Achaeos's Story

"Hey, hey Elante," Aeryn called across to his partner as they moved through the air towards the battle at Windcrest's gates. "What's the difference between the bell going off on a grandfather clock and an attack on Windcrest?"

Looking across at Aeryn, Elante raised a questioning eyebrow. "Alright, I'll bite. What?"

"One happens repetitively like clockwork after predictable intervals, can be a minor annoyance if it wakes you up and is never more than a short wait off," the silvis replied, "And the other is the bell on a grandfather clock."

Elante chuckled lightly, rolling his eyes at the joke. "Not the best analogy you've ever come up with," he remarked, "But fairly accurate. I could probably do a statistics study on it and come up with a way to set my watch to the warhorns of the knights sounding the alarm."

Carried upon the currents of wind channeled through the elemental bracers on Elante's arms, the two soared over the walls and came to a halt a distance above the battlefield to look out on the fighting below.

The celestial mage placed his hand on Aeryn's shoulder and a flood of empowering magic moved into him, surrounding him with a protective aura and strengthening him notably. "I'll let you do the honours. Knock yourself out down there."

Grinning broadly, Aeryn gave Elante a kiss to the cheek. "You know me so well. Stay safe up here, watch for death lasers." he said, winking before he dropped into a dive. He landed deep in the fray, near where Kaen was fighting, scattering the hollows like bowling pins with a burst of silverite energy. Straightening, he cracked his neck and whistled, "I love it when there's a lot of them. Mooks make for a lot of satisfying pummelling."

Meanwhile back up on the walls, the defenders were better prepared this time for the beams of cero that lanced across the crenelated heights of the city once more. This time the attacks were met with protective spells and shimmering arcane shields that ran along the length of the wall to absorb the impacts, and a small number of mages could be seen at key intervals of the wall murmuring their defensive incantations in unison. They remained safely behind the row of defenders still volleying their weapons and offensive spells into the Hollow below.

As the Patronus assembled on the wall to join the other defenders of Windcrest, one amongst them turned her attention to what seemed to be the root of the problem. Stepping forwards to Rynhart's side, the pale and slightly luminescent Aiedai gestured out towards the far side of the bridge where the portal through which the hollows were emerging lay.

"We can see the tear between this realm and theirs," she said, "We will work to end it. It is within our power. We will require protection from interruption while we work."

Rynhart only nodded briefly in response, trusting in the woman to be capable of fullfilling such a task. He turned his attention to the ground fighting below, but the horde of Hollow appeared to be thinning, and it would seem that the situation was well in hand.

Aiedai took a breath and allowed her consciousness to slip away from her immediate surroundings, focusing on reaching out to the portal. The star spirits within her reached with her, and with their power she was able to grasp at it. Slowly, threads of silvery light began to draw shut the tear between the realms, weaving in elegant criss-crossing patterns.

It would take time to shut fully, but already the hollows that made it past Achaeos would find the border between their home and Windcrest to be more difficult to cross. In the meantime, Aiedai remained still, eyes whited out with an ethereal glow and unaware of anything going on around her.

Off to the side, leaning on the battlements, Talren peered down into the mess of fighting. The elf wore a slightly bored expression on his face, and though his bow was held in his grip he didn't show any interest in actually firing it. "I should've just stayed back at the temple and finished my bloody card game," he remarked, "Who attacks the bloody fortress city where all the heroes hang out?" he rolled his eyes and snorted. "Well, apparently everyone. All the time. Surely there must be a village they can pillage more conveniently..."

"It would not serve to grow lax in vigil," Rynhart replied. There was a certain lack of sincerity to his words though, and even Rynhart seemed to find these matters little more than an inconvenience. "The field experience is good for the less experienced of the order."

"You could probably start just skipping drills altogether. One of these days you'll start running drills and by the time you're done there'll already be an actual attack going on." Talren said, flicking a pebble off of the edge of the wall down into the trench surrounding the city. "Either that or you should start running drills for the eventuality that we go a week without being attacked. I'm not sure any of us know what we'd do in that circumstance."

Rynhart couldn't help the low chuckle that Talren's words drew out of the normally pensive swordsmaster.

The large Gillian class Hollows proved to be no match for those who rallied to defend Windcrest; what with their slowness and low intellect. Soon they fell one by one, the immense size threatening to crush guardsmen and Hollow alike. All that remained were a handful of Adjuchas who successfully survived the powerful counter-attack. The creatures varied greatly in appearance; some resembling stocky humanoids while others were animal-like. These greater Menos traversed the battlefield with startling speed, hacking and pummeling any guards in their way.

Unlike the Gillians, the touch of Adjuchas is caustic; capable of corroding any organic tissue they came in contact with. This combined with their intelligence, speed, and overwhelming strength made them a more serious threat. They engaged those called to defend with intense aggression, attempting to overwhelm them with a litany of blows. The metallic shing of Kaen's Wakizashi sliding into its scabbard rang against his eardrum. He suddenly flickered from view, only to reappear in the path of a dashing Adjucha with a retracted fist. The former captain hurled his arm forward, transferring the gathered momentum into his fist. The resulting contact caused an ample amount of focused Reiatsu to burst outward and rip apart his target's abdomen. "Ikkotsu." After having its torso destroyed the mangled remains of the Menos were flung backward, leaving friction with the ground to slow the corpse to a stop.

It felt good to do that. He thought to himself before turning his head to Aeryn. "Mooks you call 'em?!" he shouted, "Fitting name!" Kaen ducked under a razor sharp claw swung at him and raised one hand toward two approaching Menos.

"Hado number thirty-one, Shakkahō." The area around them served as fuel for the perilously fervent flames manifested by his incantation. The fire sprang from the swirling ball of heat before quickly expanding into a pillar that incinerated a single side of each of them; leaving a blackened muss of melted flesh.

With the added assistance of the newly arrived the remaining Adjuchas began to steadily dwindle until all had been slain. Just in time, it seemed. Kaen stood upright after the threat had been eliminated, scanning the field with honey optics. "'Gonna have to start charging these Hollows," he jested, 'They're getting more of a workout than me." The jaunty Shinigami dusted himself off while shifting his gaze to the warriors who caught his attention during the battle. The Paladin and Monk, Anria, Aeryn,the Kitsune and Jon.

As the portal closed behind him and the hostile spirits dispersed, Achaeos nodded his head once. The fox turned and in a flicker of light slipped from the spirit realm back to the mortal one. It would be the first time that those assembled had been able to get a clear look at him, barring the ability to see into other realms, a red-brown nine-tailed fox with spiritual markings of white patterned on his fur.

A faint light enveloped him and obscured him from view, as he shifted from the fox shape back to his humanoid form. His lantern formed in his grip, swaying in the wind. He bowed his head to Aeryn and Kaen, the two closest to him. "I trust that the battle here went well," he said, "I did what I could from the other side."

Josh, scowling as the last of the Hollows were brought down, glared at the bridge before setting down on it. As ever, holy energies and dark essence warred against each other as the consecration attacked his being, trying to weaken it. This time, the ferocity of the warring stirred his incorporeal form, deepening his scowl into a snarl. He might have been aid, but as far as at least one of the allies involved, he was still anathema.

Letting the sword in hand slip from fingers to boil into smoking essence, he crossed his arms before him, studying the victorious combatants. Mages, warriors, a kitsune, and some spiritual being. The latter he liked least of the individuals, but the wall of knights even less than him. The holy aura radiated from them in waves on the spiritual plane, which didn't do anything but identify the problem the consecrated ground posed to him.

As far as words, he was still wary. From the occasional glance his way, he was a stranger, and one who reacted badly to the present of purity. Waiting to be approached was the course of action that seemed best, given the circumstances.

After the battle came to a close, Elante had descended downwards from where he hovered in the air to alight on the plateau at the end of the bridge, near where Aeryn, Achaeos and Kaen were in conversation. He released his spell on Aeryn and was about to walk over when he noticed the approach of another figure. The mage turned with a raised eyebrow to observe the approach of the horned man.

"Hello?" his greeting carried a note of inquiry to it, "I haven't seen you around before. I'm afraid you missed the party, if you're responding to the warhorns."

Gingitsune furrowed his brow when his attempt at a fist bump was ignored. he rolled his shoulders in a light shrug, "I guess being a weaker fighter does require you to maintain greater concentration on fledglings." He returned his attention to the Kitsune that had addressed him earlier, pointing back at Anria with his thumb. "What's her deal?" After all, it wasn't his intent to insult her.

Achaeos raised his eyebrow, "I'm unfamiliar with her. I imagine, however, she took issue with the impression of arrogance you gave across by your assessment of her ability. Such a manner is not always well received, even if well meant." he replied. "And hollows, is it? I have not encountered this particular variety of lost spirit before, though I have seen similar. For them to be in such numbers is surprising for any human spirit, however."

Kaen folded his arms in front of his chest keeping his eyes planted on Achaeos. "Hollows are a troublesome bunch." he replied, "They come in various types, and the ones we just fought were the weakest of them."

"So you're able to move in and out of the Spirit World at will?" It wasn't often that he met someone capable of such feats that wasn't a Shinigami, Arrancar, or something along those lines.

"As a spiritual entity myself, it is a simple matter for me, yes." Achaeos replied, nodding his head. "I am a kitsune, or in simpler terms, a fox spirit. The spirit realm is as much my home as the mortal one. You are a shinigami, yes? At least, you share the spiritual essence of such a being."

He inclined his head respectfully. "My name is Achaeos."

"Yeah I'm a Shinigami." Kaen bowed his head in response to his gesture. Though he wasn't accustomed to such formalities, he figured it be rude of him not to. "Kaen Gingitsune, nice to meet you." He turned toward the city of Windcrest, positioning himself so that he was standing to the left of Achaeos.

"And what's the name of this place, and all the people who rallied to protect it? Must be important." he pointed at the various soldiers that moved about. By now the cleanup had begun, sweeping the grounds and gate's walls of the dead. The corpses of the felled Hollows were either set ablaze or dumped somewhere else.

As the two walked, they drew the attention of a young man from the crowd. Dressed in a traditional kimono and a red fox mask, with long red-brown hair falling out the back, he did not particularly stand out from the other tourists and villagers apart from the fact that he carried a lantern with him on the end of a wooden rod. Perhaps, though, his mask was also particularly intricate, enough to draw the eye - and of course, the katana at his hip was noteworthy enough.

After a moment's hesitation, he stepped towards them. "Hello there," he began, "I'm sorry, I don't mean to interrupt anything. But I couldn't help but overhear. Did you mention a disappearing fortune teller?"

He paused, "Sorry, where are my manners? My name is Achaeos." he said with a deep and respectful bow.

As Kinaro looked around, he shook his head "I haven't seen her. She's completely gone...no traces from what I can find." he says. He was about to explain the fortune teller's advice, but then Achaeos arrived, mentioning her. "Oh, well...yes. I had recently gotten advice from a fortune teller, but before I could ask further questions she just vanished without a trace. It's...definitely irritating as her advice involves me doing something I really don't want to do." he sighs, fiddling with his mask again. He then politely bows back "I'm Kinaro. It's nice to meet you, Achaeos. Are you looking for the fortune teller as well or is that a popular rumor around here during the festivities? Either reason sounds believable in a place like this."

Seiji smiled to Achaeos, "Hello there! My name is Seiji, and don't worry about interrupting." he said, tilting his head to look up at him. "Achaeos is a very unique name. I like it!"

The younger boy spread his arms, gesturing around. "There are lots of fortune tellers around, though, even if that one lady vanished! They have tarot cards, and special tea, and all sorts of things!" He paused and leaned conspiratorially towards the other two. "But you gotta be careful. A lot of them are just talking nonsense!"

"Not looking for her as such," Achaeos replied with a smile, "I've been trying to keep my eyes open for anything out of the ordinary. I have a sense that there is something happening in the forest, that's drawing spirits here. More than is normal for the festival."

He cast his eyes around, "I'm not sure what's happening, but it's concerning. It feels... ominous. Be wary." He paused, before shaking his head. "But don't let me stop you enjoying the festival. It may well be nothing to worry about."

Kinaro nods to Achaeos "Thank you for the warning regardless. Unfortunate as it may be, such feelings are usually warranted. I'll keep an eye open for anything strange." he says. To be honest, despite the festivities, Kinaro felt as if something was amiss. The strange fortune teller didn't ease his mind at all either. He looks to Seiji "Sorry if we seem overly paranoid Seiji, but we can never be too careful." he says, laughing a bit. "We'll enjoy the festivities and deal with any problems as they arise. For now let's see what we can enjoy!" he smiles.

As he tried to lighten the mood, Kinaro's mind wandered to what could be a potential threat to the village. Were the spirits out of balance? Were they angry? He also thought about the past where he was forced to show his face, which weren't pleasant memories. Shaking his head, he snapped out of those memories. Things were different now, Seiji and Junwei were different. Kinaro began to relax and asked Seiji "Where to next? I'm interested in seeing more of the village. If you want to, you can come along as well Achaeos."

Seiji tilted his head curiously at Achaeos, examining him for a moment with surprising focus for anyone who was used to his usual manner. He gazed at the taller man thoughtfully, before speaking. "The spirits are gathering as they sense change in the air. Fate is tightening its grip to guide the world towards the inevitable."

There was a brief pause of silence, before with a blink, Seiji's expression returned to its normal bright smile, and he carried on as though he hadn't spoken. "Aiee. You're right, Kinaro! We can't let some ominous feeling ruin the festival! This is a time for fun!"

He grinned and grabbed Kinaro's arm, "Let's go play Dragon's Breath!" he exclaimed as he dragged him towards a stall a short distance away, where people were standing behind plastic dragon models with water-jets in their mouths, firing small splashes at targets that popped up inside the stall. "I bet you I can win the best prize there, first try!"

Achaeos looked at Seiji with surprise as the youth spoke in such a different tone to before. But as he switched straight back to normal, he wasn't able to get a word in to comment on it before he was pulling his friend off towards the festival games.

He smiled to Kinaro, "Thank you for the offer, but I must decline. Enjoy yourselves, though. There are few times of year more gleeful than these weeks. You are right, any problems should be dealt with as they arise, and not dwelt over beforehand."

He bowed politely, "I need to get going. It has been a pleasure. I have no doubt we will meet again before the festival is through." he said, before he turned and moved away into the crowd.