Ethral City

[Katzenjammered Toxlind]

The city wasn't so different from what he remembered. It still held the same folks, only older. There was something wrong though, something out of line. He rubbed his head, feeling among the hair the horns that were now a part of him. He froze as he watched the ongoing action between the few peoples, growing more interested, yet at the same time more repulsed.

Is this what it has come down to? his mind screamed, This has to be stopped... But he looked on, awaiting the right moment...  

[kjaslkdjiehdfba]

The clouds parted slowly around the city of Ethral, and a small slit of dark space was drawn down the side of a building. The building was pretty old, had work done on it but was unstable. The slit grew out further, several black tentacles stretched out from the slit and grabbed hold of the building, pulling away from the opening, making it bigger and bigger till it was able to be seen through but there was nothing in it but an infinite of space. A large yell echoed from the hole and a man shot out from it, his body seemed frail, skin gripping his bones tightly and the veins bulging out every where. He tumbled through people crates, all the helpless citizens running away in agony. CRACK! A fissure started to grow from what appeared to be a portal of some sort, the earth around the portal quaked from fear as a second man took a stressful step outside the gate of dark matter. This man was in better condition than the other and a hood clouded his face and had a shadow shielding his eyes.

The first man that was hurled out of the portal stood up and exhaled a breath, a vile stench was mixed in his breath, it killed a man who was in front helping him. He died instantly. Itazuki was the second man to have emerged from the portal. The building started to tremble, shivers running up its girders, it collapsed inward and began to be sucked into the portal of nothingness. "Well old man, it seems you lost." Itazuki muttered wth a distained tone, cunning ran rampant with each word. "You lost at checkers, you won't admit you lost and now you must die." The old man was sure to lose he had no chance of victory and his only weapon was his bad breath. He was about to disprove the accusation that was thrown at him by Itazuki but he already had fallen to his death. Itazuki removed the katana, the shining black of it brought awe inspiring cheers from the crowds around. "That son of a b***h!!" The reason for that blurt of profanity was that the old man took his tickets to see dead man ******** and threw it in the gutters. Dead man ******** was the new hit play about...well the title is self explanatory.  

[iwouldlikethisgone]

A massive army moved towards the city, an army of dimensions likely not seen before by this great city. The dead rose before the dread influence of this congregation of dark wizards, the users of the dead wind. The only warning before the cadavers began to rise, was a thick fog that rolled in, the sign of the spirits passing through according to some local legends.. The ominous shroud covering the area was host to all manner of disturbing noises, from low moans, to wild careening laughter, all coming from what seemed to be no earthly source at all. Many a solitary fellow living in some cottage away from the city fled from the fog, superstition saving many a life that day. Those that did not flee were devoured by the dead that rose from the family grave sites.

The army was a long procession on endless carts, corpses, ghostly beings, and abominations of every shape and size. These were the foes arrayed against the city, the end of an age.  

[iwouldlikethisgone]

((Sorry for the double post, but the show must go on.. Speaking of which, are there any here who would oppose me?))

Those who fled told the story of the ghostly fog, the laughing, screaming warning. Most people did not know what it meant, and the few who did would not tell.. There was a small riot in the poorer districts of the city, a place where there had been numerous murders and of course the strange sigils that appeared here and there. In thee building of government, a frightened man of about 30 told a story of what had driven him from the cottage at the edge of the forest. He was a tall tanned man, dressed in now darkened leathers, he spoke slowly, haltingly. He was the very image of a haunted man, and seemed to have many wrinkles that should not have been there. He retreated from his home a mere day ago.

"I am a simple hunter, avoiding the city, and living off the animals inside of the forest. I lived in a small cottage barely within city limits, me dog was my only companion." The tall muscular man, dressed in leather smeared with a black ichor began to choke up for a second began to choke up for a second, before get back to the story. "I saw a low hanging cloud moving towards me, so I decided to go inside with my dog, When the mist rolled in, I remember thinking that this was a bad idea, but then couldn't see more than a couple feet in front of me.. I closed my windows so the fog would not get in. Then I heard the noises, curious raps on my house, footsteps outside, and laughter.. Maddening giggling that got into my head, and made me shiver. My dog, his name was Bud, began to growl and bark.." The man seemed to be warming to his role as a storyteller, the nervousness evaporating, replaced by a firm determination to warn the city of its danger.

"The screaming began several minutes later, and it was worse than the laughter, the growling dog," he shuddered, "my growling dog now began to whimper. There was a loud knock upon my door, so I picked up my hatchet, ready to kill the intruder. Suddenly, the door was ripped away, leaving a yawning entrance that was quickly filled with more of the fog, it was inside my house now. By the gods I could barely see, and within seconds any semblance of vision was gone. The air was really cold now, and I could hear Bud whimpering, knocking over a chair in desperate desire to get away from whatever had come inside. I heard a single word, whispered, but I could here it plainly, it said 'Sinner' and then simply left. The air was not so cold now, and I decided it was time to get out of here, go to the somewhere safe. I gathered up some jerky, my bow, a quiver of arrows, and walked to the door."

"Once outside, I could see better, black shapes moving around, shambling really. On top of the sounds that came with the mist, I heard low moans, though the source was distorted. Bud growled and ran at one of the shapes, and me, well I ran after my dog.. It attacked the figure, and the figure fell, grasping at my dog, trying to pull it closer to its mouth. I ran over, and saw it in greater detail. It was a dead man, rotting, one of its eyes plucked out, a greenish. Without thing I smashed its head in with the butt of my hatchet, and it stopped moving. Bud was now with me. More figures were moving towards me, ever so slowly, and so I began to run away, slowing to a brisk walk after some space had been made." He took a small n** out of a flask he had on him and then began to speak again. "I could see better and better, the mist was not so thick anymore."

"Ahead of me I could see many of the walking dead, skeletons here as well, tearing into houses, and though many were empty, in one I saw a small child devoured alive, its mother desperately hitting the zombie with a large pan, fear infusing her with strength. Black, congealed blood flew with each individual strike. I pulled out my bow and an arrow in order to kill the fiend, I began to run towards the woman. I could see her crying as she slammed the heavy thing into the dead thing. It began to rise, the child quite dead, and it grabbed at the mother. It caught her shirt and tore it, pulling her towards it. The creature bit down into her arm as I raised the bow and fired an arrow from quite close up. The zombie still bit at her, even as she continued to smack the beast with a pan. I fired again, this arrow piercing the back of its head, and still it bit upon the lady. I took out my hatchet and decapitated the thing, and this time it fell down. It was like a puppet, one second it was standing there, the next it fell. I said to the lady 'Are you ok?' She did not answer, she merely walked inside of her house, where she was apparently cooking. She plunged headfirst into boiling water, her legs moving with rapidity, her upper torso stuck. I managed to pull her out, but she was already dead from the burns. Moving outside again, my dog sniffed at a bush, and was then torn apart by a disgusting thing with long claws, an overly long body, and unnatural thinness. It was a pinkish color, and it dripped a liquid from its skin. It turned to me and then began to run quickly." The man began to cry softly as he spoke "I raised my bow and fired a shot through its abdomen, and another, and another. It was still now, things were tinged red, I smote it with my axe, again and again. I heard more moaning. A creature, the size and shape of a man that appeared to be stitched together from various pieces of flesh. I fired an arrow at it, a piece of flesh just sort of rolled off of it, landing with a sickening splat. The piece of meat that fell disintegrated into numerous maggots that crawled every which way. I fired again, the same thing happened, and then I began to run."

"After a while, I saw a blacked robed figure speaking over a corpse, it sounded sorta like a priest, praying. But it made my skin crawl.. I killed him with my axe, I do not know why, but when I killed him, the most curious thing happened, a shock-wave landed me on my a**, and then I could see.." He is shaking now, truly afraid as he tried to speak into words that which he had seen, "I felt a massive presence, winds of dark obsidian, and then I saw a god.. My spirit bowed in worship and was cursed with a sight of the things coming here.. A massive army of these things is inbound to here, and I would recommend you leave, nothing can survive it. And now if you will excuse me, I must go lie down.."

The hunter walked away, leaving the council in stunned silence.  

[Saint Tobias]

Appylon saw the approaching army of undead, and realized that this was the ally of his master. He looked to see a robed man at the head of the army. He approached him, then said, "I am the servant of the one you call Myst. He sent me here so that I could aid you in destroying the city." He turned around, then unsheathed his sword, approaching a nearby burning building. He made several slashing motions in the air with his sword, sending dark shock waves through the building, killing it easily.He saw a dying woman lying on the ground, and laughed a cold, mettalic laugh, one that spoke of limitless pain and anguish. He lifted up one of his heavy boots, and crushed her skull with almost no effort.  

[Saint Tobias]

A group of angry militia men approached Appylon. They had probably gotten together while their city was burning, trying to defend what was left. They wore crude armor,probably made of whatever scrap metal they could find. They carried rusted and dulled swords and axes. They simply wanted to defend their city. It didn't matter now. It was all going to die. Appylon cut the first one in two with his sword. The second on tried to stab him with a rusty sword, but Appylon ripped his head off with his hands. The rest fled in fear of meeting the same fate, but no one would be spared. Appylon formed a blade of darkness in the air, then sent it flying horizontally towards the fleeing soldiers, cutting them all in two.  

[Saint Tobias]

((Nobody want to oppose the rampaging knight?))  

[Saint Tobias]

Appylon walked towards the portal that his master had left. It had grown considerably since then, now being about the size of a small house. A few of the chanting priests had been sucked in, now only six remained. Every now and then, a deformed and ugly monster would fly out of it, immediately joining Deiter's ranks in destroying the city. These where the servants of Hades, and since their master was dead, they served the one who held his helm. Appylon continued to slaughter the occupants of the city. A bleeding child lay on the ground. Appylon picked him up by it's matted hair. He put his hand over it's face, fully covering it. A dark mist flowed from his hand into the child. Eventually, it filled it's entire body, and the child exploded in a bloody mist.  

[Pickled Pretty Ponies]

Barenziah

The captain's sword had been taken to Barry's employer, and she had received payment. She walked out of the small building to see riots running amuck in the streets, like a rampant plague in the air. She equiped and readied her Eagle Claws and began to make her way down the street, carefully avoiding the maddened people. Barry had to make it to her house, but with these rioters destroying the street she wasn't sure her house would still be in tact.

It wasn't. The building had been ripped asunder, though how she hadn't a clue. It seemed as if it had been split directly in half, but as she looked up, she saw her room was one that had been effected. She kicked a bottle down the street, watching it shatter on a man's head. He passed out and Barry left, not wanting to be around when the former rioter awoke.

She found haven in an alley near town center, intending to wait out the riot so she could report the destruction of her home to the authorities.  

[Saint Tobias]

Appylon looked to see a woman sitting in an ally near where the portal was. For a moment he considered leaving her to be sucked in by the powerful winds of the portal, but he decided to go and kill her himself. He noticed that she was armed, but that made no difference. He stepped in front of her and said, "Be prepared to die foolish mortal. The powers of Chaos are coming to this city." He raised his sword.  

[kjaslkdjiehdfba]

Itazuki had been wondering the streets, causing some subtle mischief to those unaware. Then as he was hopping from one building to the one below it, he saw a child explode, he popped like a balloon. "You there... I'l fight you, I bet your not even a match for me, and I'll fight your leader or what ever you call him." Itazuki said, standing up straight, sticking his chin out and laughing to himself. These guys are probably nothing, but it has been awhile since i fought anyone....Hmm, last person I fought was Teran. The man with much talk but little play dove down from the building, his sword could be seen strapped to his back by a black strand of some sort, he tapped it slightly, causing it to contract. "Ok you will get some warm blood on you." Itazuki said patting his blade of death, dark matter and pure chaos.  

[Saint Tobias]

Appylon turned from the woman and saw this new challenger. He decided that the woman would die anyway, but the man who was challenging him, he was strong. "I am the servant of Myst, the Deathknight. I am Appylon, the immortal dark knight. I shall easily defeat you. It would be wise for you to leave this city now." Appylon stood menacingly in front of him.  

[kjaslkdjiehdfba]

Itazuki luaghed from the fact he thought he could kill the almighty and powerful Itazuki. "Ok when you fight me, you will have to used your mind, your brain and your head...." He chuckled a bit from his silly little comment. Itazuki's eyes squinted, focusing on his target, since he could tell this guy was fairly weak compared to himself, he drew his sword shot out his arm, propelling it through the air. It was only seconds when the sword drilled deep inside a building, rotating inside the thick wall. A black ooze began to bubble around the blade, the wall started to corrode and steam black with anguish and excitment. "Ok you make the first move, little buddy."  

[Saint Tobias]

Myst entered the city, noticing that his portal had grown tremendously. He looked around, trying to find Appylon. His servant had apparently ran into trouble while destroying the city. He spotted him near an ally way in front of another man. This must be the trouble. He held out his arm, and a dark energy grew around it, stretching to Appylon. As it reached the huge form of the knight, it went back to Myst. After Appylon was unsummoned, Myst turned to the man. "You seem eager for a fight. I will be happy to oblige."  

[kjaslkdjiehdfba]

"Ohh, your so formal and have such proper speaking techniques. Shame on me..." Itazuki grinned devilishly trying to now study his new opponent while bowing to show respect falsely. "Ok...now you make the first move...I have to see what you got."