"Mercy"'s Story

Vigil stood towards the back of the group, watching as the solider spread out around Mercy. His eyes scanned the streets, at one point catching the eye of a woman cloaked in gray, he knew instantly that she was of some great importance. She seemed to be caught by his presence for a moment before continuing away towards the castle.

Mercy moved quickly, disarming Nigel and shoving him back in a moment, faster than any human could. Vigil reached out and steadied the man, now with out his bow. He had felt Mercy's power when he had first seen the man, but to see it in action was impressive none the less, even in what seemed like a very small portion. Nigel raised a hand and snapped a flame into the sky which summoned the arrival of another group no doubt loyal to the true crown. Bolin took no hesitation in jumping into open combat, but Vigil remained where he was.

The veins on Mercy's arms seem to glow with a blue tint that crawled down them. It was not dissimilar in appearance to Vigil's own pulsing veins, though this was simply an effect on the exterior of a body, which was very much unlike a Cambiregeist's exposed energy. With a word the flame that had sprung out of Bolins device simply vanished into embers and fell harmlessly to the ground.

As Mercy lifted a massive rock and hurled it towards Bolin Vigil's arm raised reactively. Energy pulsed in the ethereal hand from below the folds of his cloak, his hand made a catching motion and the rock slowed suddenly to a halt. It floated in the air for a moment before falling harmlessly to the ground. Many of the soldiers were astonished, they had only seen this type of magic use from Exalted, and even then this was somehow different. It was as though Vigil had simply reached out his hand and caught the rock, no differently then any of them might catch a sack tossed to him. It seemed so natural, yet at the same time, so very unnatural to see.

This was not what he had intended when he set out for Mordania. Picking sides had been the furthest thing from his mind, even locked in a cell or secretly transported in the dark of night, the thought of directly intervening hadn't begun to creep into his far ranging thoughts. But Nigel had asserted his claim to the thone, released him from that cell, and Vigil could not ignore the feeling deep at the core of his being that what ever was happening here was bound to alter the order of the world. He found himself suddenly left with no choice. He would fight with the true king, the order of things needed to be repaired.

Nigel stands back up and runs to the others, the case still in tow. Mercy making no move to stop him, either preoccupied with Bolin, Vigil, and Godafrey, or even unconcerned. "I'm fine, he just... stunned me is all," Nigel says, shaken but otherwise unharmed.

Mercy looked to Vigil who had stopped his rock, it wasn't expected that he'd intervene, giving a moment to stare directly at him. He then looks over at Godefray, listening to him before he spoke. His face lightened some in intensity, he seemed somewhat relieved to have him say something more. "I don't blame you for not understanding, I went through a dark time... I lost everything, Lucia, Juliet... they both died and I could do nothing to protect them. What has a blade served us in the end? I swore to protect everyone, and in the end I couldn't even save my own... my own..." he trembles some near the end, lowering his head and holds out his hands. "The sword that man used... it was mine... I couldn't continue..."

He raises his head and lowers his arms. "When I was brought before Gabrielle, I didn't see a goddess. What I saw was a young girl, around my daughter's age if she were alive still today. This girl was alone and confused, no mother or father... and I remembered... why I came to be a knight to begin with... was to protect these precious things..."

Mercy sighed, then readied for Godefray's swing, his strange armoring that seems to be a part of his body acting as a shield, interlocking points in it allowing him to flow freely to his motions without sacrificing maneuverability.

Godefray's blade met up with Mercy's armour, it would clash for a few seconds, creating a sharp clang before bouncing off. He first blow was struck and he figured his first strike and normal attacks would not work, he was going to need some extra fire power to start working through Mercy's armour. Quickly hopping backwards Godefray ignited his sword before impaling the ground in front of him, sending the swords energy through the earth and unleashing an underground volcanic eruption underneath Mercy. He knew he could dodge a predictable attack but he was hoping he would attack him while it seemed he was vulnerable.

He had a plan to fight him, and his sword being in the ground was just the first step in his plan. If he took the bait it would be good for him, if he didn't take the bait it would still be fine for him, it would give him even more time to prepare his next move. He was not going to hold back even though he felt sorry to hear Mercy had lost the people close to him, but even so it still would not justify betraying everyone. "So filling that empty void with something else was your reason, quite frankly I thought you would be smarter than this. You let your despair take hold of you, easily making you turn to other side just because this "Gabrielle" looks like your daughter. She will never be like your daughter, and you know it full well. Face it they killed your loved ones, and you joined them because you want to to find false happiness in place of them. Well if you think this is true then you are going to have to kill me Mercy, because you know if I get a chance I will end these new people you call your "loved ones" so prove to me that you are dedicated to stopping me." Godefray calmly spoke to Mercy, waiting for his next move.

Mercy showed more focus on parrying the blows brought against him than fighting back. He was just as much buying time, not even sending pursuit for Nigel. He got back as Godefray stabbed the ground. It was an obvious attack, he was going to attack him from below. Instead of moving he stamped his foot where the eruption would occur, spraying the lava into a split stream, his boots melting some from the heat, wincing some causing him to step back.

"Easy, Godefray," he says quizzically, his tone growing ever so slightly agitated. "Tell me, is it easy coming home to find the two things in your life worth living for bled out onto your floor..? Is it easy move on, knowing the people I was going to spend the rest of my life with, the people I swore to protect, the very reason I became an enforcer to begin with... is it easy to just, pick up the blade and keep swinging?"

He lunged at Godefray. "And, it wasn't they who killed them, it was a Mordanian!" He takes a swing at Godefray, trained in at his chest, charging his blow with a soft light. "While you and many of our soldiers were off on the front lines, we eroded from within! And it isn't just me, no, there were many more, Joy was tortured just because of her race, Fortitude watched as his people were murdered, burned alive! Where was their justice?"

"We were a broken people long before the Exalted came! And as for the girl... of course she's not Juliet, but do you honestly think a child is the one pulling the st-r.kk..s." Before he could finish what he was saying, something seems to silence his voice momentarily, as if an invisible hand had closed his mouth. He continues into his unarmed blows instead, keeping his armor pointed at Godefray. "A-and that strange being among you, do you know what his kind is capable of..?"

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In the castle Balor sends guards to retrieve the items Jonathan had ordered, but at the last mention the essence she beckons a small figure that had been watching in back. They reluctantly step forward, a frail looking figure, dressed in ornate white robes with gold trims, with a face covered in a mask representing the sun and moon. It was the "goddess" of the Exalted. Balor takes a flask, grabs the girl's arm and jabs it with one of her nails causing the strange girl to wince as her blood flows into the flask. The blood was abnormal, a haunting light blue glow to it, and almost clear like water.

"Is this... suf-fic-ient..?" She asks, holding the flask to Jonathan who had unavoidably witnessed the whole transaction. Gabrielle silently holds her arm, backing away from them. The guards come soon after, piling them onto a table. Balor glares at them and they organize the items up more carefully, obviously out of fear.

As Mercy Lunged for Godefray he pulled out his sword, which was now covered in molten slag and blocked Mercy's swing causing the blow to send molten slag and send cracks into the floor where he was standing. "Mercy, you think I don't know what the pain of losing a loved one feels like? Well you are wrong in that regard. I lost the person dearest to me, a nice woman named Angela who was as pure as the sky but even then she was not spared from the fires of war and even if that wasent enough they destroyed my home village, killed my family, killed my friends, and killed everyone I once knew in the more simpler days! But you don't see me betraying my country, NO! I keep fighting for them, for the people I can still save. I fight to protect their friends who are still alive, I fight to protect their loves ones who are still alive, I fight to save everyone who can still be saved! You cant tell me justice was also on your side, the Exalted are equally as guilty as us." Godefray then roared as he pushed Mercy's strike to the side, stepped to the side, and began to thrust his sword three times aimed for his chest.

"And I may have stayed in the front lines, I may have been capable of preventing the slaughter of my home village but protecting the land and the people is my top priority. I could have saved them but if I did ten times as many people would have died and I would endangered even more people than that. I lived with my decision and had to weigh the cost, people I knew, or thousands more who had peaceful lives like mine. In the end I chose correctly, but you don't see me as a broken man, no! I am far from a broken man! I am a hope for the resistance, I am the peoples hope! And it does not matter who joins us, that mysterious stranger is just helping for now, there is no way to tell if he will stay or not. Who cares what power he has, or what his background is, if he decides to join us he would considered an ally and a friend. But enough about my thoughts for now, on your guard Mercy!" Godefray then gripped his sword with two hands and set the molten slag on fire before throwing his entire weight on the next swing.

Nigel was entranced until he hear someone speak to him. He looks over to Vigil, he was saying to disengage, to take the opportunity to leave. He stares blankly for a moment, everything was surreal to him at the moment but he was coming back into the situation. He reluctantly nods, he was thinking this over too hard, opportunity had given itself to him and he was wasting it on gawking. He holds the box tightly and starts to run the other way.

Mercy holds up an arm allowing it to be hit by the swing. He strains, his armor burning from the molten material. This action was far from an effortless counter. He looks aside Godefray momentarily seeing Nigel slipping away with the box. He sighs and chuckles lightly. He looks back to Godefray. "I hold no hatred of him for his race, and had it been my choice he'd never had been caged." He frowns again, pushing against his blade, hooking it into the ornate gaps in his armor. "I am sorry for your loss though, I truly am. I suppose it is something I did not know. But, Godefray... there's three important things you must know. First, there are more than the two sides to this whole conflict, secondly, do you think a being who looks away at the sight of blood ordered this war to begin with? And thirdly, Henrick and Cecilia Mordaine still live... you're welcome."

With the last statement he surges with that strange light once more and pushes against Godefray focusing this supernatural strength into one arm. The air around him giving an ever so slight numbing sensation, like it were energized. He was suddenly in a hurry to end this for some reason, as Nigel leaves his sight. "I'm sorry, old friend, but I have men that are bleeding to death with their faces in the dirt, and I really would rather be tending to them at the moment, I could be distracted with them for quite some time, even."

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Balor slowly walks out to leave Jonathan to his work and then walks into the massive dining room, a woman with long red hair as well, looking similar to the form Balor had assumed. Dressed in a black dress, ornate, the designs of royalty. Her eyes were gray, blind, she was bound to the chair at the head of the royal table. Regardless of her blindness, she knew Balor was there. It was the queen, Cecilia. And she seems, despite her situation, only mildly perturbed.

"Do you think this will fix anything? Do you think he would want this, Schoneke," Cecilia asks, clearly aiming this at Balor. "You said it yourself, years ago, that you preferred a simple life with no greater purposes."

"Scho-neke is dead, her body... died when it was drowned in those waters years ago," she responds coldly. "And her heart... died when he died."

"So what now, you punish the world for your misery, with these people as your tools," Cecilia asks.

"Tell me, has any other race suffered greater... than mine? Why should my kind be doomed, de-nied of mag-ic, to live only a brief amount of time until... death, bodies burning out... before reaching proper ad-ult-hood? Pun-ish... no, I lib-er-ate my people from an injust-ice that has lasted eons. No-bo-dy cares... not human... not beast-kin... not their race... but I care..."

"And he cared, even though he was a human, and my son cares, and so does my husband... we are trying to help y-"

Before Cecilia goes on further, Balor, growing agitated and pained by her condition, cracks of red energy forming across her skin. She growls and throws the massive table on it's side like it were nothing.

"E-enough of this," she roars, bringing Cecilia to silence. Balor breath ing becomes erratic, her hands shaking, a rage burning both figuratively and literally inside of her. She takes another drink of mana and she grips her face and starts to slow her breathing, little by little, the cracks seal over time, until it normalizes. Then just glares at Cecilia before walking outside the room.

Mercy nodded and sighed as they left, he had not intended to have to put up an effort all of a sudden. He let them go along their way, regardless that he knew what they had, the prisoners and the vials. For some reason he didn't care, or at least, cared for it less than the soldiers lying bleeding. He began to mend their wounds of his men. For some he'd even reattach severed limbs, stitching them together like it were being done with invisible thread.

"You should regain feeling in it after a few days. Next time you'll get back when I say to get back," he says wearily, growing exhausted with each successive healing. "Trouble will come sooner than though, I imagine... well, good for you I suppose."

The men look astonished, while the healed portions of their bodies were numb, they felt almost well again, if not drowsy. It was not casualty free, however, but it wasn't as many as he expected. The cuts were skilled, clean, the dwarf was seems to take good care of his blades, thinks Mercy. He hated to think of it, though.

He took his men into the castle. Just as he walks in he sees Balor in thought, in a form he wasn't too familiar with. He had always before seen her as a beast, not something personable, almost human. Almost, it was the key word... there was still that unreadable air to her, that stagnant aura around her that feels like a phantasm's flame. Before he could speak a word she addresses him without looking.

"That... what was that, that... out-side?" she questions, being straight to the point.

"The rebels attacked," he says casually. "I drove them away."

"Drove them... a-way?" she responds quizzically.

"We weren't ready for battle, they were not either."

"You are... you are a liar... you could have crushed them... you are too tender-heart-ed... all of you, except Fort-i-tude," she says coldly, finally turning to him. "It weak-ens you... gets you... killed..."

"Sounds like you talk from experience," Mercy responds sagely, giving a defiant smirk to Balor who silently stares in response. "Your power is undeniable, your emotions unreadable... but I often wonder if what you say you want, and what you truly want are direct opposites... but then again, who am I to question you, eh?"

"Who are you, in-deed," she says, turning away and tuning him out completely.

"Well... then... good night to you never the less," Mercy says, leaving her to her own thoughts. Mercy had found her behavior odd, more odd than usual at least. For a moment, he could have sworn she cared... but then again, he thought, perhaps what he wanted and what is are two completely opposite things.

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Nigel continued his dash towards the hideout, barely believing that they had escaped that. Wait, how did they escape that? They had more manpower, they held the advantage. His mind wandered for a moment, slowing his pace some as he entered the streets. He sees no pursuit party, hears no sound of boots. It feels too much like... like they were allowed to escape, or assisted in some way. But no, that is ridiculous, he thought. More questions entered his head, from things he had heard when he was around the Exalted, and around Balor. He took a moment to look at Vigil with utter confusion on his face.

"I don get it... you are not usual to us, sure... but, why do they think your kind is some... invisible threat," he mumbles, it was directed, but it feels more like he was more asking himself. "It feels like... the more I think I know about what is going on, the less I actually do know."