Reuniting A Kingdom Part 2: Tundra Tussle (OPEN)

[Adam]

It was apparent that not even Vlad, with superior gaze, could behind what Samael had set out to accomplish. Perhaps, the dragon could not see it, or perhaps only Samael could as a sign that the Ice Dragons were finally assisting, but every dragon that was swept into the tornadoes suddenly vanished in a brief flash, landing back in Firegorge Mountain, where the Vahraniiks awaited the wounded soldier’s arrivals. Soon, even all of the dead dragons, not infected by Nergal’s plague were sent back. Some could possibly be saved, while others were to be given honorable funerals, Samael would see to it. “I did not come ill prepared towards my men, vampire! There is much happening around us that you are unaware of. All of this, to finally see what kind of being you truly are!!” Samael roared as the winds around them blasted in every direction. Many dragons that still fought, held back the undead hordes, as well as the demons. Unknown to Samael, that many were planning to destroy Vlad, and if possible, potentially Samael as well. So much swelled around them, like the storms themselves. Chaotic, and hellish.

Suddenly, Vlad began to walk towards him, and as he did, so did Samael towards Vlad. Both walked at the same pace, Samael with his sword raised, and Vlad with his scythe scraping against the ground. One of the two would kill the other, once their blades intwine, be it instantaneously, or far off from now, but Samael would not tire, nor give up until either Vlad had finished him, or he destroyed Vlad once and for all. “SHALL WE BEGIN!?” Samael roared as their blades touched, Samael raising his hilt above his head to thrust his sword downwards to catch Vlad’s blade. Once both blades clashed, monstrous bolts of lightning flew from the skies, striking in several places, killing hundreds of warriors from both sides where they stood. What followed, were a series of fast strikes from both warriors, each fighting with an intense ferocity that was only matched by their hunger to destroy the other.

Samael caught the back end of Vlad’s scythe before falling back. Although tuned into his next strike against Vlad, he felt something more. Someone calling out to him, but calling him by something different. He felt Minerva, and felt her connection in a way that he had never felt before. She was in danger, but morso, Lidija had made her own presence known as well. Although Samael could not see her from where he was, he could feel her presence, and feel her fighting alongside to protect Minerva. “Minerva...Lidija…” Samael spoke involuntarily as he felt them both calling to him. Before Samael could do anything else, a light suddenly came from within the Great Caverns and like a cannon ball, a burning flame of light began to shine above the battleground, and within moments, the light erupted across the skies, shining down light with a fraction of the intensity of the sun, channeling out the blackened skies above. Hoping to use this as a distraction, Samael shifted into his draconic form, lifting himself off the air, he flew in the direction of where his instincts took him, finding Lidija, Minerva and a wounded Isolde with the angel, fighting against the abomination itself. Looking close at it now, in its weakened condition, Samael could see who it was, and feel their foul, dark presence better than before. “Nergal…” Samael growled, landing beside Micha, and Lidija and Minerva.

With a mighty roar, Samael let out a mighty blast of dragon’s fire, which ripped across the field, melting ice and land until there was a smooth outline of where Samael’s fire flowed underneath. Samael watched as the fires hit Nergal with the angel blast, feeling the beast roar in agony before flying off.

Nergal

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Nergal leaped in for the kill, his body wracked in agonizing pain, before he felt a tug hold him back, as if someone had chained his tail to a mountain. Nergal snapped backwards and felt his body fall to the ground, his body wracked in pain, burning from the angel’s light, as he weakly looked toward the woman holding his tail. If he did not feed soon, he would have to retreat, but as he went to snap at the new warrior, he was met with further pain from a bright light from the skies above. “No...I...won’t die like this!!” He roared, going back to snap at the woman, before his eyes met the draconic eyes of his own son, who unleashed a stream of fire Nergal’s way, just as he sat up.



The Lich King shrieked in agonizing pain as his body suddenly took flight, his body shrouded in flames, and weakened, but not dead. No, as painful as the flames were, as painful as the light that enabled Nergal to temporarily feel pain again was, no, he would not die. It would take stronger magic than that to kill him, but now he knew. He now realized what he truly was, and how he would never truly be part of dragon-kind again, neither would the other Lich, that now began to retreat into the skies as well, along with Nergal. He would return with them to Sylthanis, and they would make their home in Necropolis. For the time being, these dead things needed a place to be dead for a while, until they were strong enough to rise again.

Samael

Samael stood stunned at what he had saw. The combined might of both the angel, Lidija, Isolde, and even the recruit would have been enough to decimate any enemy in their path at that moment, and yet Nergal took nearly all of them as if they were nothing, and that was without even infecting a single one of them. Regardless, now that Samael knew what exactly it was that Vlad brought back, his eyes were hot red in anger. However, as he looked at Isolde, Lidija, and Minerva, he placed a hand on Isolde, looking at her with concern. “Isolde? Can you hear me? ISOLDE!?” Samael shouted to her, holding her body close to his. A burning sensation picked up within him again and as he laid Isolde down softly, he looked back towards where Vlad still was and stood. “Care for Isolde…” He said to Minerva before looking over to Lidija, looking almost sadly into her own eyes before flying back towards where Vlad was left, his raised, ready to impale Vlad where he stood. “DAAR OBLAAN NU!!!!” Samael roared in the draconic tongue, set to charge towards Vlad with his sword thrusting forward.

[Deleted]

As Sedaiyus and Katya approached Ingeras and his party Sedaiyus finally got to see more into the family of Dracula. When Katya signaled Sedaiyus dropped his illusion and stood cheerfully by Katya eying over Angelique, Marina, and Ingeras. Sedaiyus's eyes lingered on Ingeras however and smirking happily at the thought of the odds that the feared warmongering Vlad could produce such wondrous children. "The magnificent Prince of Sythanis, what a pleasure. It is fascinating to see that Katya isn't the only one who inherited such remarkable elegance in her family. Heard nothing but good things." Sedaiyus said with a suave blissfulness in his tone. He turned his attention to Angelique. "Ah and who might this lovely vixen be? Beauty but I sense a hint of deadliness about her too, oooh so exciting. Dare I inquire an introduction?" Sedaiyus finally looked upon Marina. Something in him cautioned to be careful but he didn't care to know why. He smiled and simply addressed the queen "Your Majesty the Queen I presume, tis obvious of course as such radiance is unmistakable as your divine grace can be seen in both your children, thankfully I might add, interesting means not boring afterall. But what incredible turn of events none the less, whose to say whats to come next?" 

Sedaiyus turned still smiling entertained by the spectacle around them. He looked to the direction of Vlad and Samael, he glimpsed at the conflict faced by Nergal, then turned back to the group. "I despise war with every fiber of my being I truly do, the loss of such prepossessing creatures and landscapes, the interruption of the pleasures this world openly offers, meh. But my gosh, what a marvelous display of power heheh." He stood care free in nature and generally high spirited despite being in the middle of a battle field. It meant little to him really, nothing more than a game or obstacle to find enjoyment from one way or another. To worry about such things was so trivial and uninteresting to Sedaiyus. Sedaiyus shoved his hands in his pockets after adjusting his jacket a bit, he didn't care for the cold, but he was full of energy and couldn't help but feel good. "You can call me anything your hearts desire, but I generally go by Sedaiyus, the honors obviously all mine."  Sedaiyus awaited the group to respond mostly to Katya. He didn't know what was to happen next but he was interested to see.

[Seth]

The girl’s defiance to reason was understanding, yet she did not realize what exactly it was that was at stake. Even with either Samael or Vlad dead, more would take their place to repeat the process. The universe saw to that often, to make sure that history constantly repeated itself. Pushing the rear of his spear closer to her thorax as she fought, he noticed her strength, but unless she had the strength of a full-sized dragon, Seth’s own strength would be the better. As she moved to block his axe and other sword, she returned with a stab to his side, a poisoned dagger, managing to slice his side. Although it managed to pierce skin and draw blood, it went no deeper.

Seth managed to grab the dagger as she stabbed him, dropping his ax and leaping back defensively, keeping his spear raised, looking at the girl and holding the dagger in his hand. Raising the hand that held the dagger high enough for her to see, Seth showed her as his hand began to glow a hot red and the dagger melt through his fingers as if it were water. “You still do not understand,” Seth said sadly, “this war was unavoidable, and even if you killed Samael, or Vlad, someone would always take their place. There is always another person.” He thought about simply telling her the only other reason would be of what he found at a village recently, and what he had come to explain to Samael. There was only one reason behind it, and perhaps, it would keep Seth from having to use the full extent of his own power, something that he had never truly done before. In a way, he did not want to lose what humanity he had left, but often, Seth failed to realize the frailty of humanity was also within him, and could often lead to issues.

Such as when Seth underestimated the potency of the poison. He was no fool when it came to poisons. Every dragon, or half-dragon that underwent the Rites were required to undergo poison immunization in order to become more effective, and harder to kill warriors. However, every dragon knew that there was no chance to track down every poison in Yalanze to become immune, and many beings and beasts held natural toxins, and some poisons were acquired from other realms. Seth was willing to bet that this assassin produced her own, natural toxin, given the effectiveness of the poison. The poison did not take direct effect, however, as Seth managed to still sustain himself, and his focus, even as the poison tried to work its way across his system.

“If you are looking for an enemy, it is not Samael, nor Vlad,” Seth spoke, “I need Samael alive, to find the true culprit behind the uprising of this war. I think a demon is behind this, and he has been planning to bring this war together for a while. Samael and Vlad are merely a distraction for something else. Something worse to come, but if you kill either of them now, then we do not have a chance in saving more lives than will be lost during their war.” Holding out his free hand, which had now cooled, he mustered the effort to telekinetically pull his fallen ax back to hand.

“Fight me if you want, and continue your assaults on Samael, you’ll probably die from it in the end though.” Seth warned, trying in a last ditch attempt to try to warn her of the futility of going against Samael of all dragons, “You have just as much of a chance of killing me, as I you, but if you truly want to at least see an early end to an inevitable war, you’ll pull all of your resources into helping me, instead of bringing about more unnecessary conflict than has already been brought.” Seth’s vision blurred momentarily, but he kept his balance as if everything was fine, but as his veins began to blacken, it was evident to them both that the poison was taking some kind of effect.


Before Seth could do more, however, the entire room began to shake violently, as glaciers above began to fall around them. Suddenly, the entire room was flooded with a blinding light and a loud, high pitched ringing noise that was enough to shatter ice glaciers from the ceiling. Seth fell on his back as a the lights erupted from the cave, knocking Seth’s body against the concrete-thick ice walls with enough force to crack the wall, allowing water to slowly flood into the room. Seth rose to the watery floor, moments later, feeling the impact of the wall, and the poison still affecting his body. ”Sienna…” he muttered.

[Deleted]

Not thinking she could do anything than try and protect Isolde and shield her from the awful monster in front of them, about to attack them and feed on her. She only hoped that she wouldn't die today and could keep Isolde safe enough as that was all that mattered to her right now. Maybe Isolde's life mattered more to her than her own at this moment, but that was something she wasn't going to think of now. She hoped as well that her father heard her calls and he would show up, but held onto her dagger just in case. If it came down to it, she would defend herself as well as she needed to. Minerva's attention was suddenly pulled by something else that was happening and spotted Lidija. She narrowed her eyes, making it a great effort not to say the one word she wanted to say out loud. Mother. She thought about it, but didn't say it out loud. She had already said too much anyway. She didn't need to say more. She watched her mother and her strength, knowing there was nothing she could do at this moment to help her, which frustrated her greatly. She watched as Nergal was held back by his tail and modded when Lidija called to her to get Isolde out of here and pulled Isolde up. She didn't need the fire to get moving. However, she realized she wouldn't get Isolde very far in human form, so if she really wanted to get somewhere, she would have to transform. Not that she minded, but her human form had become awfully comfortable by now.

Her eyes shot up, seeing the light that was almost too bright to look at, causing her to squint her eyes a little. Moments later, she saw her father's draconic form in the air and watched him land on the ground, next to herself, Micha and Lidija. She felt her heart beat louder when she heard his mighty roar and watched the blast of dragon's fire ripping across the field, melting ice and land until Samael's fire flowing underneath was very visible. She was taken a little aback when the fires hit Nergal and watched as Nergal flew off. She heard his roars and looked at her father, feeling greatly relieved to see him here now. She watched the retreating Nergal and the retreating Lich dragons and let out a small sigh of relief. She knew better though than to believe that this was it, she knew he would be back. It would just be a matter of time. But for now, she could relax just a little bit. "She lost a lot of her energy to Nergal. I am sure she will be fine soon. Thank you for coming. For hearing my call." She spoke, as she heard Samael shouting at Isolde like that. She wasn't sure if this would be awkward, though for now she was just glad to be okay. She knew though that now wasn't a moment to be worrying about this and looked at him as he laid the woman back down. She nodded when she heard what he said to her. "I will." She replied softly, as she knelt down and picked Isolde up, before looking at Lidija. "Thank you for coming to our aid." She said, trying to keep her voice from shaking.

[Deleted]

Agatha hissed ever so softly and for the briefest of moments as she could basically smell the succesful hit against Seth as she could almost taste the blood, this time not feeling the pain, but mostly the fact that it sill bothered her that she had to hit him like that. As she watched what he did with the dagger, she narrowed her eyes, wondering if he had any idea of how prepared she was for resistances against known poisons. She knew that many of them were way too painful, took too long to take care of their victims, or only caused suffering before an inevitable end, she only strived for making those poisons naturally for the worst of people, human or supernatural.

In this case for Seth he was both lucky that the poison did take a long time, but in this case less to have him suffer, but more because she just used it as a distraction poison and to just paralyze them mostly. The mix of her poison claws though, did make it more dangerous and potentially lethal, but she had to act just now, or she would have been the worse off, now they were slightly even, with the advantage shifting in her favor at least. "Which is always the case with things like this, when it comes to power. There is always going to be someone else, but that is no reason at all, not to try and be in front of that endless circle. I had to act, I had to find a way to put a thorn in this brewing war, that is what I do, until it's proven futile, and then I change my tactics to it." She told him, as she bit her lip, looking away for just a second, then back at him, studying subtly how much effect the poison was already having on him, ready to make her move either way this was going to go.

Agatha did listen to him, she definitely did, and it made her look clearly thoughtful to what he told her, letting her fighting posture slip slightly by how he did have a point in his words. "Vlad has been on the background of my list for years now, but I still don't trust him, at all... But I trust Samael even less, he seems blinded by a goal that is likely going to end up in him getting the opposite of what he wants." She told him, narrowing her eyes, then letting out a sigh for a moment. "I cannot believe that letting them get their way, is going to make this war any less lethal, or destabilizing for the greater good... But those are not all of those that you should watch out for..." She told him, thinking about Jon for a moment, as she was sure he wasn't going to wait forever to make his move, not with all this going on and the army he had already started gathering.

"I can help you, and I would if I kept seeing that you're honest, but I can't put all of my resources in it, Jon isn't going to sit still for much longer..." She started saying, but was interrupted when she saw what happened to his veins, biting her lip more, but before she could say anything else, she was interrupted by the sudden shaking in the room, then the light and high-pitched rining that sounded through the room and causing the glaciers to start breaking. She shortly in an automatic response stabilized her footing, but also shut her eyes and put her hands on her ears until she could somewhat focus again, just in time to see what happened to Seth. "Damn it!" She muttered in herself, knowing that she couldn't waste a second, but couldn't just leave him here either.

Happy that she was an expert at keeping her balance, even at moments like this, she avoided most of the debris and ice coming from the ceiling and walls, making her way quickly towards Seth, helpingg him up quickly, looking at him for a second when she picked up what he muttered. "Support on me and just follow my lead with the strength you have left." She quickly told him before she started moving with both of them towards the exit, ignoring sharper stings in her side as she got the impression that some of the debris she managed to mostly avoid, still shrapneled into her injury, worsening it.

Soon as they landed outside of the caverns, she pulled him out of the way of the entrance and then eventually put him somewhere reasonably more quiet against the wall, breathing heavily but trying to hide it. She tried to find the antidote which she always carried one vial of with her, just in case, but sighed when she noticed that it must have fallen out in either of the fights or the escape from the caverns. "I'm sorry... I felt like I had to, but I guess if you are as you claim and seem to be, I owe you one if this Sienna you muttered comes to save you." She told him softly, looking from his wound, to his eyes again, holding a hand on her own wound, as the other went into one of her hidden pockets, taken out a small throwing star and putting it in his pocket. "If you want to claim that, or want my assistance, just leave that in a tree where plenty of animals will see it." She told him, then quickly looking over her shoulder and around them.

She hated to do this, but he was hopefully safe enough here for help to come for him, as she figured with the way he muttered her name, there was high odds that she wouldn't let him down. "I have to go. You were a worthy opponent." She told him, a slight smile appearing on her face for just a second, before she got up again quickly and ran off. She hoped he had listened to what she told him, since his mind probably still worked, even if his body worsened more and more.

Then, something she hadn't really happen to herself in years, since she was little, she made a misstep, enough to lose her footing as she was moving to higher, secluded ground, then falling and rolling onto the icey ground below, an angry and bitter growl towards herself escaping, turning into a painful groan softly, not being in the middle of an actual fight right now, noticing how badly her wound had become, only proving more how dangerous both fights had been.

Agatha tried to move, getting back up on her knees eventually, but failing twice in getting up, only to end up back into leaning forward again as well, her eyes closed as she tried to focus and get moving again. This cold really started getting more to her than she had expected, not really having taken into consideration of the injury and blood loss. She couldn't really think of a way to get back in the fight now, but she also didn't have any back-up to call on to take her back to the Brigade, none that would be here in time. Then she suddenly thought of Seth's muttering, her mind instantly dwelling to Adele, hoping she was safe at the Brigade, before she finally thought about Teodora again, opening her eyes as she did.

"T-Teodora... Teo, I need you, please..." She said softly, looking in front of her and then at the sky in the corner of her eyes, her thoughts still focused on Teo, hoping that some way, somehow she was able to hear her, and that her instincts were still right and that she would come for her.

[Deleted]

Sienna's feet landed on the floor, with an annoyed look in her eyes, as she had just fought off a couple of demons and had been hunting more. She hadn't been lucky and that had been one of the most annoying things in its own. She knew there was a battle going on elsewhere and had been planning on heading there one way or the other, just not so soon, or so sudden. Yet, here she was, about to mix herself in a battle that she wasn't even sure about if it concerned her. All of these dragons and vampries seemed to be good at, was destroying themselves, she didn't pledge any form of loyalty to them. But, there was one that she was loyal to, she felt his presence, felt that he was here, before she even realized fully what was going on. It was a sort of ephiphany and she had no idea what to do with all that.

She rose up, attacking a stray being that attacked, that she immediately recognized as another demon and struck him backwards, killing him instantly. She then stopped when a voice called her name, sounding like a whisper. It seemed faint, distant, but she knew where it came from, she knew who it came from. "Seth..." She said, immediately, as she took flight again, swinging her wings, as her searched for any sign of him. She knew he was hurt, she had no idea how she knew, but she did. It was like a feeling in the deepest part of her gut and she knew she had to hurry. Speeding up immediately, she looked around, trying to focus on him and only him. She tried to forget everything around her and find him before it would be too late, knowing that if she was, it would be bad for what that would do to her.

Her feet landed on the ground again, next to a fallen Seth and a girl. She walked closer, steadily, her eyes going towards the girl. She watched as the girl put the star in his pocket. "You did this?" She asked, forcing her voice to stay steady, as she looked at her. She watched as the girl ran off, knowing that she would have to let her go, there was nothing that could be done about that, sadly. But, she would see the girl again, of that she was sure. She put a hand on Seth's wound, looking at him, letting her powers work. She started healing him, looking at him, hoping, praying that it would work and he wasn't too far gone yet.

[Teodora]

Unknown to those on the field, she had been present all along. She was a watcher however and so she was not to intervene. Yet she found it increasingly hard not to stop what was going on below, the perversion of her own people. When they set her across the veil from the spirit world to the physical world she was tasked with evaluating the situation of their kin on this side. It pained her to see that indeed her kind were failing them, that she could see now. Everything that Samael said about them was true and that hurt her most. She loved all dragons- but her people only seemed to be looking out for themselves and those of the water brood.

Above the clouds she hovered, large silvery wings expanded to keep her aloft. She could not access her full form without using immense power, power that kept her here in the physical plane. Instead she was half shifted, curled ram style horns on her head, reptilian pupils inside of ocean blue eyes and large silver wings. Teo even had a tail in this form which made her resemble the human depiction of a gargoyle more than a dragon as far as most who saw her might be concerned.

Teodora closed her eyes slowly, feeling the loss of every life on the field. She was no novice to the power of empathy so she was able to build a buffer. Yet every single spark that died out there caused her great pain. It was unbearable to the point that when the necro dragons tried to escape the field with the monstrosity, she acted out of instinct. Snapping her wings closed, she spiraled like a bullet towards some of the fleeing lich's. Opening her mouth, she breathed deep and exhaled a flame so pure that it glowed a strange silvery blue color. Those touched by such a flame be they undead or of murderous intent were destroyed instantaneously.

Even then she took no pride in destroying those she felt were her brothers and sisters. Some of the lich dragons escaped, yet she did not pursue them. Instead she shed a few tears for the fallen and started to look about the field to see how she could be of use. She opted to stay out of the battle between Samael and Vlad by all means. That left her with tending to the wounded, though one above all stood out to her. As she went to head down towards Isolde, she was distracted by another voice that she could hear. Even over great distance, like the human angels, she could hear the use of her name.

Her mighty wings slammed against the sky as she took off like a shot towards the trail that Agatha had collapsed upon. Never before had she flown so fast in her life- in this moment she was understood a very real human emotion- fear. She feared the loss of this woman more than she feared being sent back to the spirit realm. That was what spurred her to cross the field almost instantly, landing next to her softly. Her bright blue eyes stared down at Agatha, filled with sorrow as she knelt down next to her.

"It's going to be alright." she said as she looked into her eyes. "I'm going to need you to remain still and trust me." she said as she inhaled a deep breath. To anyone who had seen a dragon before, they knew that an inhale meant that what came next was often blistering death. The same would have been true for Agatha were she wicked of heart but Teo knew better than that. Unleashing a silvery blue flame once more with an eerie glow- she would restore vitality to the woman whilst the wounds on her form closed themselves.

Once she was finished sewing the wounds closed, she drew the woman close. The tundra was cold and even Agatha would suffer from the temperatures eventually. Yet Teodora was unnaturally warm and so she shared her warmth with Agatha. "The temperatures are dropping due to the supernatural storm Samael conjured. If it gets worse I'll have to move you, we should be safe for now until you recover some strength. If you are still cold, please tell me. I can assist further. What were you doing out here? It's a war zone and you're no dragon nor vampire." she asked. Though the next step in protecting her from the temperatures got a bit too personal for some, to her it was no large deal as of yet.

[Deleted]

Even now Agatha could still pick up plenty of the battle raging around in the distance from next to the trail she had eventually fallen off and collapsed, but she could do even less about it now than she had before, she couldn't even place who was who, or where it came from exactly. After most of her body had already started feeling more cold and numb, it didn't take long for her breathing to become a bit more shallow and her fighting to keep her eyes open and her body using the least amount of energy that she could control in this state.

This was definitely one of the first times in a long time that she both felt like she had failed herself and completely helpless in the process. She really did wish that she had managed to accomplish more than she had, because the only thing she had truly managed to get done, was get herself injured, and someone she hadn't planned on hurting, into a dangerous predicament. She knew there were definitely continuously less options for her to pursue, remembering in that moment just how much this proved her again since such a long time, how vulnerable she could still be, especially in fighting for the greater good, not just for one species on this world, but the greater good for all of them, even the ones she hated.

Just before she got the feeling that she was going to lose consciousness, she blinked a couple of times with her eyes when she was sure she heard something next to her, where she eventually saw Teodora kneeling next to her, where she was sure that she could see a sorrow in her eyes, that even with her blurred vision, she felt like she could'nt miss in those eyes she could still get lost in. She opened her mouth to say something, but because of how weak she was and the increasing cold, there was only a soft pointless sound that escaped it, instead of the words that Teo had come for her as, somehow Agatha truly believed that she would.

She slowly nodded when Teo told her that she had to stay still and trust her, as weak as the nod was, showing her that she couldn't do much else than lie still, but that if something was sure even now, was that she trusted her. Even when she recognized what she was going to do, a short and soft smile weakly appeared on around her lips, closing her eyes as soon as Teo unleashed the silvery blue flame over her, causing a short gasp to soon escape her as well with how she felt her body and vitality being restored. She couldn't fully enjoy it though, as the cold was still hard to fight, even with the warmth helping a great deal, she had been lying there for a while, in some of her blood as well.

"Y-you heard me... And you came." She said softly as she got enough strength back to do so, while she looked up at her, then closed her eyes again, trying to focus on the warmth coming from Teodora, trying to figure out if it was going to be enough this way or not, yet she wasn't really sure about that if she was being honest with herself. "S-still cold..." She said, her voice shivering obviously from it, as she sighed a little annoyed by it, as she should be able to handle more, and she didn't know when exactly she had lost track of how bad the conditions were getting out here.

[Mari]

“We need to find your father. I’m not leaving here without him.” She said as firmly as she could given what she was picking up from her husband. She forced herself to focus on one step at a time as she felt her body weaken under the onslaught of the death march Vlad was on. She greatfully took the water that Angelique offered, smiling softly, “Thank you, Angelique.” They may have been in a battlefield but never let it be said that the Queen of Sylthanus was not polite.

Seeing her son raise his sword arm briefly she stood with impassioned vigor, “That creature will destroy everyone here if it is allowed to continue, Ingeras. Corvin the demonic sorcerer has been playing on your father’s anger and look at what has happened because of it. Open your eyes, my Son. There is nothing that that creature in the sky can bring to you but a fate so horrible your own people would shun you. Hear me now because I will not be here much longer. That THING your father summoned will destroy everything in its path if it is allowed to flourish. Vampires will be made extinct by it if it is allowed to continue. The only thing stopping it now is your father and if that dragon is allowed to kill him then you or your sister will be forced to take his place in unending torment. You must stop this battle.”

Seeing as he was trying to drag her away she shook her head when Katya said to abandon Vlad, “He was chosen for the position he holds for a reason and I will not see him abandoned and alone, Katya.” She stood a bit more firm than she had before only to come face to face with Sed trying to charm her. She shook her head and looked sadly at Sed. “You cannot help what Lucifer made you but I cannot allow your kind to run this battlefield any more.” With that she wretched herself free of her son and with the the power that she had left she moved with a speed she didn’t know she had to protect her husband. “No!” She said as she tried to stop the fight appearing as if summoned in a blaze of light; Her energies flowing out in a wave of power.

She didn’t even feel the sword enter her until she was staring Samael in the eyes, “No, please don’t do this.” She said softly, her legs trembling as she felt her life’s blood spilling on the ground. Turning her head she looked at Vlad sorrowfully, “Why didn’t either of you listen to me?” she whispered sadly. Her legs began to buckle and she mewed softly in pain, hissing softly. It wasn’t as bad as childbirth at least but she knew she only had moments left.

“Vlad. I love you. Please stop this.” She got out, foamy red blood started to drip out of the side of her mouth and one of her lungs began to collapse, causing her to wheeze as her white robes began to turn a bright crimson.

“I love you, My children. I am sorry I was not a good enough mother to you.” she telepathically sent Ingeras, Katya and Micah. “Take care of each other please. Don’t hurt each other I beg you.”

[Deleted]

As Micahs power waned but a force overcame Nergal in the form of Samael. Micah fell to a knee holding the rest of his body up with support of his spear. He panted heavily trying to catch his breath and recuperate. He was doing too much at once, overextending his power outside the realm of heaven, and overestimated his mortal forms ability to endure. But Micah rose to his feet after but a moments rest still using his spear as support.  Micah watched triumphantly as Nergal flew away and retreated no match for their combined efforts against him. Now Micah could focus on helping end this madness, he had no time to tend to the others around them, nor the power to help though he sensed they were well enough regardless and they were safe. Micah using his spear staff as a cane hobbled to the direction Samael and Vlad would continue fighting. The elements were chaotic around him and the area would fall victim to the destructive force of Samael and Vlads clash. But Micah hoped he would gain enough strength to aid his mother in reasoning with Vlad to pull back and talk Samael into ceasing his fight this day.

As Micah pushed onward he muttered to himself passages of god to endow him with strength. Each step gave him a little more hope, each verse gave him a little more vigor, and each moment that past inspired him to push on. "My Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary; and neither shall I! His understanding no one can fathom; though I have a duty to try! He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak; And so must I! Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Creator will renew their strength. So we shall soar on wings like eagles;  we will run and not grow weary, we will walk and not be faint. May the Creator of hope fill us with all joy and peace as we trust in him, so that we may overflow with hope by the power of his holy might." Step by step, verse by verse, he moved closer to his destination. Almost in sight now. He smiled brightly and began to walk on his own, unassisted by his weapon now which he grasped strongly in his hand.

But as his faith carried him so did a test he was not prepared for. As Vlad and Samael clashed a figure intervened. It wasn't what Micah ever had hoped for but it was what it was. He stood in shock as his mother sacrificed herself to try and persuade this conflict to end. To reach Vlad and to reason with Samael. When shock faded from the frozen Micah he found strength to fly to her side. He threw down his spear and embraced the last parent he had tightly as his eyes dripped down upon his beloved mother. What cruel test was this? He had given himself entirely to his creator, he gave up millenia with his mother because heaven told him to, and when finally allowed to seek her out she was taken from him. "Not like this. It was not suppose to be like this." Micah muttered as he placed his hand on her chest where her heart was. He focused with all his might and light emitted from his hand for only a moment but flickered out. He tried again and again but it was always the same. He couldn't save her, he didn't have the power. He gently placed her to the ground and rose to his feet. He grabbed his spear and he backed away from Marina slowly still in disbelief. 

Gesturing the sign of the cross in the air in front of him over Marina he spoke sorrowfully "When the time comes for you to die, you need not be afraid, because death cannot separate you from the Creators love. That love is beyond this world and we cannot be separated by it. Death cannot kill what never dies, the Creators love can never die. And neither shall mine for you dear mother. Rest in peace." Micah stood silent. His wisdom gave no answers, his faith no comfort, and his spirit faded at the sight of his kin fallen to the weakness and evils of lesser beings. So mighty must they feel throwing their power around like children with a new toy eager to show off to prove to others what is not truly there. The only true power in this world is love, forgiveness, and light and neither of these two beings before him displayed any such power. Micah had failed Marina, had he failed heaven as well in doing so? Was this his punishment?

[Vlad Drăculea]

It came as a momentary distraction, the flash of light from the cave. Yet it served it's purpose all the same- those on the battlefield were blinded. It's effects would not last long however as he did not need his sight to truly see the battlefield around him. Vlad's hearing was almost unmatched, he could fight simply by listening to the world around him as well. Yet as the vision returned to him he chose not to pursue his opponent who had fled in the direction of Nergal. He instead marked the faces of those who drew his attention away from the battle. His opponent too had a weakness as he did- their hearts walked the field in the flesh as a distraction to the events that had to happen. It was maddening to him how many things kept him from ending this once and for all.

Perhaps Nergal was not the answer he sought after all he realized as the beast fled the field. Bested by the warriors of light, Marina's child, which angered him. His fingers clenched tightly around the handle of his scythe as he watched everything play out before him. He could almost hear her annoying words about how everything had to play out as it was meant to. In his mind there was no world in which he was meant to lose to this man. For a moment his black wings drooped to the ground as he planted the base of his weapon in the dirt and leaned against it. He was impatient but doing his best to remain so, even had some sort of honor in him as furious as he was.

It would not even take long for his opponent to become reinvigorated, ready for the fight. Once he realized what it was Vlad had done, he could practically taste the venom. As Samael stood and turned towards him he kicked the base of scythe causing it to swing up into his waiting hand. At long last the moment he was waiting for was upon him, what a glorious charge the man would lead. The tension built as he prepared to strike knowing that this could be the final blow of the entire war right here and now. His body cried out for the soul of such a powerful foe and yet it would be denied once more as yet another flash of light exploded between the two of them. This time, however, his wife appeared before them and absorbed the impact of Samael's blade through her small frame.

There was a brief pause as the world slowed down and Vlad registered what had happened. His gut tightened as he felt the power swelling within him, boiling to the surface. Yet he did not unleash a shout nor make a single sound. Before he could the shock was expressed in a loud wail from the banshees on the field as they announced the death. In unison they all sang for such a death and it drowned out the rage that was Vlad. Reason severed it's self from his mind as he watched Micah lay her down on the field before them and say a prayer. Once his lips had done the same but they could no longer remember the words, in this moment he could remember nothing.

"For as long as I walk this world, no spirit of your kin shall ever reach the other side. I will take their souls and cast them into the endless void to suffer until the end time." he said. His voice wavered for a moment but regained a strength that he had never felt before. He did not make a threat now before Samael but a promise, one that he would see through even if he fell. One would have expected him to fight, to rage or to destroy everything in sight but instead the reaper simply turned away from the mangled form of his wife. Holding his hand down at his side, he closed his fist and a white light surrounded the corpse that lay there. Her form would vanish within the light as it was transported elsewhere, back to Castle Drăculea.

In the moment death lost all will to fight, all will to feed. A blow was struck against his opponent and Samael would achieve a small victory this day. Before anyone could finish blinking, the man vanished leaving behind only a few black feathers in his wake. After he vanished all of the remaining undead in the immediate area fell to the ground, the banshees retreated back to Sylthanus and the sounds of combat came to an eerie and immediate end.

[Lidija Ahlgren]

The women she helped save had to be important to Samael somehow to have him split his focus from the battle at hand. It was the least she could do after smashing him to a bloody pulp to try and save what mattered most to him. Yet when she did it she did not do it for him, she did it because she felt something else pulling at her to do it. There was an instinct in her that she could not explain nor fully figure out what triggered it. All she knew was in the moment when she stopped thinking everything lead her here. There was something strange about the girl before her to make her throw away her own life without even a thought.

Taking a moment to stare Minerva down, she realized she was doing so. Looking down at the ground a moment, she shook her head. "It was nothing. If Samael did not come when he did I doubt my strength would have made a difference." she said in reply. She was not so arrogant as to believe that she had done much beyond delay the inevitable. Even now she was only just beginning to grasp the full weight of her decision. Having just learned the truth she almost died before she ever found the chance to make what she did right again. She would have wandered the afterlife ashamed for the rest of eternity if she had perished here.

Her focus was not on the rest of the battle but on the task Samael had given the girl. Walking towards them, she offered her arms to carry Isolde. "It's not much but I could carry her for you. I have no idea where I am going, you'll have to lead me back to wherever you call home." she said with a soft smile. Even with all of this pain going on she found a way to bring some form of brightness to the moment. She lived so long in the darkness she had almost forgotten what it was like to do something for someone else simply out of the goodness of your heart. Whatever Samael had done to her changed her somehow and she had questions for him too after the battle.

[Seth]

The poison burrowed its way through Seth’s body like worms in his blood vessels. Seth tried fighting it and rising with the werewolf held on to him, helping him out as the cave shook and groaned. More spheres of light left the cave and many spread along the battlefield as the two made their way out of the cave. By the time the werewolf had sat Seth down, his skin was a grayish color, and his vessels were pitch black with purple outlines. At this point, Seth was unsure if the poison would kill him, or if his body would still manage a defense against the toxins in time. Seth closed his eyes, feeling weaker by the moment and feeling the cold more than ever now.

“Sienna…” he uttered again before blacking out. Suddenly, warmth filled his body, and he could feel a presence near him. Slowly, but surely he gained the strength to move his hands, which were the first to regain their warmth. Placing one hand on her own, Seth opened his eyes to see Sienna kneeling before him, healing his wound. “You came...you heard me...but...how?” Seth asked weakly, but astonished all the same. At the same time, he was beginning to realize that he didn’t care how she got here, the mere fact that she was with him again suddenly made Seth’s heart race from the moment he laid eyes on her. Seth’s head slowly found itself leaning in involuntarily as he looked deep into Sienna’s eyes, feeling a comfort and strength there that he had never felt before. “You saved me…” he whispered as his lips came close to her own, pulling him to her as if willed by an invisible force, his body becoming comfortably warm in her presence.

Their connection was broken however, when suddenly, the unholy shrieking of the Banshees in the distance broke their focus, signalling in something terrible as it was horrifying. It was as if every creature on the field that was of Sylthanis was met with absolute dread, and even Seth could feel the area growing colder. Slowly, he looked back into Sienna’s eyes and as much as he wanted to continue, he had to find Samael. Wrapping his fingers around her hand that healed him, he stood and looked her in the eyes with the warmest of smiles. “Thank you…” he said, “I would have died without your help...I am forever in your debt.” Suddenly, Seth watched as the hordes from Sylthanis began to slowly retreat. Turning back to Sienna, he held her hand closer and motioned for them to make their way towards the remaining dragons. Seth needed to find Samael and find out what had transpired. He also needed to tell him what he knew about the demons.

[Ingeras Drăculea]

There was nothing else Ingeras could even do at the moment besides help his mother off the field. Even as the horrid beast retreated, he heard his mother’s every word on what it was. Yet, the monster had potential to become something more. Samael had once again shown dominance over a powerful foe, but it was not over yet. Ingeras watched as the beast flew back to his father, and just before anything else could happen, he watched as his mother wrestled herself effortlessly out of his arms. “MOTHER!!!!” Ingeras roared out, watching with horrified eyes at her destination and how quickly she appeared between them.

The following events shattered something inside of Ingeras, and as Ingeras watched Samael impale his mother, it seemed like his inner calm, or what was left of it, was replaced by a void. Looking ahead, he watched his father look upon his fallen wife, and Ingeras felt the pain his father felt. Kneeling before his mother, was the angel that had helped defeat Nergal, the other son. Glaring at the man, Ingeras tried to do everything in his power to not strike the angel down where he knelt. If he had been there to help, none of this had to happen. Although his mother tried to tell him about Micha, Ingeras chose to ignore her words. In a great deal of ways, he still had no concern for the angel. Even now, more than ever, the angel was no kin in Ingeras’ eyes, but rather a blight that he saw infecting future points in his life with his presence.

But none of that mattered just then, even if Ingeras felt empty at the time. Watching Samael, he hoped his father was to deliver the killing blow, when suddenly, he simply spoke to Samael and vanished, leaving all undead corpses to lie on their own, dead and unmoving. Disbelief and confusion swept over Ingeras, igniting outrage in his mind. His father just...walked away? For what had just happened, he could have finished Samael. The one time this dragon deserved Vlad Draculea’s wrath, and Samael is allowed to “live”. Ingeras was about to move towards Samael to challenge him directly, but he looked at his sister and the demon, Sed, having ignored the lust demon up until now before laying eyes upon him. So much was swirling around Ingeras and it seemed like even though it felt like too much to comprehend, it was all shoved into his mind to process anyways. “Are you satisfied now, sister?” Ingeras simply asked before leaving the field to find his horse.

I will not stop until my father’s will has been done, Samael. I will send legions after you and your kind. Like my father, I will not rest until the last dragon’s inner light has been blotted out.” Ingeras swore to himself, vowing then, that he would avenge his mother, and ensured that his father would have his revenge.

[Adam]

This was it. At long last, they could finally continue their fight, uninterrupted as their soldiers fought all around them. This next strike could have been their last, even as Samael unknowingly felt the smallest bit of dizziness from the poison Agatha had struck him with, he would have carried on. His vision wasn’t blurred as much as it was just that he had to focus back in after half a second. It would take a lot longer for the poison to affect him as it had done to Seth, but Samael was a full blooded dragon, and sustained by the powers of the Air Elements and his own power. He could fight Vlad in a duel of swords for a hundred years and not tire. Yet, nothing could prepare him for what happened next.

At the moment of truth, when the next strike meant the untimely end of one of them, Samael watched as his massive sword was thrust forward, and finally drew blood, just not intended target. Standing before him, was the Queen herself, wounded and bloodied. Samael watched in surprise as she fell from his blade and onto the ground. Stepping back a few feet, he looked at her in disbelief, wondering why she made such a foolish mistake by interfering in their fight. The winds died and Samael found himself stepping back again, he watched as the angel landed and knelt over her. Suddenly a supreme amount of remorse washed over Samael as he looked in shame at the angel, who prayed. Samael had given the angel his word that no harm would come to his blood kin, and yet the very opposite happened.

He looked on the dead angel’s body and back to Micha and then heard Vlad speak. Vowing that no dragon would see the afterlife as long as he walked the planet. Just as Samael went to speak, Vlad and his minions left. “It will only be a temporary denial…” Samael said aloud soon after before turning to see Minerva, Lidija and Isolde. Samael ran towards them kneeling before Isolde to inspect her. Cradling her head in his arm, Samael pulled his leather canteen from his side and opened the top. Gently opening Isolde’s mouth, he poured a bit of water down her mouth and closing her mouth for it to go down. “You will live, sister,” Samael said softer than he normally did, which made any that heard it immediately concerned, “you’re stronger than this. The general of the dragon army does not give up!” Gently laying her head down, Samael stood and from a distance, saw two people approaching them.

He did not know either of them, except that one of them was not a dragon. However, as they neared closer, he recognized the bearded face of the young man that came to his aid within the caves earlier. Beside him was what Samael confirmed to be a non draconic female, however from the familiar aura she gave off that felt similar to Micha’s, Samael could only guess that she was an angel as well. “Gratitude, warrior,” Samael said as the man and angel finally reached them both, “to what name should I call you, so that I may raise a cup in your honor later?”

Seth

Seth and Sienna made their way from the caverns and walked across the battlefield. There were many dead among the field, both dragon and vampire alike. Most of the bodies from the dragon side seemed missing, yet there were signs that others fell along side where many of the Sylthanis soldiers laid. It began to become apparent that Samael managed to effectively pick up the dead as well, as it had seemed. In the distance, Seth spotted another angel, and then spotted Samael with three other women: Two dark haired ones and...a blonde female. Seth walked closer, feeling a familiar presence in the area, but unable to pinpoint detect who it was from.

As Seth approached Samael, the King took notice of him and proceeded to speak to Seth, honoring the bounty hunter with his gratitude before asking for his name. Seth knelt to a knee, bowing his head in respect before rising again to look Samael in the eyes. “My Lord, I am Seth, son of Astroth, and I had originally arrived with details on the village, Fólkvangr. I believe that demons attacked and used this information to frame dragons. Furthermore, I believe I can locate the demon responsible. However, after witnessing what I’ve seen, I would like to also offer my services to you, my Lord.” He was unsure about this war, and of the people fighting in it, and though Agatha’s words still swam in his mind, he knew that the only way to get to the bottom of what was happening, was to dig deeper into the events that lead up to the war. It was the only way for him to learn the truth now.