Archain looked at her like she was insane. "We fight together, because only together to we stand a chance at victory."

"There is no victory to be had here!" Sara whispered fiercely. "The only way to succeed here is to find this gem and get the hell out of here!"

Archain fell silent, allowing somebody else to take up the debate with this stubborn girl.

OOC: Don't make me slap all of you, learn to read the posts please. Phiem just ordered the bundle of demons in front of your faces to kill you.

See daily df for strengths.

IC:
Linaya glared at the misbegotten wretch that dared to even speak at her, let along speak through the mind. Amber eyes flared with anger, hardening into sharp glares that would kill if they were a spell. Misbegotten wretch! I'll purge these lands of your harlot stain! she roared mentally, causing the majority of the demonlings to almost stop out of fear of their mistress. The two doom guards roared to accent her command, half a pace behind the little hairy things that were moving to swarm the first of the bigots in their lands. Linaya's mental cry brought a dozen gargoyles streaming out of the sky, ear piercing shrieks shattering any sense of peace left in the area, glittering talons open wide in anticipation.

Her cry also brought the left over pack that she had originally sent to scour the rest of the city back in a chattering wave of angry demons. Three more roaring bellows answered the two doom guards by Linaya, three hundred voices of chattering imps flooding into the echo. Wretched filth! I'll use your guts to redecorate the land you've tarnished! A thousand harsh voices of crows cried out at her declaration, the howls from her twin stalkers following short after.

Van looked first at the demon, then at the growing number of demons that began to surround them. "Damn it all." he swore to himself, scowling at a large doom guard that was eying him with a nasty look of pleasure in its eyes. Leaping forward with both of his blades drawn, Van and the doomguard met, their blades locked as the two snarled in anger. Kicking out with his foot, he knocked the guard on it's back, slicing off it's arm with a quick slash from one of his keen daggers. "Teach you to look at me like that."

But even as Van spoke, other demons were arriving, and it wasn't just doomguards, there was a nice assortment of imps and lower demon cannon fodder as well. Looking back at the others, he formed a fake smile, as Van began to grow more and more impatient with each passing second. "Hey, I'd love to continue this lovely debate, but we have more pressing matters to attend to my friends." Van spoke, as he turned back to the demon lord and her numerous subordinates. If they were going to get rid of these demons, they were going to have to work together, and not be arguing about stupid pointless things...

Aeron stood, watching as the demons surrounded them. Conjuring up his psychic abilities, Aeron shot a mental thought at Phiem. Of course, all of you demons are to fucking pussy to fight with fair numbers. Because, of course, you know that we'd rock your shit off of this planet.

Picking his sword up from the ground, Aeron entered a deep state of mind, withdrawing his abilities from within. A second later three copies of himself had appeared, all of them looking as real as himself. Their eyes, he noticed, were a metallic silver color...

"Let's give these fuckbrains a taste of death." Several imps were already rushing towards him, as well as an assortment of lesser demons. He did not want to look around and see what else the demon lord had brought with here...best stay focused on the easy shit now, and deal with the other shit later.

Sending out a psychic push from his mind, he blasted one of the imps back into another; both of them fell down, but their demon allies payed no heed-the imps were trampled into the ground.

Two lesser demons ran up to meet him; Aeron checked the first across the chest with his sword, leaving a thin cut mark, which broiled from the poison which still covered his blade. Swinging around Aeron side-stepped to dodge the second lesser demon's attack. As the second demon stumbled forward due to its miss, Aeorn slammed his sword into the demon's back-the creatures body writhed in pain, which was soon quelled as he decapitated it.

The first lesser demon was approaching again, this time a little more wary. Aeron sent out another psychic push; the demon bellowed and fliched in surprise, giving him the time he needed to send his sword up through the demon's black heart.

Free for the moment, Aeron looked around. What hope he had left was almost destroyed by what he saw. Demons, tens, maybe even hundreds, swarming in around them. Hope or not, he would still fight, though.

"Let's give these fuckers a stand to remember, whether or not it be our last."

((OOC: So much for moving around Akara undetected))
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The debate was cut short as the group was surrounded by an even larger group of demons. There were demons ranging from cannon fodder, to demons who would eat the cannon fodder, and then fart it out in a flaming burst of gas.

Archain turned 360 degrees and then muttered, "I don't remember inviting these shitheads." Then, to the demons, he said in a mocking tone, "Guys? If you don't have invitations, you can't party with us." As soon as he finished his sentence, he grabbed two imps who were sneaking up behind him and slammed their heads together, crushing their skulls. He then proceeded to draw his twin blades, and run two lesser demons through the stomach.

Sara drew an arrow from her quiver, knocked it, and cast an energy ball on the tip. She let the arrow fly. The magically charged arrow flew through the air, embedding itself in the ground in the middle of a group of imps. The energy ball exploded on impact, frying the imps. As the demons drew closer, she slammed her bow into her quiver, and whipped out her diamond daggers. She spun and dove through a group of three lesser demons, leaving a trail of blood and dead bodies in her wake.

Archain looked around and saw a psychic (GS) fighting off some demons. "HEY! You! Help me out here!" Archain began to draw up tiny pieces of rock and dirt "Push them as hard as you can at the demons. I'll keep the stones coming if you keep them flying."

Sara stood next to Van, fighting off any demons throwing themselves at him. "Any ideas?"

Aeron nodded his understanding at Archain, then proceeded to the inner depths of his mind. If he was going to push this rock and dirt nonstop, it would take all the mental power he could muster. Closing his eyes and letting pure relaxation grip him, Aeron fixed his mind in one place, on one though-he had to push that rock and dirt. If he let his mind wander, he would fail.

The rock and dirt that Archain was pushing up, presumably by earth alchemy, began to do something strange. Instead of falling back to the ground, it began to fly towards the demons; some pebbles did nothing more than angry-fy them, while other, more jagged rocks pierced into the demons' flesh, a few even striking their eyes.

Aeron did not allow his mind to wander even when he felt the claws of an imp rake into his back. Hopefully someone else would get it off him-all his attention had to be focused on pushing this dirt. His head began to slowly ache from the effort of using so much mental force.

He sat as silent as a cat against the cold, stone wall. The spikes that protruded out of the stone were slowly cutting his skin, the blood from these wounds dripped to the ground. An eerie silence was at hand and Bane knew that one sudden movement would end his life at once, that was why he did not move.

His blades at his side he knew he would not be killed, he knew that if he fought hard enough, he could still be alive at the end of the day! His blood would be spilt on the dirty, infested ground of Akara; The Demon City. His blood would show righteousness, he would kill all in his way with a sweep of his sword.

He chanced a peep outside his window, he chanced it and then peeled his body away from the spiky wall. He felt the urge to cry out in pain as rock splinters found their way into his skin. The only way to stop crying out was to bite his lower lip, this caused even more pain but he then forgot about most of it, "My blood shall be spilt, i shall not give up!" he murmured to himself as he pushed himself up into a standing position.

Bane looked into the face of a lesser demon, its piercing eyes did not look around for he had already whipped his blade out and sliced its throat. It managed a small 'eek' before it died and that found the attention of the rest of its squad; another 2 lesser demons and a large berserker. He forced himself to roll out of the way of a strike as the berserker's blade crashed down upon the cracked and maimed stone, shattering it into Bane.

Stone splinters gashed into his skin and this time he did cry out for the noise of the sword crashing down was loud to muffle it. He then rolled out the door and kicked into a standing position. Smirking slightly he turned on his heel and smashed it into one of the lesser demon's faces, it screamed in pain and fell to the ground. The blood streamed out of the demon's mouth and Bane stabbed his sword through the body of the unclean thing.

His sword passed through its body like butter, he then felt a strange coldness sweep over him. He cut down the other demon and looked at the berserker, it was about to raise its heavy sword in an attempt to hit Bane. He waited until the sword was raised at full height, and then he struck.

He plunged his blade into the belly of the beast and with agility it fell back, its hands clutching its wound. The sword had fallen out of its hand so Bane jumped in the air and stabbed his sword into the triceps of the beast. It screamed in pain and its knee hit the ground with a thump. Bane then sent his sword flashing across the air and it streaked through the berserker's head, it fell to the ground and lay there, motionless.

At this moment he began to run towards the Temple, his feet carrying him as fast as they could. He felt his pulse rising and he knew he had been sensed, he needed to get away from there as fast as possible. He lunged into the building and then laughed slowly, he had just defeated 4 demons in a matter of minutes. He scanned the room and saw nobody, he would soon have to face the demon lord who had approached here. One of them atleast; Phiem of the Peridot and the Twins had arrived.

OOC: Guys, this battle is not goint to be easy, I tell you. This is only a start, the only way is to stick together in one group and do not seperate at all costs. Those of you who want to listen, stick together and don't get carried away at personal fights, teamwork is all we need to win this.

--------------------

Their howles, their screams, their urge to spill blood, it was obvious. Their undead hearts, were beating to the rythms of insanity that grew among the warriors and the demons. Each wanted to protect it's own, each trying to, but inside themselves, they all knew that they would perish, they would burn in hell forever. He watchedas they fought, and as his plan slowly faded away into nowhere. Careless of their own lives, they were yet to witness their own death and demise upon this time.

James stood up as the warriors scattered around, sadness ran through his spine. They were all going to die, neverless they didn't even listen to him. It was too late, and he knew it quite well. Standing to his feet, James grabbed his katana, and threw the sheath away, he wouldn't need it anymore today. Glaring what was happening not far from him, James looked into the skies as the crows enclosed with each second. The wretched creatures followed their orders, as they had no other choice, they were inbound with the demon lord itself.

Why do we all have to suffer...- James asked himself, looking back as the warriors fought demons one by one. It was pointless, there would be more and more coming each second as he spoke these words. It was only a matter of time before they were all were all dead, but there was one way. They might all suffer, but the other option had it's own trick. When one can suffer...- James ended his thoughts with the last words as he spoke. Three hounds came running right at him, and James looked right back at their crystal red eyes, the wretched dogs were about to confront their end, and they didn't even know it. Taking on the first dog with his fist, James punched it as hard as he could, sending it flying away, while the other two got hold of his katana with their teeth, and wouldn't let go. More imps were coming from behind him, and it was all beggining to get critical.

Swinging his sword as hard as he could, James sent the two demon dogs away, crashing unto the ground, perhaps dead or unconcious. Now grabbing his katana with both hands, James gave an uppercut right behind him, before two imps could get hold of him, and capturing him inside the large crowd. They were about 20, and more were coming as he fought each one off. This would never end if James had to do something, now. Kicking withall his might from the ground, he flipped into the air and flew right back at the group of imps below him, basically landing on top of their heads with large explosion force, coming from the sword. Dealing with thefirst group, James ran through the crowds of demons, avoiding each one with skill, making his way to some sort of statue that stood in the middle of it all. Climbing up with a smooth jump, James amde his way to the top, his arms hurting from the recent battle he had just done with Caspian and his angels. Looking at the scene, it was hard to see through the fog that rested among the surface, but the energy's pulse was coming closer as he continued looking. The demon lord was lurking somewhere here. It was then when he spotted it, she stood there, roaring, her mind incredible powerfull to erase everyone from the earth's surface.

James continued gazing at her, studying each breath, each move she made, his head moved as she moved, but his body kept still as a stone figure. He wanted to know what the demon was, and where it came from.

Tell me...- James sent a psychic boom into her head, his eyes almost tearing as he tried to transferinto her powerfull mind. You wretched demons are all the same...? Or have you another purpose but to destroy everything...? Little did he know that his bag and the egg that was inside, was accidentaly left down, just where he has started his entrance to Akara. A small demon grabbed the bag, lurking tino the inside, but as soon as it came grabbing the egg, it was momentarily killed by something in the shadows. The small figure held a large wand, with three skulls attached to it on the top. It was hidden from the view, but it was someone yet familiar. It grabbed the egg, and fadded away in the shadows again, heading off to somewhere far away from violence, for now.

You have served me well...- the small thing spoke out and vanished this time for real.

OOC: You guys reeeally want Phiem to step in don't you.

IC:
Linaya's own psychic powers threatened to rip past her own safeguards in her ire at Aeron, shooting another message at the fool. Foul wretched beast! This is our land you trespass on. You have no right to speak like you own anything, and for that you will lose your life here. To punctuate her point she sent a blast of raw psychic energy at the creature. Her eyes practically burned with raw power as her hands played with the floating gem she kept with her. A small pin-pick alerted her to another fool who wished to speak with her directly. Tell me..You wretched demons are all the same...? Or have you another purpose but to destroy everything...? At this she laughed, physically and mentally, letting it ring out across the battlefield like wind chimes, a soft twinkling sound. Destroy? I destroy nothing. These lands that you reside on, such grotesque twists of everything living. I merely bring back beauty to what you wretched creatures destroy. The dozen gargoyles over head cackled after their mistress, diving downwards towards the little creatures who thought to threaten her.

Aeron didn't have time to see the psychic blast coming; all of his attention was still focused on spraying the oncoming demons with shards of dirt and rock. Half a second before it hit him he felt it, but by then it was to late to react.

The blast hit him head on; an invisible force rocketed his body backwards and down into the dirt, chaffing Aeron's against the hard ground, his shirt peeling away in less then a second, then the skin on his back. He could feel small flecks of rock and dirt entering the wound, could feel his body rocketing ever backwards, slamming into demons, and yet he did not stop. The blast's energy continued propelling him backwards, a small engraved path in the ground from where his back had scraped. Aeron could feel the ground chaffing his shoulder-blade, rib, and spine bones now, flecks of the bone flying along with the blood and raw skin now...it would all be over soon...he could feel hot blood spurting from his mouth, could feel the blackness closing in-it would all be over soon...

And so it was. Ninety feet from where he had just stood lay Aeron's body, his clothes covered in soot and specks of blood, his eyes closed, his body unmoving. Blood matted his hair and face. For as of now, it wasn't a body. It was a corpse.


OoC: Yes, I KNOW Aeron is dead. He's dead okay. Dead. But please, please don't pull some bullshit where you fuck with the corpse. I need it. Mkay?

Even as James attempted to speak to the demon lord, Van was too busy watching the countless demons that were beginning to swarm around them. Spinning on his feet, he made a quick slash across one of the lesser imps chest, watching as visceral fluid poured onto his freshly shined boots. "Damn you all." He cursed as he danced left and right, his blades cutting, slashing, and hacking their way through everything that seemed to move.

Demon after demon poured into the battle line formed by the warriors at James command, and though they were fighting well, eventually they would all be overwhelmed. And not to mention, Van was becoming more and more fatigued with each passing second. Cuts and bruises began to appear all over his body, and he didn't know if he could even handle fighting a demon lord, even if he had the help of his friends and allies. Pushing the fallen corpse of a demon off his back, Van scowled, gazing back to where James was standing.

"Wait! James, we need to work together!" He yelled to the man, as Van knew their only hope to defeat the demon lords was if they could all work together as one. And even then, with such an immense rate of demons and god knew what else attacking them, Vanguard wasn't entirely sure if they could hold out long enough to find the gem and defeat the demons in the same amount of time. One thing he was sure of though, was that he would be fighting until he died...

OOC: Children, stealth means not walking up to a demon lord and insulting her. Good luck fighting the female version of RealmKnight.
===================================

The air was rank as he slithered across the black soil, all around him the stench of demons filled the air. The sound was appalling, the shouts of demons as they searched for intruders, the noise of a battle, clearly one sided from the aura's he could smell. The only clean spaces in this disgusting land were the shadows, were the demons feared things of nightmares and dreams. All around him he could hear their noise, the demons as the scurried past him as he hide amongst the rubbish and filth that clogged the streets.

He wasn't concerned with the ranks of Fel Guards and other demons, they weren't a problem to him. His worry were the Doom hounds, the blasted creatures would be able to smell him from a mile off, he'd need to find a straggler and kill it to acquire it's scent. But at first, that would seem hard to do. All the doom hounds were in packs, each with a Fel Guard and worse yet, a Succubi. Those blasted creatures would be impossible to kill by himself.

Stealing back into the shadows, Marcus moved through the rubbish choked streets, his wolf form was perfectly suited for this as he slipped through the filth, the dirtier he got, the better, the easier it was to hide himself from the darkness around him. Gouts of fire shot into the sky from a forge not far from his eventual location. His eyes watched the patrols, his mind counting thei numbers as his body slithered and slided across filth best not described.

Blasted Fools he thought as he spotted a fight between a number of weaklings and a dmeon lord greater them all of them. He could have fought the while creature, this was one he had never seen before, she stank of power herself, but something else was powerful, stronger then her, but ever close.

A long silence occurred. It seemed to block out the light and sound, then a darkness swept over Bane. He managed a shudder before the demon leapt out at him, its eyes shining with madness. Cackling the demon continued onto his task, lunging at Bane its weapon; a medium sized sword, fell a bit short of Bane. Having seen this attack from a mile away Bane had merely stepped to the side.

His lips curved into a smile, then into a malicious grin. It seemed at one moment he felt his soul quiver on the edge of madness and sanity but then he caught a grips with himself and started to attack the demon. His sword hacked and cut the demon into innumerable pieces, the cry that left its mouth was not carried a far, but Bane knew other demons would have heard the cry of their comrade.

Wiping his sword on a stone wall a clink could be heard throughout the temple, he scurried out of the place as fast as his feet could carry him. He slowly crept around the city, creeping in and out of buildings to avoid the large amount of demons. The city of Akara was starting to piss him off, so many demons that tainted the perfection of Dark Forest.

He jumped out of a small window and landed on the ground, but then he felt the disturbance. A battle was going on somewhere, the sound was large and the demon's here were scarce. Only the strong demons were here, that only meant one thing, one thing that would kill all the people in this place; The Demon Lord was here!

He felt his body shudder again, he then saw the demon lord, a girl for once. A thought cross his mind and he smirked again, he then began to chuckle slightly. His voice seemed to trail into the screech of the gargoyles but then he did what he was going to do. He felt the energy pile up through him, so large that it would kill a normal army. He then let that energy go in the form of a large fireball. It was heading straight for the Demon Lord itself, well herself. The thing that had tainted the earth for so long would die now, well actually be hurt that is!

Interesting...- James thought to himself as the psychic message chilled inside his mind, almost like a brain freeze. A group of gargoyles shifted out of nowhere and made their way towards the fighting group of warriors, 5 of them were heading straight towards James. It was then when he met their eyes, crystal white eyes with nothing completely inside. The freezing chills went through his spine as he came back from the hypnotizing gaze and leaped forward into the air, switching his sword from the right to the left hand in mid-air. It was time he would show the demon lord that it wasn't that easy to destroy what it did not create. Landing right at one of the gargoyles, he pushed forward as his feet almost sunk into the creature's body, the wind brushing his white hair all wayto the back. Pushing himself once again, James continued the same steps several times before he was 20 feet away from the demon lord, he noticed her perfecty then. It all seemed as time slowed down, and her figure could be seen so perfect, yet hideous. A group of crows still circled her, but all the main slaves were out hunting. There were about 100 of them, but James didn't have the time to gaze upon each one. Making his final leap into the air as he pushed from one of the gargoyles, James flipped forwards and positioned his body in the air with his head upwards, and his hands oustretched at both sides, forming a familiar figure of a bird so to say.

I will get control...- he growled to himself as small sparks appeared and dissapeared out of his body. His face wrinkled as he closed his eyes and with all might screamed into the inside, without letting out even a sound nor a squeak. His body lit up in flames, the whole scenery looked like a new born Phoenix was slowly diving upwards into the air. The army nearby looked up as they saw a burning figure, that almost looked like abird in the mid-air of the battle, the flames were almost like a flare spell, lighting everything around the area for a few seconds, maybe 20 as he flew upwards more and more.

It's the sign!- one of the men screamed, as the others came forward to look at their general.

He wants us to enter...- some others screamed as they grabbed their weapons, still listening to the feral roars, and cries of humans making their way through the city. One of the men stood infront of the group, looking at the warriors that were about to give their lives for humanity and the gem itself.

Tonight, is the night when we gain our freedom!!!- the man roared in happiness as he raised his spear and waved it around. The army screamed back as they too, waved their weapons in the air and launched right through the entrance of the city.

James flew up higher, the flames were still burning his whole body, but it didn't hurt. They couldn't hurt him anymore, he could conrtol what was given to him by Othenimus and the lesser Gods that brought him back to life, after the abyss incident. The gargoyles followed up, each after one another as they roared in their own laguage, and were not to leave James alone. James himself flipped once again and dived right back down, crushing his way like a falling star through the gargoyles with his blade, some cut his face as he slashed through 5 of them with incredible speed and acuuracy, all aimed for their hearts. The bodies split into two as James back flipped and landed right infront of the demon lord, so called Phiem as he heard ealier from one of the warriors, who now seemed to rest in peace, or maybe not, he was dead anyway. James grinned to himself as his body slowly burned in fire, he turned back to see that the army was already aiding the others warriors, around 500 men battling the demons of their own property. Turning back at the demon lord, James bowed slowly, with his sword still in the left hand( when it's in the left hand, he can't use it, he's right handed only..;) ), and looke back up at Phiem, his eyes burning with fire, somewhat reminding himself of the Fire Bringer, Caithann.

A pleasure to meet such a wonder...- James slowly talked his way through the demon's mind, but his face still kept the warm smile he had on since the Flight of the Phoenix( somewhat, his signature move...), and continued starring right in the demon lord's eyes. But it will be such a loss, to find you dead now...tell me, no-one taught you that you cannot kill what you did not create, my dear? James continued mocking the creature, his face still grinning as his whole body engulfed into more flames than before. He slowly passed the sword to his right hand and waved it around once in the air, stabbing it unto the ground before him, holding it with two hands.

Shall we...?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

OOC: Lionheart, James hearyou, but he didn't have the time to reply, too busy with the flying freaks ya know...;)

Linaya payed no attention to the man in front of her, he'd perish soon enough as the rest of the fools before him had. A growl from the left turned her attention away, in time to see a fireball of great size barreling her way. As faithful as ever, one of her twin demon stalkers shifted. It's muscles tensed under its thick skin, sinews churning under its skin like snakes. In one fluid motion it burns into action, leaping in the way of the flames. It howled in agony as the searing hit washed over it, tongues of fire licking across its flesh and wiggling little tendrils at its mistress. The demon stalker landed in a heap on the floor, though it slowly picked itself up, burn marks fresh across its skin.

Another hopeless fool, though this time Linaya wouldn't be so lenient as to let the creature believe it could get away with harming one of the beautiful creatures that her beloved had gifted to her. A deep throated growl left her lips, emanating from deep within her. Her eyes flashed as they assimilated the left over residue of the spell, drinking in the look of the intoxicating flames and the beauty of perfection that she sought. She let out her own fireball, back at the creature, though hers was smaller and glowed blue with its intensity.

A cry from human throats, such a harsh sound, flipped her attention once more to another direction. Pitiful creatures, why do you hate yourselves so? Or perhaps you'll see the error of your ways and embrace the beauty i bring to you. Her eyes glittered with a different sheen, shimmering like a sparkler lit on the fourth of July, the gem in her hands responded and hummed. Leave the heroes, kill the fodder. she commanded, her order flashing through the demon army in one smooth feature. However to the stronger beings, mainly fel guards, she left orders to finish off this bunch of hero wannabes and for them to deal with the approaching humans after. Leaving the network of the demons, Linaya began to spin her own web of mental links into the minds of the humans that were coming into her city. Don't you see? she cried, her voice soft and tempting in the minds of the humans. I do not bring you death and fear, merely beauty and glory. Happiness for all eternity! Her own influence and personality flowed behind those words like silken honey. Near the front line, twenty or so of the charging humans faltered, then turned upon their now ex-comrades. They too now shared her dream, and to accomplish her goal they would kill even those they had traveled with.

Shall we...?

A sudden thought breaking through the minor barriers she had thrown up for the moment brought Linaya crashing back into her own self awareness. She blinked in confusion at the now burning man. She spoke out loud this time, clearly lost in what he was trying to say. "Shall we what?" Her wounded stalker stayed quiet, though her right side compatriot growled in response, its onyx eyes staring without remorse at the flaming man.

Darkness was all that was left. Was he to be left to rot inside this stinking corpse? When you bound me here demons, did you ever take into consideration that my carrier might fucking die? Would he be left inside this corpse for all eternity, able to think but unable to be anything more than just a thought? No, there has to be a way out. Of course, he could 'come forward'...but what would happen if he was in control of a corpse? Would that not kill him as well?

And yet...he could sense the most miniscule portion of Aeron's soul still left within the body, as if holding on to something before departing to whatever afterlife. And what happens if I 'come forward' when he's still there? Will we become one person? He thought of what had happened just minutes ago, his collapse at James' feet...Were two souls ever meant to reside in one body? I think not...

He could sense the last portion of what remained of Aeron's soul leaving the body...it was now or never, the consequences be damned.


From the view of an onlooker, what followed next would have been deemed near impossible. For a man who had just had his back mauled to death, who had lost to much blood to be alive, stood up. The man's entire back was a bloody ruin-bones protruded from it at odd angles, bits of flesh dangled here and there, and the skin was just beginning to scab over.

And yet some would argue that this was not the same man; for the man who had just stood up, his hair looked as if it was made from threads of shadow. And if you had seen his eyes, you would have been sure this was a different man. For the once silver eyes were now deathly black, like the very pits of a black hole.


It was an odd feeling, this. Being in a body that should have been feeling unimaginable pain...and yet feeling nothing. For that pain had belonged to another-in time he may feel the pain this corpse had suffered, but as for now, pain held no meaning. Blurred thoughts raced through his head, thoughts of two different people, one human and one fallen angel. The thoughts didn't matter. Not to him. All that mattered now was destroying the one who had destroyed him, forcing him to become like this. The thoughts of the other two still raced through his brain, becoming one, a single person.

He needed a name. A new name. Damean and Aeron were no more. He would not foul his new being with one of their names.

"Demarkos." He spoke the name aloud, the sound of it a song in his ears. That would be his name. And now to find the one who had done this to him, the one who had forced him to become so. With barely a thought, he shot a non-verbal message towards the Demon Lord. Phiem you bitch, I'm coming for you. For not even death can save you from me. He would have his vengeance. Before the day was out, he could destroy Phiem. Whether or not the Demon Lord was more powerful than he mattered not. For as long as his vengeance drove him, he was unstoppable.

As he turned around, he watched his own men, turn against their own, about 20 or so battling against each other, against their own cause and blood! James watched the sight as the group fought of the major army, and what was being left of it. 20 men were not a lot, but James knew that Phiem could do more. She was only playing with them, for now, as she drawed back the majority of the demons and such. A smirk of light, and he watched the dead warrior ressurect in a slightly different form, his selfnow being raged as he watched the man confront Phiem with such ease, he felt the message run past his mind as he could cacth just a little bit of it. His warm smile now fading away, James glanced back at the warrior and screamed through his mind with a large screeching boom, warning him only once this time.

She will kill you again and again, if needed. Don't you dare confront her, if you want your life to be sparred, then leave and help the others while you still can... At these sudden words, James stopped himself. Was he actually defending Phiem now, was she playing with his mind just as she played with his followers? It couldn't be just yet. He continued to glance over at what seemed to be the ressurected warrior and sent one last message before turning to Phiem. O cannot watch my own die in dispair, butif you are willing to die freely, I will just kill you myself...! James growled the last words out loud before he could turn back at Phiem and stare at her as she repeated hisown words.

"If you call yorself so mighty, why don't you take on someone yourown size...?- James asked as his smile came back to his face, now the flames burning slowly and quietly, unlike before. It was a matter of fact before James would attack Phiem and just as well get himself and her killed altogether with the rest of the army, it's members, and all the fellow warriors. Glaring through her beautiful eyes which seemed to be an illusion, to such a monster created, James continued.

Phiem, I challnge you to battle where no-one gets involved. Only me, and you. No-one else. If you really honour your land, you will agree...

Meanwhile the army was fighting off at their best, but their own members turning against them wasn't in the list of expectations. The group of 20 charged towards the rest of the army with their spears outfront.

Do not hurt them..!- one of the men screamed. Knock them unconcious and they will getback to their senses hopefully! The rest of the army shouted in agreement and charged forwards knocking their own of their feet and slaming them on their heads, knocking them donw unconcious. Perhaps it would all work, but the demons didn't stop coming, and there were more and more imps each second. Would they all survive...or have the time to?

I don't fucking care how strong that bastard is. This is between her and me, now. You stay the fuck out of it. Demarkos shot the thought towards James' with fury. If that bastard killed her...

Two berserkers charged at him mindlessly, roaring their battle-crys. Almost mindlessly Demarkos muttered the incantation for firaga; the first of the two berserkers list afire instantly, roaring in pain and fury as the fire ate away at his skin. The second didn't even stop as its companion dropped to the ground dead, didn't even care. Closing his eyes momentarily, Demarkos reached into that pool of darkness, dipping into the pool of ecstacy. His palm facing towards the oncoming berserker, a lance of darkness shot from it, blowing through the berserkers face.

Fuck this... To get to Phiem would require navigating his way through hundreds of demons and soldiers...and by then, Phiem may have already been killed by the man James. Demarkos couldn't, Demarkos wouldn't let that happen. Shadow-woven wings, like the ones Damean had had before him shot out of his back. Slowly but surely, Demarkos began to rise in the air; his slightly tanned chest now looked darker against the wings, his dark brown pants ripped and cut. Fifty feet above the ground, Demarkos stopped and hovered. Hopefully this will get the bitches' attention...until she sends some gargoyls, then that'll be a real fuckin' pain.

Again Demarkos drew power from that pool of darkness, creating yet another shadow lance. This one he coated Bio poison, and coated the tip with it. Well, even if this doesn't hit her, hopefully it'll get that bitch pissed enough... And with that, he shot the lance towards Phiem.

((OOC: Umm... holy shit. Do any of you understand the concept of waiting for people to post? I mean holy shit. There were over 10 posts in two days! Half of them by two or three people. (not really mad btw, just trying to get over the shock of an entire page being posted in a few hours) ))
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Archain stopped raising the sand and rocks when he realized that Aeron was no longer pushing the earth at their enemies. The winged hybrid looked up to see flocks of gargoyles swarming to their location. He pushed himself into the air and pumped hard to get himself airborne. He rose to the level of the gargoyles and hovered there as they winged pieces of stone approached him. He pulled a wall of rock up from the ground in the path of the gargoyles. The ones in the front slammed into the wall and crumbled to the ground. Others swerved over and around the wal to get to him.

"Oh shit," Archain muttered. He pulled his twin swords out of their sheaths and faced the gargoyles. He swung his blades around gracefully, but powerfully as the gargoyles swarmed past him. A few dropped to the ground, sliced in half, but most of them flew past him and swerved around for another pass. He quickly inspected his body, searching for cuts or bruises, of which there were many. The gargoyles passed around him again, and a few more dropped to the ground. After another pass, there were still around 20 gargoyles remaining, and Archain was covered with large cuts and gashes. He folded his wings and dove for the ground. It was absolutely insane to attempt what he was about to attempt, but if it worked it would quite possibly save a lot of lives, including his own. He dove for the ground and the gargoyles followed him. He dove closer and closer to the ground. Right before he hit, he opened up an Archain-sized hole and shot into it. He kept digging deeper and deeper, slowly leveling out the earth. About 200 yards down into the earth he leveled out and landed hard on the tunnel bottom.

He shot back up through the hole, widening it to fit his wings as he went. He emerged from the earth to find a group of gargoyle body parts lying on the ground around the hole. He landed painfully on the ground, favoring his left leg heavily. It was probably broken, which would most likely disable his ability to fight on the ground for a while. He streatched his wings out and pumped into the air with great difficulty, thanks to not being able to jump any longer.

Sara stood behind a group of fighters with he rbow in hand. She saw a flaming figher confront what she thought was a Demon Lord. She noticed two aides on either side of the Demon, and knew that it would prove to be a problem. She knocked an arrow in her bow and charged it with an energy ball. She released the arrow straight at one of the Demon Lord's "wingmen." She shot a flaming arrow at the other, only seconds later.
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((I figured those two were Phiem's characters, so I didn't wanna auto hit them.))

OOC: You see why I put up a three post per day rule in DOmus tincup? Method in my madness. Guys, Dest is still pissed off at you guys, I've posted as Marcus to show you stealth, now it looks like I have to send in a character of mine to pull you all out and get some order.
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The stench of the place, it curled his nose as he looked at the mess that was Akara. He had never been this far south before, ships couldn't reach this far south unless you were a demonic ship or an undead ship. His eyes burned as he looked at the fire and smoke that hung around the city. Darius was right, the city was a snag beyond any other. It was teeming with demons, thousands, nay millions of them swarmed around the city.

He could have dealt with them, he could have killed the whole city if he wanted to, sunk it into the flames and dirt that were so obvious around it. But he would lose his chance, he was here because of his own mistakes, his own failures and his own weaknesses. Even as he pulled his sword from his sheath he was having second thoughts.

"I can't do this" he whispered as the ethreal figure of an old man came to stand behind him, he didn't bother to look over his shoulder as the old man placed a hand on his shoulder. You can do this "Have you ever had second thoughts?" he asked as he watched the psyonic blasts from deep in the city. He wasn't sure if it were the demons fighting amongst themselves or the fools he could sense angering something beyond their strength to fight. All the time, but after a while, you realise that your second thoughts is your only defense from the fear that will grip you in combat. The trick is to fight as you have lived. "So hard dirty and if possible, get to third base with a few corpses?" Well, if your into that sort of thing.

As he stepped down into the city, Leopold clapped his hands, his smile bigger and brighter then any other as he caught the attention of a few demon patrols, as they charged toward him, their weapons raised he stopped them, just some twenty metres short of his location.

"Well, well, well" he said as he looked over the Fel Guard, imp demons, Doom hounds and singular Succubi that all glared at him angrily. "Hi there, I'm selling land in Necronus, thousands of acres of the stuff, all up for grabs. All you have to do is die and you get land for free." "What you say human" growled the Fel Guard as he and the Succubus took a step toward him. "I'm saying that for a one time offer and the low low price you all can own your very own piece of Necronus, free of undead and plagues. The only catch is you have to die" said Leopold, his smiled growing wider as stone copies of himself killed the lesser demons behind the stronger two.

"But if we die then we become undead" said the Succubus as she looked at her larger companion, both were confused as Leopold's clones moved into posistion, holding up the dead demons to Leopold to prove they were dead. "Well then, you can't own the property, I'm sorry but there will be no little demons running around, no white picket fences for you. No pets, no blood pools. Now if you don't mind I'll have my pen back"

"What pen?" asked the Fel Guard as Leopold's clones stepped closer to the two demons, their weapons at the ready. "How dare you sir, I have never made a pass at your wife. That is an insult, may your hair fall out and your skin turn bright pink." "Human is funny, and tasty looking" "Sorry sweet cheeks, but I make a rule of not having any form of relations, horizontal or otherwise with a Succubus, the whole eating thing annoys me. Plus your both dead"

The Fel guard would have said "What?" Keyword is would, however at that moment, Leopold's stone clones and Leopold decapitated both the demons and proceeded to hide the bodies in a crack in the earth. As his stone clones melted into the dirt, Leopold stepped into the shadow of the city, this was just another say in the life of Leo the Crow.

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OCC- I just noticed none of my characters are doing anything, and since Zeke's example made it so simple to get started in this thread... here I am... hope I don't step on any toes...

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Rebarta Reborn's massive claws dug into the earth as it made its way towards the Demon city. Its long curved neck was arched up slightly its horn covered head scanning the city it was coming upon. Kein rode lazily on his back, behind his neck. Kein’s two Bonewalker servants, recovered from their recent failure to capture Estel sat on the dragon’s back as well. As they came closer to the city they attracted the attention of a patrol of demons as well.

Two Fel Guards following a Doom Guard with a trail of lesser demons approached the dragon. He looked down to the demons as they prepared their attack but they all halted as Reborn stood up on his hind legs and raised his long neck upwards while expanding its wings, maximizing its height. As it did, it opened its mouth barring its massive white sharp teeth. Kein stood on an out cropping large scale and rested a hand at the base of Rebarta’s neck looking over his soldier. The two Bonewalkers gripped scales as well but couldn’t be seen.

“Who dares…” The Doom Guard started, but Kein cut him off with his own thunderous voice.

”These aren’t the Droids you’re looking for!” Kein called out waving his freed hand through the air. He was using manipulate lvl I to make it seem like the two droids he had with him weren’t the ones he was looking for.

“What the hell are drewoids?” The Doom Guard replied confused, not letting its guard down.

”H-hold on a second…” Kein mumbled as he took out a book that looked old and evil… it was labeled in ancient demonic and was titled: Dark Magic for Dummies. As he looked down at the book his bangs from his long hair hid his eyes in shadow. The Doom Guard was about to order the charge when Rebarta let out a low roar and moved forward to return to it’s normal standing position on all fours. The demon squad backed away as the Dragon crashed down in front of them. Kein skillfully kept himself right side up with fast moving feet’s even as he thumbed through his cheater’s guide to dark magic.

”O-ok… wait… ok…” Kein said raising a pointer finger to the Doom Guard. He then looked up from the book, his left blue eye leaving the shadows of his bangs and revealing it’s piercing gaze at the Doom Guard. The veins around his eye filled with blood and could be seen pressed up against his skin. His eye turned from its normal bright blue into a dark black color, then even the whites of his eye turned to darkness. Normally a simple look from a weird eye would not phase a Doom Guard but, Kein was using the Dark Spell ‘Manipulate II’ on the demon, through his eye. ”These aren’t the Bonewalkers you are looking for…” Kein said calmly and slowly.

“These aren’t the Bonewalkers we are looking for…” the Doom Guard repeated. “W-we were never looking for-“ A Fel Demon began to argue, but the a piercing look from the Doom Guard told him to shut up promptly. “Bow down!” The commanding demon barked as he bowed down to the Dragon riding Kein. The others did promptly as well. “We will let them pass,” he ordered with his nose in the dirt. Kein smirked, his eye and veins returning to normal as he lowered his gaze, his bangs falling forward and hiding his eyes from sight again. He sat back down on the Dragon, who promptly left the bowing demons for the inner city of Akara.