ENDLESS JOURNEYS (O/A)

[Nova Blancke]

The orbs found their targets and also each other. They were all together. Good. Nova could wipe them both out and get this problem out of the way.

It did not take him long to arrive at the scene. Kerana safely behind Alec, a severed claw on the ground, that false human child missing his hand, Shara and Trinity, who seemed to be out of it. Under Shara's control he suspected. She wouldn't stand there with Shara next to her without it.

There were no words coming from him, just a stream of scorching hot flames blasted at Shara and the child.  

[PixelMuse]

Shara knew that the master needed Ash. Her flesh was scortched as she dove for Ash causing the child to duck out of the way.

As the flames scortched Shara, it hit Trinity's side "AAAAHH!" she bent over leaning toward a tree." Threads of smoke a rise from the wound. The pain snapped her out of Shara's hold."Wha- what's going on?"  

[Nova Blancke]

Nova would answer Trinity. But not right now. It seemed the child was important. Or the undead wouldn't try to shield it. Interesting, but not enough to make him change his mind. It would only make it easier for him now that they are together. The ground underneath Shara and the child suddenly sank, creating a small pit. It was roughly a meter across but deep enough for the ledge not to be reachable.

Thunderous clouds began to form. It wouldn't take long before a bolt of lightning would come crashing down upon Shara.  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

The child made no expression as the events unfolded at it. Once it noticed the cloud overhead, it grabbed Shara and sank underground with her. The voice of the master emanated from it's mouth as it spoke to Shara.

"The child is acting as a proxy for me for the moment. This link limits my power to the child alone, and I will not be able to assist you as I did earlier."

Alec's eyes darted left and right. His nose twitched, and his ears swiveled 'round. A quiet growl rumbled from his throat. "Where did they go?" he asked no one in particular.

The thought of using his abilities as a druid came to mind, but it would require him to split his attention more towards that than Kerana. Tension crept into him as he positioned himself closer to Kerana.

The child guided Shara underground until they were positioned under Trinity. It wrapped it's arms around her and whispered, "As long as we remain in contact you move underground freely. Grab her, and pull her down with us."  

[PixelMuse]

Shara was running out of ideas of how to protect Ash, then all of the sudden she was pulled into the ground. She was little shocked to hear her master's voice come from Ash. Then her master explained what was going on. When they were in position, with Ash's arms wrapped around her waist she grabbed Trinity's ankles.


"Damn it!" Trinity tried to pull herself up, she tried using shadow manipulation. She bit her lip as she felt herself sinking into the ground. Then she tried pulling off her choker and let the transformation occur.


"What the hell!? AAAHHH MY HANDS!" The holy energy that was emanating from her was too much for her to handle. She pulled her hands back they were burnt. "Master I don't understand... I never seen her do that before."
 

[Nova Blancke]

The lightning struck where the were before. Nova didn't bother to check. They weren't there anymore. Shadow traveling perhaps or just simple Earth Magic. It didn't matter.

When Trinity seemed to have been grabbed, she transformed into that goddess. She was a fool. Just like the rest of the people around him. Using something that you cannot control, something that exhausts you in the midst of battle? So very foolish.

The ground rumbled as he made the ground split open. Earth Magic. Trinity, or rather, the goddess would float so there was no danger of her falling in. Even if it were, he could always catch her with Telekinisis.  

[PixelMuse]

Trinity tried to to hold on as long as she could in that form but she couldn't. Things reverted quickly after Nova ripped the ground apart. She was caught by his telekinesis but her choker slipped out of her hand. The choker, which was given to her by her late Lord Saturn, the one which was discovered that helped contain the goddess.


Shara tried again as her master managed to move them out the way in time. Although she did not manage to grab her ankles she managed to get something else. Her choker.
 

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

Alec shielded his eyes from the light and said, "I don't know. Whatever she's doing, it's actually changing her scent. It's almost like there was a whole other person hiding behind that choker."

The necromancer had seen it before. It was the light that had seared his right arm several years before. Before he could answer, Shara had gotten a hold of the choker.

The child/master grumbled, "What good will grabbing that do? I have no need for her accessories."  

[Nova Blancke]

Nova tossed Trinity aside. Not hard, just out of the way.He could use Light and Holy but he'd rather not in his current state.If a coughing fit does occur then he could lose control. Something you shouldn't do when using a magic of that tier.

Fire hot enough to melt rock burst out of his right hand and into the crack he had created. He'd kill those two abominations even if it'd be the last thing he did today.  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

The child could feel the approaching heat. It plunged it's remaining hand into it's chest and removed what looked like a large scarab. It proceeded to push it into Shara's chest while simultaneously pushing her out of the path of the incoming fire.

The scarab dug into Shara's chest, establishing the mental link between herself and the necromancer that he had with Ash only seconds ago. His voice echoed in her mind, "Retreat Shara. Between Trinity's light magic and the ancient's power, you do not stand a chance alone. The child is no longer of any use. Leave it and return here. The scarab will allow you to move through the ground as far as you need to."

Ash crawled out of the crack, shaking and now without flesh or clothing. It was nothing but the ashes it was comprised of in the shape of a child. Parts of it began to flake off as it moaned in despair. It had failed, and it knew what that meant. Ash was being left to the wolves (so to speak).

It's eyes, having been forged from a freshly made corpse, had boiled under the intense heat of Nova's flames. It used what energy it had to climb out of the crack before it rolled onto it's back and looked at the sky with empty sockets.

It's short life had known little of emotion outside of what it had been made to feel about Kerana's kindness. Now it was experiencing fear. It began to tremble with fear. Without flesh and eyes, it knew not the comfort of tears.  

[Rikki Tikki Travi]

"The child would have placed Trinity in an inescapable trance via the infernal swarm that it could summon, and it could have also made traveling much more expedient. It also would have toyed with Trinity's emotions seeing as how it is a child. She has a soft spot for them, you see. An easily exploitable weakness."

"However, the approach of the ancient calling itself Nova, the wolf-kin guardian, and Trinity's damned light tips the scales too far. I still have use for you, and so the child was sacrificed so you may escape."

"Return to me immediately. I must confer with an associate at this time. Do not attempt to contact me until nightfall."  

[Nova Blancke]

Nova clicked his tongue in frustration as Shara got away. She had to have been using an artifact. A burst of wind scattered what was left of....'Ash'.
He got on one knee and began to heal himself. Only now it became apparent how much ragged his breath was. It was a miracle itself he lasted this long without coughing. Suppressing it all this time, he finally let it out. His coughs burst out. Along with the blood.