Burning Seas

[khalora]

ooc: Woops, sorry about that. Completely my fault

”Nina!” Her face was the last one he had ever expected to see beside him, here at the end of the world as he knew it. ”How did…?” But there was barely anytime to speak between the attacks. Thanks to Foster’s appearance, he now only had to contend with one of the angels, and nothing more than a bowman at that.

An arrow knocked off his shoulder plate inches from his neck. A very good bowman nonetheless. The Angel pushed him back, and if the King had been in a better state he would easily have been able to overpower the warrior, but he was beyond that point, and his arms were aching, his legs felt like they were burning, and his back felt like it would split with every movement…

…But stopping meant death. And he wasn’t ready to die… not yet.

He turned his shield in front of him, and one arrow thudded strongly into it, embedded in the steel, and the other one skipped off the rim, along his shield hand, slicing open the back of his palm and blood ran down onto the decking, slowed by the low temperature.

Alessio ducked his head behind the shield and charged at the Angel. He knew there was no way he was going to be able to kill this warrior, but he had to knock him down for long enough to get to Ice. In an exchange, he tried to use what remained of his brute strength to muscle the warrior down onto a lower platform with his shield. The arrows were useless in close quarter, but that bow had sharp points.

He sliced around with his new sword, getting heavier and heavier with each stroke, and tried to push the angel to the left so he could get him onto the ground… just long enough so he could get further into the fight… just that little bit longer…

[Cailen]

Cailen jumped as her claws scratched against the metal. She pulled back, assessing her new opponent, a female drifter. She had never seen her before, and a nagging thought in the back of her mind questioned the woman aiding Alessio. But she did not spare her precious seconds thinking of such trivial matters, for it did not matter why the drifter was here. She was here, and Cailen would fight her. She raised her swors and sent an assault on the drifter, who parried her every strike in perfect form, matching Cailen blow for blow.

The snow grew thicker as they faught, and Cailen glanced next to her, making out the shapes of Sage and Alessio through the whirrling mass. Their battle seemed to be making as much progress as she and the drifter.

The dropping temperature made the planked deck below them slippery, as the water froze to a thin, crusty layer. Cailen was used to such terrain, and clearly had an advantage, but the drifter was still fighting well. She was recieving just as many blows as Cailen was giving her.

But she was almost frozen because of her dip in the sea, and Cailen took advantage of this. Hoping her movements would be slowed by her frozen body, the angel sweeped left with her claw, and pushed her sword-hilt foreward, hoping to trap the sword with the tines in the basket-hilt. If she could trap the sword, she may be able to break it due to the freezing temperature, and her weapons newfound strength.

[Ice]

Ice snarled as Geddo's kick hit Samara in the chest, sending her backwards for just enough time to prevent her from ripping his pirate head off. The kick did not seriously hurt her though, it more enraged Ice.

He was not fighting to his full capacity, and he was sure that the pirate knew it. He was concentrating on draining power from the amethyst into his own body, so that should he face a time when he becomes seperated from it, he would not lose everything he had gained here today.

The snow falling around them was picked up by an odd wind, it was coming from the North, not from the West, as most of the winds of Lilan came. It was picking up with a force to match Ice's and his whole boat swayed with the sudden change in ocean currents. It seemed the North was journeying South. The snow was blowing around them hard now, as if it was a blizzard, and yet was hardly half as powerful as those that could be encountered in the Blizzard Plains. It was as if nature had planned for this day for millenia. It was meant to be.

The sails of the White Warrior were whipping around dangerously, but she had seen winds far worse than this, and she could last the ice and snow. She was of the north; if you could not stand snow and ice in the north, you perished. The other ships had begun to flee, abandoning the left soldiers. Gold, blue, black sails made no difference. They feared the cold, enough to make them turn tail. Ice smiled at the thought. He was finally instilling the fear in his opponents that his father had. He would have his own name in history now, and what a name it would be.

Samara was up again, growing with teeth bared and eyes glaring, and Ice had his scythe held high, preparing for another swing against the Pirate King that had dared break his allegiance with Ice.

[Kevin Sage]

A smirk spread across Sage's face as the Southern King charged at him. The King was obviously exhausted, his movements were getting sloppy, and his speed was slowing. Does he really think he'll be able to simply knock me down?... As Alessio grew closer Sage side-stepped him, allowing him to either realize he's about to tumble over the edge of the upper platform, or see it in time to jump.

Either way, Sage aimed his bow once again toward the King. You will not reaching Ice capable of attacking him. Rather, you will fall and kneel before his feet... With that thought, Sage fired an arrow aimed for King's back. There would be no missing, not this time. The target was too wide, too slow, and too occupied with only one thing in his mind: reaching Ice and destroying him.

The weather around Sage changed dramatically once again. The wind changed direction, and began to blow toward the south. Snow encircled everyone aboard the White Warrior, and ice began to cover every inch o the ship. Northern ships took control of the sea while the other races began to flee. So it begins...

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[nina]

With every blow, Nina could feel the chill of the weather literally freezing her every movement. Her body ached from the freezing temperature. Icicles formed within the messy tresses of her hair, over his eyebrows, and on her jacket and pants. Nina could see her breath before her face, and the face of the Angel through the thick snow. She was fighting with so little effort, and Nina was fighting with everything she had.

The Stone is not the only thing giving these Northerner's power. This weather, the snow, the wind, the ice... this aura is giving them an inner strength... I have to keep fighting... But even as her thoughts raced, Nina knew that there was very little resistance left to stop the Power. The other races were fleeing the snow; all that were left stood upon the deck of the White Warrior with the man who was the ultimate threat.

Suddenly, Nina and Cailen were inches apart as Nina's sword was caught in Calien's claws. Nina looked up at Cailen with amusement. "Valdis cannot be broken," she stated with a tone like venom.

Nina aimed for Cailen's shin with a hard, forceful kick in order to separate herself from the Angel. With a new distance between them, Nina held her sword out before her, ready to defend or attack once again.

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[Jarad]

Geddo heard nothing that Ice had said, he was to intent on listening to the sound of blades and the shuffle of feat towards him. He slid backwards as the blade of one of the ice warriors came towards him. He hit the blade with his left hand in quick succession. Hitting all of the steels weak points, he slammed his own sword into it, shattering the blade. The blade he had just picked up glowed a violet color. He charged towards Ice with his blade, but again, was stopped by the snow leapord. As the leapord pounced toward him, he sent his sword towards the beasts throat, knowing that if he missed, this game him ample time to block the teeth. Now, the true future of the pirates where in his hands.

[khalora]

The arrow punched through what remained of Alessio’s armour, and the violet-tinged steel of it poked out through his right breast in a spray of blood and a cry of pain. So this is what it feels like to die. Khalora was still running though, his momentum hadn’t been stopped by the sudden wound. He turned slightly and flung the shield at the Angel in a last ditch attempt to cause some sort of injury to him. The King had intended to hurl it like a discus, but instead it wobbled through the air towards him. And by then he was at the edge of the platform. Nina…!

It took all of what was left of Khalora’s strength to vault himself onto the railing and jump. And then he was in the air, supported by nothing but emptiness, soldiers and steel raging beneath him, and he knew that wherever he fell, he would die. He didn’t have the strength left to fight so many men anymore. He didn’t have the strength left to parry and thrust, to dodge and shift, he had nothing left…

… And then he saw him. Ice swung his scythe to the right, across his body below him, locked in combat with Geddo. Geddo who had betrayed him so willingly. And Alessio was falling right towards them. For the briefest of seconds, the greatsword in his hand didn’t feel so heavy, the blood pouring out of him not so hot, his vision not so blurred, his muscles not so weak. For the briefest of seconds, he had all the strength in the world.

He fell to the deck, his right knee buckling under the weight of his armour and the bones crunching, but he rolled towards Ice. Only a few feet away from him, and his sword came flashing out, and then he was up, looking directly into Ice’s eyes, and the distance between them was shortening so quickly. The amethyst throbbed brilliantly beneath the Ice Ruler’s fingertips, plastered to his hand. And Alessio knew what he had to do, here at the end of him.

For Danarta! For the South! And the Storm’s End!” His blade smashed down into Ice’s hand with full force of a two-handed chop. Violet blade met violet stone and for a second, he thought that not even this could do anything. But the blade passed through the flesh of ruler’s fingers, detaching them from his hand, and the stone fell with them, the light detached from its host. Alessio’s blade shattered and burst into blue flames, steel flinging past him and cutting his face and arms, the fire lancing around his gauntlet, searing his flesh.

And the amethyst was falling, falling to the decking and Alessio fell to the ground, reaching out for it, and wrapping his right hand around the cold stone. And in an instant it was too terrible to hold, the rock beneath his flesh burning it away, and he hurled it out over the side of the ship.

Alessio stood shakily, all but dead already, and he never saw the amethyst hit the water, never heard the cries from all around him from so many tongues, never beheld the stone crack and break just under the surface as it parted from its host forever and never felt the tremendous shock wave which rippled across the water’s surface as the power of the amethyst died and the remaining ships listing horribly to their sides…

[Ice]

[ooc: Ok, Khalora post just then must have seemed very god-modish. And it was. Quite. However, he and I have already discussed some of the things his character just did.]

Samara had pounced at Geddo again but when the sword had come closer and closer to her chest, she swung her body in the air to move her chest, and her body, away from the blade, and one of her back legs unwillingly went flying towards Geddo's face with all the force of Samara's initial pounce.

It had taken so short an amount of time, everything that had happened. Ice had been concentrating on Geddo when Khalora had leapt towards him with his broadsword held high above him, preparing for a swing.

Ice only turned around just in time to see Khalora come down upon the Amethyst with his blade. Though Ice would never truly know how it happened, Khalora's sword passed through the stone, stopping only after it had gone through the majority of the Amethyst of Eternity, stopping just above his hand. His blow had not been that powerful, such was the state he was in at the time. However, as the broadsword finally stopped, with Khalora's body weight it swung downwards just at the right angle to cleave off Ice's last two fingers. Leaving noting but two bloody stumps.

The amethyst had been cut, and as it landed on the ground, part of it shattered into minute pieces that would never be recovered, even on the shining wooden boards of the White Warrior. As for what was left of it, Khalora saw to it that it was gone, over the edge of the ship. Ice did not necessarily see Khalora throw it, but he could feel it. What power he had captured from the amethyst before it had been taken from him let him know that much.

Ice knelt down on the ground and cried out as red blood poured over his white robes. He could feel pain again, and the pain on his fingers shot through his body as the red blood puddled around him. Ice looked up at Khalora standing on the edge of the ship, and saw nothing but red fury.

[Poker]

Poker was at last free from the crowd that had covered the surface of the Ice Warrior's flagship. Now he could truly see what was happening in the fight that would truly decide the future of Lilan.

He saw Khalora, so close to him now. And Poker's eyes narrowed with unrestrained fury. It was Khalora. Khalora had done this all. It was beyond any doubt his fault. He had dragged the Pirates into this fight. If they hadn't had an allegiance with him, none of this would have happened. The Pirates would be summoning an army in Teer now, ready to strike when everyone was at their weakest. But instead Khalora had made it so that the Pirates themselves were at their weakest. For a moment, Poker assumed Khalora to be dead, as he lay on the deck next to Ice, kneeling with blood running unrestrained down his robes.

However, still Khalora stood. He could not keep living. Poker thought insanely. As long as he was alive, the Pirates would continue to be pulled into Southern Wars, and they would continue dying. It could not keep going on like this. Amory had never done anything about it, perhaps she hadn't forseen this. Geddo would do nothing about it either. Neither would Kristen, the Royal Guard, or Maccenna. No one could see what he was doing to the Pirates. He was bringing about their slow extinction with his leeching alliance with them. If no one else could see the problem and solve it, then Poker would have to.

Khalora was still alive, swaying by the edge of the boat. Poker did not take notice of anything save the fact that the armour facing him was ruined. It was an easy target.

Poker leaned back, holding one of his cutlasses above his head. In a long, fluid movement, Poker pushed forwards with his arm, sending the cutlass forward spinning towards Khalora and his unshielded back.

[khalora]

Khalora was beat. He held his hands out beside him, looking directly at Ice, and he had eyes for no-one else. He leant heavily on the splintered railing on the side of the ship, barely supporting his weight.

”Whats… the point anymore… Ice?” Khalora breathed out, each breath was a terrible pain through his chest, and each word far worse. There was more than one broken rib in there somewhere. ”The war… the fighting… the dieing?” He gasped again. ”Our ancestors… had hatred… and is that… why this war… is still… going? Why can’t we… just… put it to… an end? I’m tired of fighting. I’m… tired of… continuing a war… I have no… passion for. I’m tired of… doing what I do… only because my… father… and my father’s father… did it. I’m tired… of not being who… I am.”

Alessio flinched in pain again. ”There’s… no point… anymore. No need… to…” The blade punched through his back, and the steel blade pointed out his chest in a flourish of blood and red. The blade had gone straight through him, right up to the hilt. The blood ran in torrents down his golden under-tunic in sleek sheets of bright red. The King fell to his knees again, and turned to look straight at his killer. The face he barely recognized, some distinct memory from his past niggling at his mind, putting a name to the man in front of him…

… And then he remembered. ”…fight.” Alessio fell to the decking, a sword and two arrows embedded in his body, the last of his blood flowing away from him into the frozen sea, and the King of Danarta died looking up at the sun as it broke through the clouds.

[Alaria]

Alaria turned to her Lord as his voice boomed out above all the other noise. Her weapons lsot their violet glow and a sword pierced her abdomen. The Pirate who stabbed her let out a gleeful yell only to be beheaded by Shakr'am. Clutching her stomach, she moved to her Lord. His fingers lay next to him on the deck, unmoving. His own blood poured out across his white robes. Fury engulfed her, but before she could punish Alessio for what he had done, he died.

Knealing beside Ice, she ripped cloth from her own clothes and gently took his hand in hers. In the middle of the White Wing knealt both warriors. She wrapped the bloody stumps in the white cloth. His blood stained it and she cried out. Her own blood was ruining their clothes. Alaria turned away and looked out at the damage. The fleeing ships, and the dead bodies. Most of the people still alive were standing watching as the stone was thrown into the water.

What have you done!? she hollered out. Shaking she spurted blood and stood up. Sighing, she held one hand to her head and the other to her stomach. Weak, so weak. Leaning on the edge of the boat, she looked down. Her blonde hair had spilled out of the braid during the fight and had gotten wet with her red blood. Her face was stinging from Dagwyn's sword. Ice had lost the power of the stone. Today was not so glorious after all...

[Jarad]

All was well. Geddo Blocked the leapords attack with the sword, but the violet color that accompanied it had vanished. Geddo's blade didn't shatter as it had the other time, He pushed away from the beast and retreated a few steps, only to see the stone fall to the water. "Good. The stone is gone!" He blocked an attack from an ice warrior, but didn't kill the man.

Geddo saw Khalora down on the ground, he ran towards him, only to see Poker's blade go through him. Geddo was dumbfounded, which caused a few arrows to bounce off of his basilisk armor, (which needed repairing). Geddo charged towards Poker, He went to grab Poker and slam him into the wooden mast behind him. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" He screamed at Poker. His sword not inches away from Poker's throat.
((Grrr. Sorry that part with Poker sounds like god-moding Sorry. And the () in the paragraph isn't OOC))

[Maccenna]

Maccenna had melted into the background of this fight, just as she had in the battle before it, but none the less, she was still there, among the few archers left fighting, her last arrow pulled back as she got ready to aim at a naval soldier. She knew nothing of what was happening between her King, her captain and Poker. It almost seemed as if she was dispatched from it all. It was an odd coincidence though, for the three people that were in a quarrel with each other, were among her only her friends (Well at least, they were practically the few people that she had ever known). Geddo was the first person she met in the city of Teer back when Amoury was Queen of the Pirates, while Alessio had given her the great honor of being his lieutenant and remained kind to her, despite the fact that she was not a southerner- and Poker,he was someone very close to her heart. It would have torn her apart to see what was happening below. She was unaware of the dieing king,stricken down with arrows and Poker's own sword, and she was unaware of Geddo, who had rushed upon Poker with a threat that could have possibly meant death for him. Would she had known what had happened in those few precious minutes after Alessio had thrown the Amethyst over board, she would have run away, for she would not have known what to do.

Instead, she remained on the aft- deck of the Silver Flame, while the others were on the the White Warrior.She remained obscured, as everything else continued. When her last arrow was finally shot, Maccenna pulled out her sword awkwardly. She hardly used it and thus, her skills with it were meadicuor.(Killed that word) She much preferred her bow.

The fight around her seemed to have slowed down a great degree. She did not know why and she could have cared less. All it meant to her was that it would be easier to move around. With her sword held in her right hand, she easily snook through most of the fighting. Her eyes were searching for Geddo or Alessio, for she did not know what to do and needed a command. She was good at following them, but alas, she could not see either of them anywhere. She managed to find her way onto the White Warrior where sdhe looked around helplessly.

(Heheh... I haven't posted in this thread for a very long time. Oh well.. I might as well try to keep up with you guys. *Cough* Speed demons *Cough*! )

[Kevin Sage]

Kevin Sage watched in triumph as the arrow pierced the Southern King's back and as he fell toward Ice. The battle seemed to be ending, but it did not go as well as planned. With an ounce of strength left, Alessio Khalora managed one final swing at Ice, taking out his fingers, and the Amethyst.

Sage started forward with the intent to finish Alessio, but before he could even jump down onto the lower deck, a Pirate, whom Sage did not recognize, finished the job for him. Baffled and confused, Sage finally reached the center stage of the battle.

Ice still knelt upon the ground. Despite his pain, Sage realized that the wound was nothing life threatening. Most likely, Ice's pride hurt more than his hand. Sage approached him carefully, not wanting to catch the aftermath of Ice's hurt dignity. He knelt down beside him, putting a hand upon his back and offering a shoulder to help him stand.

Sage managed to take a look at the damage around the ship. So many warriors lay dead, and the white ship was stained with countless soldiers' blood.

Alaria was wounded as well. The warrior who stabbed her now lay dead, but the damage was already great. She had been skewered in the chest and bleeding profusely. She leaned over the deck, as if trying to catch her breath or regain composure.

Geddo now stood before the late Southern King, and his last attacker. Sage was still baffled by the betrayal of the Pirate. As he understood, the Pirate and Southerners has formed an alliance. Sage let the thought run off to the back of his mind. The reason mattered not.

At least the Northerners has maintained thier honor... He thought as he looked back toward Ice. The battle was indeed over, and clearly, there was no clear outcome.

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[Poker]

Poker smiling maliciously after the death of the greatest enemy he had ever had, was caught off guard as his King grabbed the front of his collar with hands and pushed him against one of the white masts of the Ice Warrior flagships. One hand, holding his sword, was pushed against Poker's neck. Poker also held one of his swords in his hand, the other embedded in Khalora, now resting beneath the waves with the gem that seemed to have caused so much trouble. However, he did not point it at Geddo, instead he pointed it towards the ground, not wanting to threaten his King. He was never one for fighting one of his own kind in a war.

Poker didn't know if Maccenna could see him. As far as he knew, she should be here, being a high member of the Pirate army. He wondered whether he really wanted her to see him now. He hadn't spoken to her about Khalora, but he doubted she would see it his way. No one seemed to.

Poker closed his eyes as spittle and hot wind flew into his face from the screams of the Pirate King. He waited for a long time before speaking again, his voice low and serious, and his eyes were melancholy and showed a self-inflicted wisdom that was beyond his sixteen years.

"I did what no one else could." He said, his voice little above a whisper, but yet each work was unmistakeable. "He would destroy the Pirates, and I couldn't let him." Had Poker known about Geddo already breaking the allegiance with Khalora by attacking Ice, he would have brought that up to defend himself. But, in his mind, the short defence he had just said made more sense than anything Geddo could say to him.