Borian put the core of the apple into his mouth and crunched down on it twice before swallowing it, making the apple disappear from existence. "A man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains. My personal wishes hold no sway over my duty as 'The Guardian'."He reached for the helmet and placed it over his head, clicking the button near his neck again to reseal and activate the helmet's abilities again. "Let's focus on the road for now, we have talked long enough. We need to get to the base of the mountain by the end of our walking period." That was at least three days away, and that was if a person had plenty of horses to trade out. Borian's goal seemed a bit unrealistic. His head shifted slightly and he sighed from within the helmet, the microphone muted at the moment. "Of course the king is foolish enough to try and pull this type of stunt."
"Soleil, duck." He said calmly before a hand forced her to her knees as the invisible arrows clinked off of his armor, leaving small dents and plenty of smoking ammunition. The invisible arrows touched the ground as squished pieces of metal. "You are all dead. Do not think you can run!" They had just barely gotten out of view of the town and they were already ambushed by the King's men. Borian unsheathed his Iron Zweilhander and the red glow from the eye sockets flashed for a moment as the armor let out a loud hissing sound. After a tiny fraction of a second, Borian propelled himself into the air with earth shattering force, the impact on the ground less than pretty. Borian landed next to the four men who were trying to run. The Zweilhander arced forward and cut one man's legs off, the cacophony of pain sounding off from the man's throat as Borian's boot crushed the skull underneath, his war path clear. Two turned to fire off another volley in desperation of trying to hold the iron behemoth back. The two lost their arms as the blade tore flesh and bone away from their bodies. Borian didn't stop and slowly picked up speed, the armor hissing once more. Borian didn't stop his charge until he had turned the fourth coward into jelly against a tree, the man's life water draining out of a flattened body, the tree tipping over from the force of the impact.
Borian turned around and sheathed his Zweilhander, grabbing the two live ones by their heads. "One will live, one will die." He wanted to make sure that Soleil did not see this, the more pure she was, the better their chances. The giant of a man didn't even flinch as his hand slowly squeezed around the skull of one of the two, he could feel the bones snapping and then, like a grape, the skull burst, the body falling limp instantly. The final one had already fainted from shock and trauma. Borian pulled out a flask and uncorked it. If the man survived the toxins of Borian's blood, he would be able to live, if not, he died a mostly painless death after he fainted.
((OOC: Time skip within the next few posts to when the two are setting up camp. Lot of confusing info that I'm hitting you with, I know, but as we continue onwards everything will make a lot more sense.))
"... I will keep this maiden safe until we reach our salvation."
CaptainXXMorgan
Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 8:36 am
Soleil, The Wielder of Light
She wasn't sure what bound him to say or believe that, it was confusing, but it seemed there was nothing more to ask about that. She was gazing out at the distance towards the base of the mountain, it seemed fairly far away. She's never been out that far, not even close, she was already pushing her limitations being this far even. Feeling a hand on her shoulder and the command to duck, she fell to her knees "Ah!" through loss of balance, though she could hear something swivel past and over her which caused her to duck even further of her own will.
She looked up as she saw Borian charged forward on the attack and defense. Between the quick draw of blood and his immense power, she could only stop and stare. He was strong, it shouldn't of been a shock since she saw him this morning, but seeing him in action felt like a new wave of understanding to his strength. As he had the last two men in his hands, watching with his back towards her she'd jog over towards him. She could only see that one man was limp in his hand, unaware of the toxins he applied as she reached up to push against his arm"B-Borian, just put him down, you won." she informed him before backing up a few steps. Death and blood weren't a terrible sight for her, she though it was a little gruesome in the manner Borian applied it. Soleil asked quickly "Who are these people? What are the.." trying to get a look over their clothing as she could probably take a guess despite more than half of the bodies being unreadable at this point. She knew they had to keep walking and she would, naturally she just wanted to know.
[[It's fine, I wouldn't expect her to know much so it helps play the role easier at least. Ready for time skip on your command, cappytan.]]
Borian put the liquid into the man's throat before returning the now empty flask into his hidden belt of vials. "The elixir will heal him." Borian then set the body down, slumping it down next to a tree. "They are the soldiers of the king, he wanted to eliminate us if he could, after all, he wants to keep in control and he's also paranoid due to inbreeding." Borian reached down and scavenged a few things, mostly the weapons. "At least they gave us these at the cost of their lives." Borian pulled a piece off and checked the interior of the piece before slamming it back in and pointing one out towards the road. [b]"Good sights and plenty of ammunition. We could use these..." Borian decided to keep only one of the strange weapons, smashing the rest with his foot, but not before he looted that same, strange piece as the one he had looted. "Well, the king will get the message once he realizes that some of his best men were killed within a minute. Come we need to keep going, no time to bury the bodies."Borian stepped back towards the road, the new piece of equipment glinting in the shimmering sunlight. He carried it like a crossbow, but the thing had no strings on it, and barely any wood. Most of it was in fact made of metal, and the sounds of it being fired off were still echoing slightly and then it was quiet.
Within the helmet, Borian was muttering stuff, the voice enhancer off. "They already fired a rifle at me once and it didn't do anything, what made them think it would work this time? Does the king really want to keep us all in the dark forever? Let's see... Standard rifle rounds, thirty round magazine. Iron sights and a metal stock with little padding. The recoil might be a bit much for her. I'll keep it with us for now."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Borian hammered a stake into the ground, the one tent they had now up. The fire was cooking away a soup and their wooden bowls sat nearby. He had pulled two large rocks for them to sit on while they ate. They also only had one bedroll which Borian quickly revealed, unrolling it inside the tent. They were deep into the forest, but they hadn't made his goal due to Soleil's slower pacing. Borian was slightly disappointed that they hadn't reached the mountain, but it was fine for now. They had only encountered one squad and he had actually used their newly acquired weapon to hunt a wild deer, but the thing jammed after the second shot, making it useless. They had the meat at least.
"Alright, camp is set up unless you have any additions you want to make." Borian stood and arched his back in a stretch before moving over to the fire, pulling his two swords off his back and setting them on the ground. "There is a river nearby if you want to go wash yourself. Nothing is nearby so you should be fine." Borian was taking his armor off as he spoke, the rest of his body revealing itself piece by piece. The man was covered in rippling muscles that even a blacksmith would be jealous of, and over his skin, scars of unimaginable proportions marked his body. One scar even spiraled up his arm in a sort of pattern that seemed to move, like a snake constricting his arm. Of course even in his armor, he had still worn some basic clothing, and the white linen shirt as well as the leather pants had been all he had been wearing. The inside of his armor didn't reveal a whole lot about how it functioned either, it was just black on the inside, though the thickness was astounding. It was at least four times as thick as the metallic armor that the king's warriors used, and many time stronger than that it seemed.
((OOC: And le famous timeskip is applied!))
"... I will keep this maiden safe until we reach our salvation."
CaptainXXMorgan
Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 9:26 pm
Soleil, The Wielder of Light
The men had died at the hands of a greedy king, a king that Soleil knew little about. She knew there were many opinions of the king, far spread rumors that were just exaggerations of awful truths. Something was not right, and if the King had planned to kill them then did he try to kill those within the first expedition. These men, whether they wished to or not, obeyed and died by the orders of the King. She was hesitant in leaving them, but in the end she followed after Borian. She couldn't really make sense of the weapon he was carrying, much like his armor it looked fairly advanced even for the standards of their fellow blacksmiths back home. She move to walk at his side, in silence for once.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She had helped collect some of the fire wood while he set up his tent. Slurping down a decent bit of the warm soup, grateful for the meal. What may of seemed like a walk in the park for Borian was a bit of thumping pain on her feet for Soleil, she was tired and was relieved to be sitting. Even if she had her daily exercise and explorations into the forest, this continuous pace wasn't for someone who also sat among books during a decent portion of the day as well. To the additions she'd pull out her own blanket and a fairly small pillow that had a small outline of a turtle stitched into it. It was filled with cotton, barely big enough for one, but it satisfied her. She carried two blankets with her, one for the colder climate. This one was twice as long as the thicker blanket, merely to let her roll into it as she pleased. She'd lay it out near the tent and sit aside on top of it as he removed his armor.
She had wondered what all hell Borian had faced, it was a bit difficult to imagine. His scars revealed more of the past than his words did, that was possibly the strangest of his character "Will you take me down to the river in the early morning? There's something there that I believe will be of use."she'd start, until she knew she had his attention "With the rivers like these, there's a good chance we can find Dark Gloams. I think they'll be good for your future remedies, they have special properties that can be extracted. They can apply extraordinary stability for most elixirs"though that was up to him if he felt he needed it or not. If not, she'd likely go down the river herself to retrieve them on her own, but she figured she'd show him what they looked like for future reference. "Where did you retrieve that armor?" she asked, figuring he might be willing to tell a story or two about it.
"I didn't. I made it." Borian said simply as he poured himself a bowl of soup as well, now comfortable and breathing fresh air. "The tent is for you, same with the bedroll though it seems you packed your own. I will be keeping watch throughout the next few nights." Borian took one spoonful of soup and swallowed it quietly before setting down the bowl and standing up once more. It was obvious he was restless and wanted to keep going on far into the night and the only reason why he had stopped was for Soleil's sake. "Dark Gloams? Never heard of them, you will have to show me. So yes, I will walk with you to the river tomorrow in the morning." He stopped pacing, suddenly self aware of the fact that what he was doing was rude. "Sorry, I am simply impatient. However my armor is nothing special, I simply applied a few things we found out in the darkness to it and then forged the armor itself to fit my body."
Borian picked up his bowl again and ate away at the soup slowly and silently. He had talked a lot more than he was used to today, and his jaw was slightly sore because of it. Sure he was an overly-muscular guy, but that didn't mean that every muscle of his was crazy strong. He rarely ever used his mouth for anything other than eating so now he was getting used to talking again. Facial expressions were still easy though. He would let Soleil do most of the talking now, and they still needed to train as well. That would be interesting. He would need to see what basics she knew before they would even get to sparring.
((OOCsmile)
"... I will keep this maiden safe until we reach our salvation."
CaptainXXMorgan
Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 10:16 pm
Soleil, The Wielder of Light
She'd look into the tent, surprised it was for her "Thank you." she'd crawl in for a minute and pull out his bed roll to replace it with her blanket and set aside his bedroll near his rock. "Do you not need to sleep like you used to? We can switch turns to stand watch," she'd offer, "but nights get cold regardless of where the fire dies." letting him know that his gifted bed was for him to use at his comfort. She'd stand up at his apology, shrugging it off "Well, we should get started then. I can't promise much."she'd say, moving to a more open area away from the fire.
She'd take a deep breath and draw her staff before her "This is really all I have, it's more than I wanted." she stated, looking fondly over it as if it was a living creature itself. She'd figure a stance to take, never having an actual dual before so she took a guess to a common stance that was seen among the general soldiers and men. Even the drunkards at the bar knew a thing or more than she, but she knew how to avoid fights more than face them which was possibly a more clever talent in itself. She was trying to think of what she could do against something like Borian, surely he was hinting towards his lack of speed so she had kept that in mind since their walk here. "Maybe there's..a basic routine I can do to practice..or something." she'd suggest, though she figured a real fight to survive would be the best way to learn, as it always had been for those that had survived. She felt she couldn't afford to die so soon though.
Borian finished his soup and set the bowl aside, it seemed she wanted to get started right away. "I can last up to two weeks without food, water, or sleep before I start to feel the side effects... It's true nights do get cold without a fire..." He stood and walked over to her. "We can start with your form, it's all over the place... Here, move your leg here... Bend your knee like so, shift your weight over to this side of your leg..."Borian's calloused hands were quick at work, grasping and setting limbs into place. Even though he had immense strength, he was very gentle in his movements, they were all smooth, fluid and overall very careful so as to not harm Soleil on accident. After a few moments Borian stood up and nodded in confirmation. "There we go. Now you have the form of a warrior. Now to give you the eight points of strike."
Borian looked over at a nearby tree and nodded before moving back to his swords and drew the iron one before walking over to the tree and slicing into its bark six lines. two diagonals, one horizontal and one vertical. "The basics start with form of these eight swings, and you can use it with any melee weapon available, albeit with a bit of adjustment for, length, weight, and type of weapon." Borian then went very slowly, first he started with a downward right to left diagonal swing, then he moved the blade up and went to a downward left to right diagonal swing. Right to left horizontal then left to right horizontal. Upwards right to left diagonal, then an upwards left to right diagonal before bringing the blade down slowly for a vertical strike, placing the hilt near his abdomen before thrusting it forward at the center of where the lines connected. After a moment Borian stepped back and looked at Soleil. "Do you need me to show you the eight points again in their order, or do you want to give it a go? Obviously since you are using a staff instead of a sword, you won't be cutting into the tree, you will simply be hitting the points where the lines begin on the trunk and then moving on to the next strike."
((OOCsmile)
"... I will keep this maiden safe until we reach our salvation."
CaptainXXMorgan
Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 11:29 pm
Soleil, The Wielder of Light
Soleil looked down at her feet as he commented on her stance "Everywhere?" she muttered, trying to place her foot somewhere else until he came over to adjust her. She didn't resist "Oh...like this? Ok...are you-? I see."getting more into it, or understanding it at least. She did feel a little more stable in this stance. She moved with him towards the tree, a bit slower as to not move out of her stance as she watched him strike down the tree in a specific order. They did have different weapons, she had to keep that in mind, but she took what she saw at face value. She shook her head "I'll try it."she stated.
She's step up to the plate, though she switched the direction or her staff. Instead of the string portion facing at the top, she turned it around to the more blunt base of the staff to be facing more forward, feeling as she had to protect the more decorate portion of it. She swung to the right, slicing it down as if it was a sword at first. She shook her head at herself, her mind racing as she went to re-try again though before that she glanced over towards Borian. She held her hand out "D-don't come over here, just let me." aware of his impatience. She'd try again, spreading the length of her hands that held her hands for a better strike. The staff slightly slid across the tree in a slicing motion, she was losing her stance a little in the attempt to apply some force behind it. She'd go through the set, a bit awkwardly with the eagerness to be as fast as him though her stance was off in her own means of impatience as well. She got caught up in completing it that she went for the final strike, jabbing her staff at the tree with both hands.
In the end, it just caused her hands to slide against the staff as the bottom potion of it nailed her abdomen"Gah!"some of her breath being taken from her as she dropped her weapon from the own minor pain she's given herself. She rubbed her stomach quickly, shaking it off and picked up her staff again, holding her hand out towards Borian for him to stop "I know, I know."feeling as if she knew what he might say. She's been through a teaching process like this, in a way, at least when it came down to mistakes. She needed to get a better feel for her weapon "It's an extension of yourself.."
She'd take her stance again, adjusting as he had showed her previously and held her staff at the base stance. She had her eyes closed and took a deep breath, moving differently than what he had showed her. She wasn't working on the 8 strike, rather she was merely moving with her staff. Some of it was awkward looking, it was obvious to see she was trying something a little new. She needed to see and feel for herself, and about a few minutes of her just merely moving the staff around her personal space she'd try again. It was a bit better, she'd right at the right downward angle as it just hit the side of the tree rather than sliding down it. She'd slowly switch with the harp base facing front this time as she'd strike left downward right for a more efficient speed. She was patient in going through the motion, though she had to stop in between to catch herself to figure which way to move next. When she completed it the second time at least she'd turn towards him with sheepish smile "I'll work on it for homework...are you sure this order is the best way to strike, or can you mix it up based on the situation?"more attentive to the analytically concept of it now "What's next?" figuring she'd get a decent amount of things to work on.
[[Lets get down to business...to defeat...THE HUNS. Did they send me daughters, when I asked...for sons!?]]
Borian cringed as she attempted to go through it quickly and took a step forward to stop her, but she insisted that she do it herself. Then she struck herself in her abdomen and Borian winced at the impact. She had a long ways to go, no natural talent with weaponry at all. That was good though, it meant she wouldn't be cocky at least. Borian went to sitting to keep himself from interjecting with her practice. When she asked if she had to follow that pattern he shook his head. "Of course you don't follow that pattern exactly, you can strike with a right to left downwards diagonal and then immediately switch to a left right upwards diagonal. However this is for muscle memory, once your body learns where to strike naturally on a target based on one of these eight points then we can go to more advanced things. Though perhaps we can do something in between this practice... I have just the right idea. Learning how to block is just as important as learning how to use those eight strikes."
Borian stood up and reached for a branch above, one that was straight. He sliced off many of the smaller branches and spun the improvised staff around in his hands. "A staff is a two headed weapon, you use both ends to attack, unlike a sword which only uses one. Here, let me show you what the eight strikes can get to before we go on to defense." Borian selected a new tree and before Borian started swinging he felt the weight of the branch in his hand. One hand out, his feet spread to shoulder length, knees slightly bent, staff tucked behind him slightly, one end touching the back of a shoulder. He concentrated and then the improvised staff whipped forward. Borian made sure to restrain his strength to give a more appropriate look to what it could do, else he would leave the tree in a crumbled heap with nothing but a broken stick in hand. Eight strikes dashed forward, as soon as one blow started to pull away, the next had already struck.
Borian stopped with the thrust and pulled away. "Use both sides to your advantage. Now onto defense. Attack me slowly with one of these eight angles and I will show you the motions on how to block it with a staff. Then I will attack you at the same speed you attacked me and you will go through the same motions. For three weeks you will be working on the eight points of strike and their equivalents in defense. Before you go to bed, you will meditate for twenty minutes and reflect on the day's events. That time of reflection will clear and strengthen your mind which in turn should help you with your magic... However that is up to you to practice as I cannot help with it, like I mentioned before. Is this training regiment alright with you?" Borian really wanted to make sure that they took it at Soleil's pace, because if they didn't, then she would burn out and refuse to learn. It would also have a negative effect on her personality and awareness as well.
"... I will keep this maiden safe until we reach our salvation."
((OOC: You're the saddest girl I've ever met, but you can bet before were through, Ma'am, I'll make a warrior out of you~ [Had to change the lyrics XD]))
CaptainXXMorgan
Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 6:41 am
Soleil, The Wielder of Light
She'd watch and observe him as he demonstrated with the make shift staff. She'd nod though not let him see the minor dread she felt for meditation, even Soleil had her limited patience. She'd agree to herself to do it as well. She's get into her stance to practice the strikes against him and in return attempt to receive and block his slow movements as well. She'd keep going for about thirty minutes until she felt a little exhausted."I'll meditate for a little bit...before though, tell me another story about one of those 199 soldiers." she asked of him, wanting to hear another one.
With it in mind she'd eventually make her way back near the fire to sit down and meditate, more aware of how to do this on her own. She used the crackling of the flames to be a point of focus and clear her mind. She retraced back to this morning before she left to the amount of information Borian gave her. She'd open her eyes slightly to get a look at him "Forgiveness is as hard as the choices we make." she could confirm. It was her choice to stay, and surely there were many more to come. She could feel fear within her rise again, and in that moment she had to reconcile with her decision to make peace with death. Many minutes had passed as she had slowly cleared her mind and come to accept the things Borian and others have done. A gentle wind blew across the fire and towards her, feeling it caress her just as she felt an urge rise within the depths of her subconscious. She'd open her eyes, a more curious expression as she stood up and jogged over towards the tree. She felt along the tree for a moment, the emerald along her wrist glowing slightly until she reached for the branch that Borian had ripped earlier. It didn't look like much, Soleil had increased it's healing process though to give it what a human would call a scab.
Once done in done she'd return to the cap and under the tent to pass out. Today was just a little ridiculous, is what she could conclude.
[[I realized I wrote this in the early morning, figuring I'd be gone all day, so let me know if we should time skip or if I need to re-write this because looking back I just don't even lol]]
Borian helped with the defensive drills, going slow enough for Soleil to get used to the movements, but not as to make it easy. If she was to learn she needed to learn at the limits of her body's ability. He corrected her form every once in a while and after about half an hour the two stopped for a respite. Soleil asked for a story about one of the many soldiers. He sat down on the rock again and looked at his swords. "I can tell you who taught me how to fight with these weapons... A warrior unlike any other. She was a bit of a strange one, and only fifteen. Her natural ability with the sword pulled her squad through many dangers... Her name was Melissa Veikensark. She was twenty three when we set off on the expedition and she was one of the last to fall among our ranks. There were many that went to her for advise on how to fight, but she only taught many the basics. No one knew where she had come from before. We were teammates, at the time I acted as a scouting unit due to my age and quickness. She was my commanding officer and as such she needed someone to teach her weapon style to, little did she know my ferocity and slyness. Even when I was young the two of us had duels that had most of the camp watching. It was sort of an ongoing bet as to who would pull out the most wins. In the end..."Borian paused and touched the Iron Zweilhander with fondness. "She fell to a group of Night Stalkers. Outnumbered her twenty to one while she was on guard duty for the forty of us that were left."He closed his eyes and sighed before looking over at Soleil, his lips twitching slightly. She went to meditate and Borian nodded to himself and reached for the armor, slowly reequipping himself before putting his two giant blades on his body. When she went into the tent Borian called out. "Sleep well Soleil. Have pleasant dreams." Borian then waited for an hour before drawing his Mithril Zweilhander, ready to fight what the darkness would bring. Perhaps a few gargoyles and demons... His illuminated eyes scanned the grounds around the campsite. He then cut down an arrow, so the battle would begin. "Demons, you shall never touch The Child of Light while I live. The only person you will taint is me."
((OOC: Another time skip is in great order, we will be timeskipping quite a bit until we reach the other side of the mountains.))
"... I will keep this maiden safe until we reach our salvation."
CaptainXXMorgan
Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2014 8:14 am
Soleil, The Wielder of Light
It was sunrise, earlier enough for Soleil to shuffle awake. She'd sit up, a bit groggy from the night air and reached for her bag to pull out a small orange to peel and consume. She'd make her way out of the tent and get a look around before spotting Borian not too far. She had a few empty tinted vials in her hand and said "Would you like to go down to the river?"reminding him, the expression on her face was eager. "How was the night? Boring, I'd imagine...what do you do to waste time?" she asked, figuring he may of had a book to read or even trained on his own.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They'd make it down to the river without a hassle, on the way Soleil would of pointed out a few different mushrooms and herbs to various uses (along with the statement of which is harmful). Once at the river she'd remove her shoes and step in, first washing her face before looking around for the gloams. Once found near the edge of the river she'd wave over Borian "Look, right here. They're commonly found in areas where sun wouldn't hit the water l by their name they prefer partial shade. They're a bit too hard to see at night, but in the morning they're the best. If the sun touches them they'll shrink to about half the size and look like any other greenery."explaining as she reached into the water to remove it and place it in the vial with some of the river water in it as well. The plant was a very dark green, almost black, given it's name. With a bit of sunlight near the edges of the plant reflected a sheen.
She'd try to collect at least ten more before stopping, not wanting to deplete the river. She'd reach for her water pouch to re-fill it from last night while she was here, figuring Borian didn't want to waste anymore time she'd be ready to head back to the camp, pack anything else and leave.
Borian was on both knees looking up at the sky with his Mithril Zweilhander in his hands parallel to the ground. The fight had left him battered and he had only finished cleaning an hour ago, the creatures of darkness having needed to be hidden away from the camp, the blood needed to be cleaned as well. He heard Soleil's voice and turned his head nodding quietly. Something was different about him. Yesterday he was talking, today he was silent, totally silent, that was until she asked him what he did all night. He pointed to the surrounding trees. They weren't cut down but they were battle scarred like a veteran warrior in a two year crusade. "I practice all night, the silence allows me to hear the sounds the metal makes when I swing it which in turn allows me to teach myself how to cut truer than the previous time... I think I may be able to cut anything in half and barely use my muscles to do so. Cut so cleanly that the cut isn't even visible, nor the effects felt until you are already dead."
Borian followed Soleil, listening to the teachings he already knew with great patience, the gleaming red eyes watching with a new intensity. She stepped into the river quietly, and while Borian would come to the edge, he wouldn't step into the water, he didn't want to take off his armor nor did he want it to rust. He knelt to see what she was pointing at and nodded quietly. "Yes, I understand." He didn't make a movement until she started heading back towards the camp. Borian stood and followed them. He was like a golem following some programmed back up directory, keeping the energy used to talk to a minimum. He motioned to the still burning campfire. "There is some oatmeal with apples inside, I also added a special spice inside. I want to know if you like it." He knew that the spice was sugar, a very sweet substance. He didn't know how much Soleil had had before, if any, as he knew it was rare for the middle and lower classes. He wasn't going to eat, not today... Not after last night.
Inside the helmet, Borian was crying, he wasn't talking much due to the fact that if he did, the trembling in his voice would surely come out, and he did not want Soleil to hear him in his weakest state of mind, not after only the second day of their journey. Last night's battle would be one Borian wouldn't forget.
"Demons, you shall never touch The Child of Light while I live. The only person you will taint is me." Borian said as he saw the creature he would be fighting today come into view. Borian dropped his blade when he saw his own mother, or whom he considered to be his mother, Melissa step forward. It wasn't Melissa though, the skin was grey and smooth, clean of a speck of dirt. She barely wore any armor and grey wings were on her back. Orange eyes with a slit for a pupil, the sclera changing colors like a second iris. The demoness spoke in a wispy and sultry voice. "Borian? Is that you? Oh it has been so long... My have you grown!" The demoness stepped towards a frozen, iron clad warrior whose blade had dropped into the dirt. "You remember me, right Borian? You remember all those days we trained together right? All those times we exchanged glances? You were so young back then."Borian tried to move, but he was frozen in fear, anger, sadness. Two grey hands reached up and grabbed the helmet, taking it off very slowly, the voice continuing its charming whispers. "Let me get a look at that young face... Oh you have grown into a ruggedly handsome young man." A cold palm caressed Borian's cheek, his eyes dilating in and out, his teeth grinding against each other, his fists clenching and releasing at his sides. "Borian, you and I understood each other. We loved each other but could never say it. That night when I was taken... I was given another chance to confess to you my feelings." The whispering lips came closer to Borian's, the demoness standing on her tip toes. "Borian... Join the First Expedition... Please... You know that what you are trying to do is wrong..."
Borian's eyes shut as he felt the lips touch, his body shivering for a moment before it steeled itself. His eyes snapped open and stared at the demonesses. His hand shot upwards and grasped the neck of the creature, his iron grip and muscles slowly forcing the woman away. Tears streaked down his face. "Melissa... What have they done to you!? No, I should not ask you that! You are not the Melissa I knew!" Borian continued to slowly squeeze his grip around the neck of the demoness. It's body shimmered and Borian was delivered a kick into his chest, making the man let go and the demoness landed elegantly. "No Borian, you are wrong, I am the Melissa you knew and loved. I just accepted the fate of the human race while you fight it! We were hoping you would join us, but since you are not willing, I will make you join by force!"
Borian grabbed his Mithril Zweilhander and stood slowly from his knelt position. "I will free you from your torture Melissa. You are suffering, I can see it in your eyes. I felt it in our kiss, I can hear it in your voice. You cannot fool me Melissa." The demoness summoned a blade of dark fire into her hands. The two clashed, their blows silent as they felt the vibrations of blades. Borian remembered the times when they sparred each other, tears continuing down his face as his inferno of emotions carried him into a berserk mode, his blade becoming a fury of enchanted metal. He felt the corruption of the dark fire slice into his stomach and as it pierced his body, Borian saw his chance. He slammed the pommel into the head of Melissa and kicked her away before lunging forward and slicing horizontally severing her at the hips. The blade disappeared and Borian went to both knees, picking up the upper half of Melissa."Why Melissa?"She let out a ragged breath and a single hand reached up to touch Borian's face gently. "I... I wanted you to be safe. That's why I fought so hard Borian... I wanted us to survive. Toge-" Blood sprayed onto Borian's face and the hand went limp. He grasped the falling hand and held it up to his cheek, crying, his yell of rage was silent. He barely moved until he knew he only had a few hours before Soleil would wake up. His body lurched into action and forced him to clean and make excuses up for the morning.
((OOC: All good, I needed a lot of time to think of how I would give hints as to what happened to some of the First Expedition, after all people don't just magically disappear, not when their is foul play afoot.))
"... I will keep this maiden safe until we reach our salvation."
CaptainXXMorgan
Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2014 8:43 pm
Soleil, The Wielder of Light
"Special spice?" she'd ask, curious to it though wondered what it was. She'd wonder over towards the meal, placing some in a bowl and would sit down to eat. When the first bite was taken there wasn't much chance of survival for the rest, whatever it was it was better than she expected. She ate the whole bowl, which wasn't very common with her meals. The apples added a nice touch to it, her expression was elated with pink cheeks to sensational joy through her taste buds. Looking towards Borian, she couldn't tell what he was doing, but he seemed to be staring at her or out into space. Either way it was in her general direction "Ah! Thank you." she'd quickly stand up and bow slightly,"..for sharing your spice." she'd state. She was a bit more at ease since sleep, though something felt a little off about him since she hadn't seen him eat. With his size she'd assume he'd eat a lot.
"I'll help put up camp this time, don't you want any? I can store it for later otherwise." she insisted,. How she was able to do that, well she wouldn't tell yet. She'd start scooping some of it into a larger vial, not wanting it all to go to waste. She can't recall what she dreamt when she slept, she rarely ever could "We'll get started, I know you want to make a lot of ground, I'll take it up a level so don't worry." trying to ease whatever patience he probably lost through her sleep. When their things were packed up she'd look out towards the tree "Man..he's made a mess...I feel a little sad strangely." perhaps it was just another one of those mystical things, she had been growing more connected to nature since those few years ago. She was ready to get started, but commented "I know you said you don't need sleep, but maybe it's not always good for you. You should take a small nap when you can, sleep can heal a lot of the mind." It was just a suggestion, she could only imagine the silence of what seemed like a lonely night, but never really lived it. Sleep would ease her emotions, allow her to heal the damage done. Somehow she'd always wake up better. She was ready to march on.
[[Awww, poor Borian :I And I just assumed after five years bodies, likely slaughtered would of decayed away.]]
Borian was phased out for a moment as he continued playing the scene of Melissa over and over again in his head. He could see Soleil speaking but nothing registered in his mind. He shook his head gently back and forth and looked at the camp. "My body can function without food, water, or sleep for two weeks without side effects." He went to pull the tent up and was quick to dismantle the camp, wanting to get away from this place as fast as possible. "I... Thank you for your concern Soleil. Truly. Thank you." When they were about to leave, Borian started to walk and then stopped. After a moment he walked over to the clearing and drew his Iron Zweilhander. "I won't need this for where we are going..." Borian slammed the blade into the ground, tip first so as to anchor it well. Next he took off his helmet, his cropped hair shadowing his face. After a moment he set the helmet onto the pommel of Zweilhander. He reached for a sharp rock and when he found one he scratched into the helmet. 'Melissa' before dropping the rock and taking the sheath off his back, setting it as a support for the blade.
Not once did he show his face to Soleil the entire time he was erecting the grave marker. Once he was done he turned back to Soleil, still shadowing his face with his hair, though due to the height difference, it didn't really matter, it was clear that clear crystals of water were falling down his face. "Let's go." He took the reigns of the horse again and started to walk away without speaking. Whatever happened had traumatized the warrior greatly, shaking his belief in this mission far greater than any self doubt could cast on him.
((OOC: Seven years, however yes, I will admit that a lot of decay has happened.))
"... I will keep this maiden safe until we reach our salvation."
