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Melinoe Argent

"Don't be silly. Friends are just enemies you can't kill!" (WIP)

0 · 501 views · located in Fiore

a character in “The New Mage Guild: Amaranth”, as played by Aradia

Description

Melinoe Argent: Mel, 27 ~ Female
White Dragon, B. Rank Crimson Blade Member


~ Physical Info ~


Image
{Appearance}
(Appearance)

{Tattoo}
Melinoe's guild mark is located on her right shoulder and holds a large amount of significance for her. Its very location is meant to reinforce the strong bond that she shares with Zagreus – her tattoo opposite his own. She will often go out of her way to stand to her twin brother's left; that way, when they stand side by side, their symbols align.


~ Mentality ~

{Personality}
(Personality)

(Elaborate on the likes and dislikes here?)
For Melinoe, any individual who exhibits this personality trait are not to be trusted. She's come to believe that, over time, people who are kind are perhaps the most frightening of all. She often feels anxious and uncomfortable around those who are kind hearted – the exceptions to this being her teammates and twin brother.


{Likes} {Dislikes}
o sweets women x
o cute things kindness x
o noodles sour foods x
o Like4 (Opt.) when others feel pity or sympathy toward her x
o Like5 (Opt.) threats x
o cats showing weakness x


{Quirks}
% Melinoe is a very physical individual. She has no qualms about invading others' personal space; however, her own little personal boundary bubble is very precious to her.
% Quirk2
% Quirk3 (Opt.)

{Phobias}
Above all, Melinoe has an innate fear of losing her family – whether they are of blood relation or not.@
Melinoe suffers from a unique case of post-traumatic stress disorder. Triggered when she recalls the psychological and physical traumas of her past, she fears being controlled by it. She doesn't want this illness to hinder her or her magic capability. @


Image

~ Ability Statistics ~

{Magic-Types}
White Dragon Slayer Magic (2nd generation)

{Signature Spell}
Spell Name - (Description)

{Spell List}
~Spell-Type 1
~Spell-Type 2
~Spell-Type 3
~Spell-Type 4

{Non-Magic Skills}
# Melinoe has a knack for dressmaking and tailoring.
# Non-magic Skill2
# Non-magic Skill3
# Non-magic Skill4 (Opt.)
# Non-magic Skill5 (Opt.)

Image

~ Personal Background ~

{Biography}

Image

(Biograhpy)

So begins...

Melinoe Argent's Story

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Ravenna Character Portrait: Issabella Esther Carrington Character Portrait: Freya Hirane Character Portrait: Murmur Burns Character Portrait: Kiev Draginua Character Portrait: Zagreus Argent
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#, as written by Layla
Ravenna ~ Crimson Blade

Rose


"You bloody idiot..." were the first words that left Crimson Blade's master's lips as she awoke. The images from last night poured into her mind like an oil slick in a teacup. She considered never moving from her fetal position but was rudely shoved into full consciousness by the sound of crashing. She was not going to pay for another toaster - the little babies could do that themselves if they insisted on destroying everything the guild owned.

"The bloody idiots..."

Cursing, she shoved the blankets and swivelled her legs over the bed, wincing at the spike of pain on her left side. The wounds insisted on reminding her of her utter failure the night before and the scars they would most likely leave would be another set of ugly, humiliating network of marks on her back. Ravenna rubbed her hands over her chilly arms, utterly naked now that the Blood Magic had faded. Although some wishes she made, such as healing and the return of a lost object lasted infinitely, things like armour and weaponry did not.

Ravenna tried to not think too hard about how she'd ended up in her bed from the seat by her cello.

Tip-toeing to her closet, she opened it roughly with a bang, ripping clothes off hangers. She scrutinised the frilly red bra she held in her hand, wondering where the Hell did this come from? It looked like what a prostitute would wear if she made lingerie out of the little mermaid's red hair. With a huff, she clasped it over her chest, anyway, it wasn't as if anyone would see it any time soon. If ever. Pulling on a matching set of suspiciously innocent red panties, she grunted again. Who the Hell shops for this stuff? Ravenna shrugged on a striped black and blue top, the bagginess of it hiding the worst of her scars. Everyone in the guild knew their master was having a worse than usual day when she covered up so much, that or she was hiding non-intended injuries. Or both. Ravenna didn't know this of course. After all, as far as she was concerned, everyone in her guild was pathetically unobservant. Maybe except Murmur but what did she care what he thought?

Wiggling into black tights, Ravenna snatched a bright blue scrunchie from her dresser, keeping it between her teeth as she hopped out her bedroom door, tugging on her brown boots while simultaneously pulling her hair into a ponytail. She pushed the large, mahogany, double doors of the guild's common room open with her butt, skipping about as she pulled her boots on. Glaring pointedly at one spot, she somehow managed to glare at everyone. She had the uncanny ability of making one feel as if she were seeing into their soul without even looking anywhere near their vicinity. Ravenna had always been one to rise at around 3am due to the wretched nightmares that plagued her head, waking up any time past 4am was as good as sorcery. Waking up past eight was the end of the world.

She'd rather look disheveled and unorganised than later than she already was.

"Unnnghh," she grunted, as good of a greeting as anyone would ever get.

Crimson Blade's common room was perhaps, not unusually, very Draconian. Perfectly neat rows of heavy tables filled the large space - it was a really, really large space - flawless except for the clear signs of vandalism and battle. The numbers of bodies that had been crushed against those tables were uncountable. A stage stood in the far right of the room, facing the tables. An intimidating throne of obsidian sat imposingly on a raised dais on the stage. It was portable - with the labour of a dozen men - very practical, as far as the guild master was concerned.

A lengthy pole sat in the middle of the space, a circular hole sliced around it to allow one to slide down to the bottom floor. A wall of the common room was made entirely of glass and it overlooked the training space on the bottom floor. Ravenna liked to remind her mages to get their useless butts moving by having the sparring swords stare at them as they ate.

Even with her raven hair pulled into a high pony tail, Ravenna's black locks touched her shirt mid back. The loose fitting article of clothing slipped off her left shoulder, revealing the mark of Crimson Blade peeking over the edge of her unnaturally girlish bra. Shrugging the shirt back into place, Ravenna strolled over to the metal pole, wrapping her legs around it and sliding down. Landing quietly on her feet, Ravenna walked purposefully over to what looked suspiciously like a set of monkey bars.

Gripping the bar, she swung her body upwards, hooking her legs over a bar. Letting go of her hands, Ravenna swung upside down - pursing her lips when her shirt fell right over her head. Pulling her shirt, she tied a tight not at her waist to keep it from flipping over again. The muscles in her stomach tightened as she pulled her body up, doing upside-down sit-ups - successfully glaring at everyone in the common room with her eyes shut.

Pulling her legs from the bar, she dropped into a hand stand before flipping around and going on to Chin-ups.

'Come,' she ordered Kiev using her telepathy. A blue and red flame nudged at her peripheral mind-vision but she did her best to ignore it. She didn't want to be anywhere within Murmur's mind today.

Moving away from the monkey bars, she pulled two curved twin blades from a rack of dangerous weapons, gesturing vaguely for Kiev to 'Get your feminine ass over here before all the little screaming, pooping, babbling things grow old and die.'

Twirling the swords in her fingers, Ravenna slashed at Kiev without a warning. The knot on her off-shoulder shirt released and her long hair slipped from its pony tail, making it look as if Kiev were fighting a very fashionable teenage girl. She certainly did not fight like one, however. Sweeping her swords with deft, thoroughly practiced motions, Ravenna pushed forward, reenacting what she did the day before with Chastity, fixing the faults in her footing, wrists and body. Pressing the back of her palm against Kiev's wrist, she hooked her sword around his and smacked it to the ground with her other sword.

She pressed the her blade against the side of Kiev's neck. Yes, she would decapitate Chastity the next time they met. Nodding, she bowed ceremoniously. Though, to be honest, Kiev put up a good fight - better than Chastity in her opinion. He was undoubtedly very skilled with swords and physical combat in general. It gave his lady-parts a sprinkle of respect in her book. Perhaps she would tease him less - for five minutes.

Ravenna placed her weapons back on the rack. Sitting cross-legged on the floor, Ravenna patted the space next to her to indicate Kiev do the same. 'Come,' she called to Murmur and Melinoe. Pausing, she told Zagreus, 'Smurf.' Meaning 'come if you wish' in Ravenna-tongue.

When they were all there, she began. "There is a mission in a village by the name of Umi. Seven Virtues will be there," she said evenly. Her aqua eyes seeming to be looking at no one, yet staring deeply beneath their skins nonetheless. "It is rumoured that within the mines is a powerful crystal that allows one to control the skies. Aozora," she said simply, as if that explained it all. Although, it most likely did.

"I do not wish for Melinoe to come but if she must, you will guard her with your life," she said with quiet warning, her eyes focusing briefly on the men that sat before her. "We will depart today." Ravenna paused, looking over everyone's heads and something only she could see. "I am bored and I like shiny things."

Her lips twitching slightly into a frown, Ravenna narrowed her lids, her thick lashes falling over her eyes to cover most of her glassy gaze. "I like trees. Do you like fishing poles? What would a sword made of potatoes do? Are watermelons real? Why is the sky purple? What does it feel like to lay an egg? Have you seen a cow before?" Her eyes glazing over, Ravenna announced with wide eyes as if the single word explained all the mysteries of the world - "Foo."

Freya ~ Amaranth

Pikapika!



"Oh holy fish sticks!" Freya said with a little too much enthusiasm as she abruptly sat up from her unconsciousness. Skipping from the bed, Freya leaped into her massive walk-in wardrobe, twirling like the ballerina she was on the way.

"I'm a princess!" she yelled at the top of her girly lungs. An endless row of clothes lined both her walls, ending with a rotating Rack of Glory. Clothes of all cheerful colours filled the massive room, all of them held together by intricate ribbons the light mage had no clue how to tie. Freya was terribly late - considering she was usually to first to awaken, spreading shrieking joy throughout all of Amaranth. She did love sunlight! It was sunny, oh yes it was. "Fun, fun, fun in the sun~ Pun-pun, I'm wiggling my bum-bum, wiggling my bum-bum."

Then, it hit her.

Sudden inspiration.

Grabbing the nearest dress - no, not really. She took another half an hour searching for the perfect dress but she usually took two hours. Pulling the sapphire blue dress over her head, she struggled to force it over her full chest as usual. The lace criss-crossed front and back, meaning, Freya would never manage to make it work alone even if she'd tried. With her wavy blonde hair flying behind her like a cape, Freya raced out of her room, her cute pair of strappy white gladiators clipping on the wooden boards. Her dress, thankfully, covered most of her parts. If not for the multitude of fluttering ribbons on her back and the bareness of it all, she might've looked properly dressed.

Last night was chaotic. Potato and his mini-potato friend had gone quite mad and Izzy was forced to hurt them. Freya was greatly maddened by that, having not understood why Izzy would've wanted to hurt her little Potato simply because he was glowing a little. Okay, a lot. Luckily, the S-Class mage was not one to hold grudges and as such, didn't dwell too long on things of that sort. Optimism was always the way to go! One should never think of things past and Freya never did. At least, when she could help it.

The ring of amethyst, rose quartz and moonstone that rested on her right ring finger felt tighter than normal but Freya shook thoughts of them away. It was always best to live in the now. One had to learn to control the negativities of their minds and keep it to a minimum if eradication is not possible. It was easier said than done, of course, and harder for some than others. But it was the way Freya wished to live. Freya Hirane. Freya Hirane, she repeated to herself. It was her mantra when she felt her thoughts wander to darker places. She had to remember who she was now and she was Freya Hirane, a mage of Amaranth.

The mark of the guild rested proudly between her shoulder blades as she slapped the double doors of the guild's common room wide open.

"TAKING OFF MY PANTIES!" she sing-songed. Yes, she would greet the world with the ultimate song -I Can Take Off My Panties!

"By myself I can," Freya began singing before the entire guild, making an odd head-knocking motion with her fists as she danced round. "Take off my panties, take off my panties, take off my panties, alright! Once I’ve taken them off I’ll be an adult, I’m sure it’s a wonderful feeling of freeeeeddoomm~"

Skipping and leaping over to Izzy, Freya stood in front of the greatest person in the entire worrrrld, waiting for Izzy to tie up the complicated network of ribbons on her back while she wiggled her butt from side to side. Shaking her head to invisible music, Freya pretended to drum roll as she pointed invisible sticks at everyone in the guild, simultaneously yelling -

"Take off my panties, take off my panties, take off my panties for me!" I think I got the lyrics wrong, Freya thought cheerfully, bobbing up and down. "I'll show you how to take off my panties! Take off my panties! TAKE OFF MY PANTIES, ALRIGHT!"

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Ravenna Character Portrait: Issabella Esther Carrington Character Portrait: Sikes Keller Character Portrait: Freya Hirane Character Portrait: Sidney Allen Character Portrait: Murmur Burns
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◐
Sidney Allen
(Amaranth)


The world of dreams was an oddly serene place, considering the places it contained. The air around him was thick, it made his movements feel sluggish at times, other nights he felt like he was floating. It was a place where his body felt hallow, his skin nothing but paper, blank and colorless. Pictures around him moved like silent films, no mattered where he visited his dreams were always the same in that single respect - there was never any noise. Even when there were scenes of people yelling, slamming doors, crying, there was not a single break in the pattern. There was no background music, or black screens that held the dialogue in white text, only moving pictures with him standing on the outside.

Lately Sidney's dreams have been a lot happier than that, not performing such despicable events. His unconscious mind was replying memories over and over again, he had never once had a dream that was false, or fake. It scared him, sometimes he wasn't sure which side of the mirror was his reality. Was he the person who stood amongst the members of Amaranth? Or was he the faceless entity who watched from a third person view? His hand reached out, begging to come in contact with the image before him, but it only met with an invisible wall. It rippled underneath his touch, like fragile, penetrable water. Yet no matter how much pressure he put on the wall his body could not break though. He was took weak, unable to dive into the depths. Or was he trying to resurface?

The realm faded into darkness, the curtains drew over the final act and his eyes fluttered open. Numbers on the digital clock read as three in the morning, twenty one minutes past, fifteen..sixteen..seventeen seconds. Sidney brought the covers over his head, he continues to count. Three in the morning, thirty minutes past, twenty one seconds. Three in the morning, fifty six minutes past, one, two, three. Four in the morning, six minutes past, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen seconds. He sat up from the bed, eyes traveling over the darkness of the dorm room, and his feet met the floor. He was good at seeing in the dark, or so he thought. It wasn't very scary to him, sometimes he even enjoyed it - the world around him being obstructed and simple.

Sleeping was a bother, he would avoid it for now. Besides, he didn't feel tired at the moment, not any longer. He found himself hidden and tucked away in Amaranth's attic instead, it was a peaceful place. There was dust, cobwebs and spiders, be he didn't mind any of those things. There was a single window, allowing the light from the moon and stars to pour in, though the boy held a lantern in his hand that filled the space not touched by the luminescent light. He had carried a large quilt with him, another souvenir from his time with Judith. Squares the displayed images of nature, sewn together to navy material wrapped around his body as he huddled against the wall. His fingers and hands moved, knitting together a striped item, the task being so much easier with the help of his magic.

Two hours, eleven minutes, thirty six seconds later he fell asleep. One hour, two minutes, thirty seven seconds after that he woke up. Willing the drowsy feeling that had come over him to vanish, he forced himself to gather his things and descend back to his dorm room to get ready for the day ahead of him. A feeling of nervousness had settled in his bones, this mission being difficult and dangerous was an understatement and he wasn't sure if he was quite ready for something like this. But he was expected to improve, move forward and gain experience. Besides, who was he to refuse to at least try and help those people? Izzy and others much stronger than him were going to be with him, he didn't think they would bother with him if he would only get in the way - perhaps he really could help somehow. Zipping up his tattered backpack he tried to convince himself that they would be alright.

Sidney attempted to follow the rest of the morning like usual. He took a shower, dressed in a maroon and gold striped sweater, which was pulled over an off-white button down. His trousers were black, not tight against his frame but not loose either. His shoes were tattered, tied up sloppily, and there was a gray zippy jacket thrown over it all. Lastly he was wearing a solid brown scarf, worn both to keep him warm and hide the scars on his neck from the times doctors would poke holes in it to force him to eat, or to keep him alive. Regardless, Judith would have told him to dress for the weather, so that's just what he did. Even after getting cleaned up stains of color still marked his skin. There was a smudge of lilac across his right cheek and a line of green going across his left wrist, not to mention the numbers of colored stains on his clothes. He had no excuse, it was simply too tempting to play with his chalk while packing up, leaving his duvet with several fresh stains as well.

By the time the young boy had arrived at the main hall there was already a commotion. First there was the panty song, which he had heard while walking down the steps. It was an interesting tune, though he didn't quite understand it. Why did Freya want people to take off her panties? Was there something wrong with her fingers? He frowned, he sure hoped that wasn't the case, if that was so poor H'mong would have to fulfill their mission all by himself. How lonely. A crash interrupted his pondering thoughts, and when he walked into the room he spotted three people of interest. First there was Freya, the songstress. Then there was Izzy, who looked troubled. Lastly there was the new guy, who was actually not named 'New Guy' and was 'Sikes' instead, who seemed rather disheveled.

"Good morning." He greeted, now making his presence known around the small group. Despite doing the smart thing and saving his magic power, he decided that some of the members were in great need of cheering up. Using a little bit of hocus pocus, Sidney controlled two small stuffed animals to crawl out of his backpack, which was used to carry items he often used during jobs. Plush toys, yarn, and similar objects could prove to be quite useful regardless of what other people assumed. A small material made tiger and bear climbed out, their colors far from what nature may have intended, and previously they were without faces. Though, when his magic was used on them expressions were bestowed upon them; wide smiles and round eyes moved as if they had a mind of their own.

As the objects made their way onto his shoulder he grabbed them, placing the pink and aqua tiger on Sikes head, and having to stand on his toes to reach he placed the purple and yellow bear on top of Izzy. "Cheer up." Sidney smiled as the animals clung to the mages, but it soon faltered. They didn't quiet seem happy enough, and there was only one answer for that! More animals! So one by one the boy began taking enchanted plush toys of obnoxious color combinations and placing them on his two comrades. He didn't stop until there was ten on Sikes, thirteen on Issabella, and three on Freya, since he figured she deserved a little more cheer even if she acted to already have plenty of it. "There." He sounded proud of himself, watching as the toys clung and moved around their posts. "It's a good look."


Murmur Burns
(Crimson Blade)


Murmur's morning routine was flexible, but it rarely deviated from it's norm. The man got up at five, did a basic morning working, cleaned himself up, and prepared morning tea and a decent breakfast. Afterwards he would use his archive magic, the night before he had stored everything new he had discovered, and the morning after he reviewed the recent entries. Then he would contact some of those that worked for him, a type of employee. They were on a payroll in exchange for information and jobs that he needed them to fulfill, the only unbalanced aspect was that they could never quit. However, being fired was still a possibility, though he wouldn't pay for funeral costs.

His closet was made of outfits that were mostly similar, looser-fitting, robe-like clothing made out of smooth, thick material that was hard to penetrate with just an ordinary weapon. A type of cloth armor, if you will. Today's colors of choice was black, with hints of gray and white. Not very colorful, but his pallet was never anything striking or flamboyant. Like usual he arrived at the guild at seven in the morning, to which he noticed that Ravenna was not yet present. He should have figured as much, even a devil of a woman like her needed rest to recover, and he couldn't really argue against a morning that held a more relaxed atmosphere.

It wasn't long for her to grace them with her presence, their mistress arrived and began a morning workout of sorts. It started with a flash, in the shrewdness of definitions. Murmur was sure some people may call her choices in lingerie 'sexy', but to the blue haired man it was more amusing than anything. He drank another cup of tea as he watched the match between her and Kiev, by now making the beverage and drinking it was more of a task to occupy himself more than anything. The taste of green tea was a lovely one though, it would be impossible for him to not enjoy it.

'Come,' They were back to this point, being treated like dogs. Murmur would like to speak against it, but smartly chose not to. He wouldn't continue to push the envelope - not with what happened yesterday. Ravenna might even skin him alive, and that would be most unpleasant. So like the loyal dog she wanted him to be he did as he was told, stood and walked over to their Queen. Acting obedient and playing fetch could be irritating, but at least she didn't wish for them to roll over and play dead for her as well.

"There is a mission in a village by the name of Umi. Seven Virtues will be there," Oh, was that what this was about? Was she still ever so sore after her match with Chasity? It was just like her to go running after them without collecting any real information like this. If she was looking for a rematch she may not get it, there was no surefire way to know if their scantily dressed enemy would be there. Though, it was possible that after her loss she wished to destroy all of Seven Virtues. That too was all too much like her.

Of course, obtaining the legendary stone could be part of her motivation. It was enough for Murmur though. He had heard the legends, and perhaps he didn't previously thirst for power over the sky, but he felt desire for it now. It would aid him in his goals undoubtedly, every little thing helped. "I do not wish for Melinoe to come but if she must, you will guard her with your life," He was really grateful for his near perfect poker face, Ravenna's fondness for the female dragon slayer was almost touching, albeit a bit foolish. The girl wouldn't get any stronger if their mistress insisted in sheltering her so often, it was probably a factor in the reason why her brother had achieved the A rank before her.

Well, he would rather all of his team be with him during the mission, but if they had something else planned then he may let them do as they pleased - so long as it was important and would be beneficial. They would know that, he had already stated how he felt about such a thing long ago. Seven Virtues was a strong guild though, and they should bring with them a versatile team if they wanted to defeat them. "Foo." His eyebrows twitched upwards, curious. "Was that a joke?" Murmur hummed as if thinking it over, assessing how funny it truly was. "Not your strong point." His mouth twitched into a slight smirk and he stretched his arms above him, before letting them fall to his sides. "Your humor might as well be a rotten as your attitude." So much for playing it safe today.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Ravenna Character Portrait: Murmur Burns Character Portrait: Kiev Draginua Character Portrait: Zagreus Argent Character Portrait: Melinoe Argent
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Kiev Draginua
(Crimson Blades)


He awoke feeling sick. His body was quivering as the cold morning breeze slapped against his bare skin. He often slept in the nude, but the previous night, after his bath, he had dressed his lower body, but left his upper body exposed. Scrambling to the bathroom, Kiev vomited. Wiping his mouth, he groaned as his head throbbed. He wasn’t feeling like himself at all lately. Yesterday was proof. Standing to his feet, Kiev splashed cold water on his face to cool off. He summoned a mirror and looked into it. He looked awful. Strands of hair lay flat against his face, and using his left hand, he moved them. His stomach churned and his eyes looked glazed. Sighing, he realized that he needed to take it easy. Grunting, he proceeded to take a bath, followed by brushing his teeth and making sure he looked presentable. He got dressed in his long cloak, fitting pants and shirt before departing his apartment. He could hear Ravenna calling for him in his mind, and if he wasn’t sick, he would’ve ignored her, but her voice was making his head hurt even more.

His body began to disintegrate, transforming into tiny runes and vanishing. It only took a short amount of time before the runes began to assemble themselves together to form Kiev. He looked at Ravenna as she did her chin-ups with expertise. He smirked, and had to admit that she was fit and strong. He watched as she moved away from the monkey bars and pulled two curved twin blades from a rack of weapons that looked as if one touch would cut. Ravenna gestured towards Kiev who stepped forward hearing her voice in his head. She really was starting to annoy him with her comments about his sexuality, but he ignored it. If he hadn’t been training as much as he did, Ravenna probably would’ve decapitated him with her first swing.

A whip appeared out of thin air. This sentient weapon was passed down to Kiev through his parents, who also received it from their parents. It is a weapon of great power, and because it can move on its own, it protects Kiev with all its power. From what Kiev remembered his parents telling him, the whip couldn’t be destroyed unless Kiev was destroyed. It can’t be broken, and its edges are so sharp that it can slice through the thickest of steal. Its magical properties can dispel certain barriers, depending on the strength of the barrier. It will NEVER attack its master, and it cannot be touched by others unless they wish to die. It has hidden magic properties, but Kiev had yet to figure them out. Kiev grabbed the whip and the sparring began. Because of his sickness, Kiev wasn’t on his A game, and the battle didn’t last too long; however, he still proved to be a master at wielding his weapon. The match came to an end when Kiev’s stomach churned and he felt as if he were about to vomit again. His defenses lowered and at that moment he felt Ravenna’s cold steel against his neck.

Kiev’s whip, which he affectionately named Diablo, wrapped around his waist. He looked at Ravenna who patted the space next to where she had sat cross-legged on the floor. He sighed and moved to the spot, sitting gracefully, pushing the feeling of sickness to the back of his mind. He watched as everyone else to their spaces and listened to Ravenna as she talked.

“Aozora!” Kiev stated softly.

Ravenna began to speak again, telling the men of Crimson Blade to protect Melinoe, at least that is what Kiev got out of her words. When she spoke of them departing today, Kiev nodded, but in all honesty he did not feel up to the task at all. Standing to his feet, he looked at all of them and nodded, hoping they were ready for the departure.

“I hope you all are ready!”

Without a word, Kiev began writing runes in mid-air, showing his expertise in calligraphy. As he wrote, his aura fluxed and the runes began to slowly wrap around each of the Crimson Blades members who would be going on this mission. In a torrent of electricity and fire, the entire team vanished. They appeared in Umi Village, out of sight. Kiev fell to his knees, feeling overwhelming nausea take over his body. He grunted and looked up into the sky.

“DON’T TOUCH ME!” he yelled before anyone could.

Just as soon as the nausea began did it stop and Kiev was left panting. This had nothing to do with transporting everyone, something was wrong and Kiev could feel it.

“Let’s get this over with,” he said calmly, standing once he felt secure enough to do so.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Ravenna Character Portrait: Issabella Esther Carrington Character Portrait: Sikes Keller Character Portrait: Sidney Allen Character Portrait: Murmur Burns Character Portrait: Browen Northwind
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#, as written by Layla
Ravenna ~ Village of Umi


"Why in Hell is it sunny?" Ravenna grunted, scrutinising the sun as if it were a deformed toddler as she shielded her gaze with her hand. She heard a groan and flicked her eyes briefly to the ground to find the Kiev doubled over. She raised a brow before returning her gaze to the stupid sky - who gave it permission to be blue? Certainly not her.

“DON’T TOUCH ME!" Why would I want to touch a lady-man? "Let's get this over with," he said, rising to his feet.

With one brow raised, Ravenna put a comforting but immensely chilling hand on Kiev's shoulder. Patting his back, Ravenna nodded in understanding. "Period cramps, huh?"

"Pssst," whispered a young voice. "Pssst." Ravenna rolled her eyes, slapped a worried look on her face before turning to face the little boy - who was eight or nine years old - with short brown hair. "Come, come," he called 'quietly.' The entire world can hear your 'whispering,' dumb ass. Ravenna made a show of looking left and right before she tip-toed like a ninja over to the boy. Diving behind the bush the boy was currently hidden amongst, Ravenna rolled expertly onto her feet. If she was going to convince everyone she was a Chicken-Liver, she'd have to act like one.

Bowing, Ravenna painted a practised smile on her face - her eyes tended to give her away, though. Having a permanently tragic glaze to them but she could've been sad for many reasons. Like the malady of the villagers. Oh, yes, of course she cared. "How may we be of service, m'lord?" she asked, forcing the sarcasm from her voice.

The small boy giggled, muffling his sounds with his hand. Then, his eyes widened as he grabbed Crimson Blade's master's and began to run. It was awkward - running in the hands of someone half your size. Stumbling initially, Ravenna finally managed to run relatively normally, if rather bent over. It was terribly uncomfortable - oh woe is me, she thought with another one of her terribly popular eye-rolls. They stopped at a medium-sized hut, after the kid stopped and looked around for his captors, she assumed, several times. The boy put a finger to his lips and Ravenna nodded solemnly, resisting the urge to roll her eyes, again. You're the loud one, little muffin-top. Yes, Muffin would be his name. Muffin nudged the door open and quickly ran in, gesturing widely for everyone else to do the same. No, kid. We're just going to stand out here and sun tan.

An old woman sat hunched over a baby that was cradled in her arms as the door shut quietly behind them. The hut was filled with old people and children - the people who couldn't work in the mines as well as the adults, she supposed. It smelled of new life and death. She hated the smell of new life.

The old woman who'd been cradling the baby ran over to Ravenna - well, hobbled, which was basically old-people running. "You must be the help," she said, the relief apparent in her voice. "Thank the Heavens!" Ravenna's right eye twitched a little at the mention of 'Heavens' - 'no, I am from hell,' she wished to say but did not. They probably didn't use sarcasm in outback Fiorre - or wherever they were - not that she would've been being sarcastic, of course.

"Yes. We are Carrot Blade," Ravenna said with the best poker face the world had ever seen. "We are here to assist you in your troubles for we are kind Samaritans. We do not care for the mystical crystal you hold in your village - oh no. We are good to dog people."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," murmured the entire room. Shut up, shut up, shut up, Ravenna sing-songed in her head. "We are in desperate need of your help," the old woman continued. "Seven Virtues took my kids and all these children's parents. They're treating them like slaves!" Ravenna narrowed her eyes a fraction of a millimetre at the mention of the word. "You have to help us. We don't know what to do."

"Do not worry, wrinkled woman. We will free your people," Ravenna declared. Maybe. "Just point us in the direction of the mines that hold Aozora."

"Oh! I forgot to introduce everyone!" Oh no... OOooohhh no. "I'm Margaret. That's Lenny," she said, gesturing toward the little boy who'd brought them here. "This is Kathy," she introduced, looking down at the newborn in her arms. Fascinating - absolutely fascinating. They bothered to name it. After a million other names, Ravenna just about forgot them all as she kept an interested gaze and smile on her face.

"We must leave before your family dies," Ravenna announced, rushing out of the hut. "Farewell, my friends!"

Bullshit.

She didn't glance behind her to see if her Crimson Blades had followed - she knew they would, assumed they would. Pressing her back against a particularly humongous tree, Ravenna sliced her wrist open with the small dagger she kept under her sleeve. "Illisia," she whispered and an rippling veil fell over everyone in her group, rendering them invisible. They would still be able to be touched but they would not be seen. Ravenna hoped the veils would last long enough for-

Amaranth.

They would certainly run into them some time or if they didn't, Ravenna was always one to prefer being safe than sorry. Her bloodied wrist would attract too many questions should it be seen and she couldn't heal it now because she had to continuously offer the Demons blood for her spell to stay in place. Although, if asked, she'd say she was a depressed teenager with daddy issues. Her concentration flickering, the spell began to fade; her blood no longer evaporating into thin air like fireflies into night. Vaguely moving her hand towards a random person - Murmur in this case - she slapped her wrist into his mouth. Her blood did not taste like blood - being not quite blood. It flowed like warm honey and tasted like it, too, with saccharine vanilla undertones and a bittersweet aftertaste; smelling faintly of sugared roses and jasmines. It gave those who drank it strength and power but she never offered her blood. As far as she was concerned, it was hers and not some rare delicacy but it'd be a waste to let it drip tastelessly into the dirt. Using her teeth, Ravenna lifted up her sleeve and pulled an aqua coloured cloth from the inside lining like she'd done so so many times before. Somehow managing to wrap it around her wrist, Ravenna tied a knot with her tongue and tugged at the cloth to tighten it. It was a special cloth that Naciel had had made for her, it would keep her blood flowing for her offering without allowing the blood would show through.

Straightening her clothes, Ravenna checked her hands and everyone else's - her spell was solidly invisible once again. She turned towards Amaranth and analysed the competition. She spotted Issabella Carrington the Reaper immediately. If her skimpily dressed body wasn't enough indication, her red and green flame was. What was it? Christmas? The size of her flame was equal to K'brak's and Murmur's but whilst her flame shone with a purity, Murmur's was rather dark. K'brak's was just weird. The next person she noticed was the little girl covered in paint. Apparently she missed the memo of it being art class. From the crazed-dazed look on his face and his terrible taste in fashion, Ravenna gathered that he used Doll Play Magic or was a particularly weird pedophile. The next was a red-haired girl and with her knowledge of Amaranth, she would either be Wraith or the lady who, apparently, cooked like a Goddess. She hoped she was the latter because now that Ravenna thought about it - she was hungry. The next was a boy with blue hair whom, other than his hair colour, looked nothing like Murmur. She had no idea who he was but he looked like a tree and so that would be his name. The last was a dark hair that she didn't recognise - Another Liver would be his name.

'Come,' she ordered her Blades telepathically, gesturing towards the mines as a war general would. Except instead of code words, all she ever said was 'Come,' they weren't worth any more effort than that. Stepping soundlessly, Ravenna moved toward the entrance of the deep mines - closer to Aozora, to Blue Skies.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Ravenna Character Portrait: Issabella Esther Carrington Character Portrait: Sikes Keller Character Portrait: Sidney Allen Character Portrait: Murmur Burns Character Portrait: Browen Northwind
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Murmur Burns
(Village of Umi)


It was all going well, they had made it to Umi without attracting the wrong type of people to them. The villagers already trusted them, under the wrong impression that they were the protagonists in this setting, and Ravenna was working hard to make sure her plan had moved smoothy, using her magic to make the invisible. When she shoved her wrist into his mouth he had licked her wound, if only to see her squirm a bit. Doing so was starting to turn into a routine, and it was not necessarily a wise one. Her blood tasted odd, more like sweet food than what carried oxygen throughout the body. More important than that was the strength it would bring him, and he was truly a greedy person at heart.

Without her body distracting him he was left to study their competition; Amaranth. There was The Reaper, or Issabella Carrington. Such a person was both exciting and concerning. She was strong, but troublesome, smart, and he hoped she wouldn't catch onto who they were so quickly, if at all. If it came to the worst of it they would have to wipe Amaranth away too. Then there was the Wraith, Amaya Tanaka, who's dark based magic shouldn't be a match for Zangreus. There was Browen Northwind, who didn't threaten Murmur in the slightest, though he wouldn't overlook his presence and abilities, and there was also a person he didn't recognize. A black haired boy who must of been new to Amaranth, as he had at least a little information on all their members.

But out of all these mages, his eyes focused on one. A brown haired kid who had a paper thin body, Sidney Allen, none other than his loyal informant. Murmur's eyes narrowed, the action going unnoticed by him. What was he doing here? The boy's magic was too weak, nothing special, and his mental and physical state wasn't anything to boast about either. He would be in danger here, there was no doubt about it, and he really didn't like what was his to be damaged, or permanently broken.

From there their situation started to become less than ideal to him. Murmur looked between the members of their team. Kiev obviously wasn't at his prime, there was something wrong. Was he sick? He didn't doubt that he couldn't hold up his own during the mission, but one did not underestimate the power of infection. There was a reason why pestilence was a sign of the apocalypse, it could take down even the strongest of men, and though Kiev was more than exceptional - he wasn't one of them.

He wasn't worried for Kiev himself though, but his ability, and what burden he would turn into if his illness did more than persist. He had grown fond of the man, though he had long ago stopped looking at people with what could be considered true companionship. If anything, people were tools, and too often they were less than that. But Murmur was happy to play the role of a concerned friend, and laid a hand on the other man's shoulder momentarily. The action that could be considered comforting or worried didn't last long, as his hand soon returned to his side.

Murmur always looked after his team, he never wished them to be hurt, but keeping an eye out for all of them would prove to be difficult. Though in this case Kiev was more or less impaired, and they were under Ravenna's strict orders to protect Melinoe, though he personally had a little more faith in her than that. There was also Zangreus, who he didn't have much work experience with, and not knowing exactly what to expect out of him was unsettling. Along with this there was Ravenna, who didn't need taking care of, yet he would look over her regardless as she was such a rash human being. Then there was Sidney, his connection to Amaranth - who gave surprisingly good reports, especially when Murmur convinced him to sneak around and read important documents. He couldn't let his little pet get hurt, but if he acted recklessly that connection would be severed. If that was the case, he'd have to end the young Allen's life himself, which he didn't necessarily want to do.

'Come,' This wasn't out of his ability range though, he could handle it, and Murmur wordlessly followed their leader towards the mines. Thanks to her spell they weren't seen by anyone else, but they could see just fine. His eyes landed on a girl, lounging on a large boulder at the entrance of the mine. She didn't look very old, maybe sixteen at the oldest, if her looks were deceiving. There were people walking in and out of the mine, and only a few looked at her, the rest focusing their fearful gazes to the ground.

So this was one of the feared members of Seven Virtues, just a child. He knew they had a specific rank, going from strongest to weakest, and automatically assumed that she was near the bottom, if not the weakest of the seven. There was a long, dark sword in her hand, and he could sense there was something off about it. The people who dared look at her moved their line of vision to her, towards the sword, as if it had personally offended them. Murmur glanced over to Ravenna, then to the mine. They certainly couldn't slip in without being noticed, even when invisible, as someone could easily run into them and break the illusion. That would leave them with the underhand. No, he looked back over to the girl, if they used the element of surprise getting rid of her should be easy enough.

Industria
(Village of Umi - Mines)


She was small, short, but anyone believing her to be weak would meet an unfortunate end. The girl brushed her short blonde hair back, a trait shared amongst her master, and most of her siblings. Only the odd ones deviated from the patter. Honestly, the twins presence upset her, there was just something about them that made them different from the rest of them. Industria leaned back, but she wasn't around them right now, they were busy on another mission, something to do with a dark guild that had yet paid their debt to them. She didn't envy them, they had to do all that fighting and work, and while she didn't mind combat she also wasn't fond of it. Around her were the poorer people of Fiore, miners, who were currently under her and her brothers control, lest they disobey and meet the consequences. This was much more preferred, she barely had to lift a finger to get them to work.

A feeling tugged at her chest, it told her of danger, Temperance was fighting an enemy right now. The girl did nothing but roll her eyes and sit back up on her boulder. "How annoying." She yawned, stretching. He could handle killing them off himself, he didn't need her help. If he did then she'd ask master personally to kill him off for being weak, pathetic scum; though she knew he would just bring him back after he died. That was even more bothersome, she wished her loud mouthed younger brother would just stay quiet. Maybe she would cut off his tongue again after he was done slaughtering the opponent. Better yet, she would tear apart his vocal cords this time, and replace them with metal shards so they could never heal.

Industria stood from her seat, tightening the grip on her sword as she did so. If there were nosy people fighting Temperance, then she had to assume that they weren't the only ones worming around. If she was attacked, she had to be ready. The girl glanced to her sword, which held the abilities of fire, lightening, ice and wind at her disposal. The blade was also changeable, being able to be made shorter, or longer, curved, spiked, anything. Electrocuting people was the easiest, it was her biased way for attacking, but she could be flexible. Anything to get rid of the opponent fast and quickly, she wasn't second to the twins power and strength for nothing. If they weren't such a unit, she was sure that she'd even be regarded as the deadliest member of Seven Virtues.

Sidney Allen
(Village of Umi)


"Sidney, I need you to focus, please." The words snapped him back to reality. A town being held hostage, and a dark guild trying to obtain a weapon that would give them great power. Right, he couldn't afford to space out anymore. Sidney forced his finger nails to dig into his palms, not hard enough to puncture the skin, but the pain helped him focus. It was more of a habit than anything, he had done the same thing when listening to the tutors his parents had hired. Only back then it was just his education that would suffer, this had not only the lives of the villagers at stake, but the lives of his team mates, and his own life being threatened as well.

The people around him began discussing a battle plan; what would be the best course of action? It was clear that they needed the villagers to evacuate, get them out of here safety, because once a fight burst out then there was no guarantee that bystanders wouldn't be hurt in the crossfire. The thought of someone getting hurt if they weren't successful settled into his stomach, making him feel sick. On the other hand they couldn't let Seven Virtues get Aozora either, because once they had it the chance of defeating them plummeted. It was one thing to fight against a small number of high ranked mages, but with their abilities along with the one from a legend, it may as well be nearly if not completely impossible to defeat them. Either way, Sidney kept quiet, assuming it would be better to let those more experienced handle this.

"Our priority is not to retrieve the stone at this moment, while we can split into two teams we do not know what we are up against, it may not be too wise until we are sure." Izzy's voice echoed in his head, the word burning into his mind. Telepathy was still an odd thing, it worried him that she could dig into his mind, and such concerns mirrored on his face. It was the sensible thing for her to do, and Sidney was almost positive that she wouldn't do such a thing even if she could, so he bit down on the inside of his cheek to keep his mind at what was happening around him - not on his own insecurities.

He watched as their leader changed her armor, his mind automatically counting the pixelated squares that surrounded her. She was looking past the trees, and Sidney gripped onto the straps of his backpack, trying to prepare himself for any form of action. If anything, he could possibly distract an enemy, or use his magic to lead away villagers and use himself as a distraction. Though, nothing he made could stay animated at a large distance, he'd have to keep that in mind. Perhaps if he had the chance, he could even use Joffrey the red and gold lion to retrieve the Aozora, if it was ever left unattended that is.

As he was pondering, foolishly letting his attention be divided, a bring ball of flames flew towards them. For a moment Sidney had thought his feet to be sewn to the floor, yet someone had grasped him, yanked him away before the fireball could do any harm to him. "We don't have time to plan anything anymore." The words seemed far away, his heart was pounding and blood roared in his ears. He clutched onto the the skirt of Izzy's armor, it being the closet thing to him, and his knuckled turned white. Breath. Inhale, exhale; he couched himself mentally, the worst thing he could do is fall apart so quickly.

The boy was able to get himself together rather quickly, the attack had been a surprise, but it wasn't the worst that could happen. The adrenaline moving through his body would help him stay alert, especially when it increased later. "Amaya, your team needs to stay out here and rescue the villagers, if anything buy us time until we get back with that wizard out there." Izzy was looking at him again, her expression and body language was painful, as if she wasn't confident in her decision, always worrying. His eyebrows furrowed, his hands let go of her skirt, all that worrying was starting to rub off on him.

Brilliant black wings sprouted from her back, he took a few paces away from her as she spoke more orders. They would be fine as long as they listened to her, right? It was hard to think otherwise, in his eyes she was nearly idolized. She was leaving now, both her and Sikes, to the mine, even though she didn't know who or what waited there. The situation was complicated, but he could describe it in one simple word - scary. "Be safe." Sidney finally spoke, despite the words not being in anyway useful. To him it was admitting that he was worried as well, and that he wanted to see them again in one piece.

In the background there was approaching footsteps, moving closer and closer to where they stood. The figure had decided that they would check out the disturbed area, where pesky insects were loitering around. Besides, the villagers would not dare try to escape, or run away, by now they were too afraid to. Fire was sparking from his fingertips, he would let himself have a little fun with this, as there was nothing more exciting than seeing the life being burned from another person's eyes.

Though such sounds were not heard by Sidney, too focused on the splitting of the two teams. He could feel his magic, ready to be pulled or tugged at any moment, every bit of it under his skin. Its full potential was yet to be obtained, but he was prepared to move, and do what he could to help the others. His teeth stopped biting down on his cheek, leaving a slight taste of copper in his mouth. He would do all he could to help, even if it put his own well being at risk. After all, it was better him than anyone else.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Ravenna Character Portrait: Issabella Esther Carrington Character Portrait: Sikes Keller Character Portrait: Sidney Allen Character Portrait: Murmur Burns Character Portrait: Browen Northwind
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Sidney Allen
(Village of Umi)


Could a carrot ever become sharp enough to really be used as a blade? Sidney titled his head to the side, there was no way that could be true. The news of another mage guild being here with them was a good one though, right? If they were here to help Umi as well, then their mission would surely be a success. That was two forces joined against one, and a small portion of the nervous fear inside of him was lifted. As long as this 'Carrot Blade' would cooperate with them so they could work together, everything would be fine.

The village had been in worse shape than he imagined, there were many buildings that had been reduced to ash, and others still burning. It was clear that the people were twice as afraid as he was, and their bodies looked frail, clothes tattered and dirty. A pang of sympathy rang through him. He didn't understand how people could do this to others; violence was such a terrible thing. Sidney forced himself to look away, keeping his eyes focused on the back of Amaya's head and her brilliant red hair. This was making him nauseous, the suffering of the innocent surrounded him like a thick smog, and he had to bite the inside of his cheek to will it away. Keep alert and focused, that's what he had to do right now. Do not let the feelings of others cloud your judgement.

There was more fire, his body turned around to see it burn against Amaya's shadows. He gulped, looking towards the man wearing such an exuberant expression. A man that had the flames of a dragon, could they truly stand against it? Someone that was so ruthless, not batting an eye as he put the lives of even children in danger - it was like he had came straight out of a twisted fairytale. His heart sank as fire rain down across from them, watching in horror as it attacked houses that held people, living people inside of them. Sidney could feel himself go pale, there was no way they had the time to get everyone to safety. Their lives were not only in danger, but they were in their hands.

A rustle came from his bag, and an animal crawled out from the bottom and plopped down beside him. The boy looked down to the animal - an extremely fluffy white cat with gray splotches. "Stamps." He practically hissed at the animal, scolding him. When did that happen? He certainly didn't put Stamps in his bag while he was packing, but the animal was awfully insistent in being around him at all times. It wasn't impossible for Stamps to have climbed in while he wasn't looking. Despite how large he looked, the cat was quite light, and a heavy sleeper.

The animal sent him a look, a twinkle in his eyes, as if he knew something. Sidney blinked, yeah, what did a cat know anyways? Don't be stupid, it wasn't as if...He watched as the animal ran off to the left, pausing to look back at the group. Or more specifically, him. That was pretty odd, wasn't it? Honestly, Sidney couldn't tell, he wasn't good at figuring out what was normal and wasn't. For all he knew this was a perfectly normal cat thing, and not a weird cat thing where the animal actually knew what was going on and what to do about it.

He really didn't like his mouth tasting like blood, he forced his teeth to stop digging into his cheek. Why was making decisions so hard? Sidney glanced over to his teammates, and then at the man who was throwing fire towards them. Well, it was now or never. "I think there could be, possibly..uh.." He struggled with his words and made a noise from frustration. This was not going well. "I'll be back before you can recite the national anthem, backwards." Actually, Sidney wasn't sure if Fiore had one of those.

With one last moment of hesitation, he ran off as well, moving behind Amaya's shadows and towards Stamps, who was on the move once more. There was the guilt of ditching his teammates, but he didn't say they couldn't follow him. He followed the cat behind a few building, watching as people scrambled out from the burning ones in panic. A feeling of dread spread throughout his body. "You better have a good idea, Stamps..." The cat didn't make any action to tell him that he had understood what was said, and instead turned a corner, and lead Sidney down to an old fashioned water pump, right between the burning wall of buildings and the side that was yet to be effected.

The cat turned around and sat down next to the contraption, and at that moment Sidney felt like screaming, which was something he didn't feel very often. What was he supposed to do with this? Don't tell me that the cat was only thirsty! Stamps waved his tail in the air, wearing an almost smug expression, before looking down at a leak at the base of the machine. Within a few more moments everything seemed to click in place. So that's it. Smart cat, stupid human.

He knelled down next to the leak, looking inside of it. He couldn't see much, but it was easy for him to see the minor details where machinery was out of place and jammed. Sidney stood up and leaned against the handle, no water came out, and the gears were turning in his head, no matter how wonky and colorful those gears may be. "You're a comet, Stamps." Of course, the correct phrase was 'You're a star', but the cat didn't seem to mind. Sidney retrieved a small metal alligator figure from his backpack, quickly adding some magic to it, giving it a face and a moveable mouth that was at least sharp enough to do some damage.

The alligator was soon set on the floor, and it crawled into the leak. Stamps stood and started walking away, but Sidney stayed put, focusing on remembering what he had seen, and controlling the figure's movements. It was hard to stay focused in these conditions, especially since he could see the enemy from where he was standing, but he persevered. A harsh noise rang through his ears, and soon hissing filled the air. His eyebrows furrowed and he took a few steps back, watching the water pump with caution. Had it failed?

Just when he thought that, the metal tore away from water pressure, and the liquid shot in the air. Sidney shrieked, watching in shock as water flew up into the air. Five feet, ten, fifteen feet! That was a lot of water, and what comes up must come down. It cascaded downwards, filling a radius of about ten feet, taking care of the flames closest to him. But the area soon started to flood, and his shoes starting sinking into the mud as water pooled around him. Drops of water soaked into his clothes, and even Stamps had gotten wet. So the cat was a genius after all. Not only could the flooding extinguish some flames, but it would prevent the fire from spreading - at least to an extent.

However, Sidney looked over to the buildings that were still consumed in fire, it wouldn't completely solve the problem. Stamps was walking again, this time towards the fire and the sounds of panicked people. He pulled onto his scarf, nervous, this was almost too much and now the cat wanted to go even further away from Amaya and Browen? It was too dangerous, right? If that man showed up, he'd be toast, literally! Stamps paused and sent him another look, and the thought of innocent people dying filled his head again, making it pound. He couldn't just stand around either, and there wasn't time to go back. Sidney forced his legs to move, until he was running towards the chaos. This really wasn't a good day for him at all.




Industria
(Village of Umi - Outside the Mines)


"How loud." Industria was looking towards a tree, which had met an unfortunate fate of being attacked by a young man who was making quite a ruckus. He was making too much noise, had he really intended to fight her like that? So headstrong and direct - it reminded her too much of her younger siblings. Both Chasity and Temperance found thrill in theatrics, always trying to stir something out and gather the attention of the whole world. The short haired girl clutched onto her sword, holding it in front of her in a battle ready position, but the rest of her body stayed relaxed.

The thing about her younger siblings though, they could never defeat her. If they were to attack like the ocean she would be the mountain, if they moved like shadows she would become the light. No matter what way people approached her she was able to become their perfect opposite, using their weaknesses to rip them to shreds. People have seen her as weak because she never attacks first, those were the ones that were actually fun to kill. All the others just blended in, an endless path of faceless bodies that rested in her mind.

He was rushing towards her, his hand a large, dark fist. Yet she stood without blinking, sword raised to the ready. The best way to fight an opponent was to let them attack first, study their magic, techniques, and to counter that so they could never leave a scratch on her. "ΑÎŊÎŦĪ€Ī„Ī…ΞΡ." The sword twisted at her command, the heat-treated steel moving away from it's center, spreading out in the air. The metal moved outwards like a shield, protecting her from the oncoming attack. The material would be too strong, not only by natural means, but from enchantments as well.

Her eyes peeked out from a hole in the steel shield, her grip on the sword's hand steady, holding it all in place against the boy's strength. Her feet had moved backwards on the impact, though only moving back by a few centimeters; she had to admit, it was impressive. Perhaps she would have a lot more fun fighting, and killing this enemy than she had first assumed. Industria's face didn't show a hint of emotion, contrasting greatly with his excited one. "ĪƒĪ€Î¯Î¸Îą." Her mouth spoke another command, and the weapon responded - sending a thousand electric sparks from it's metal towards the boy and the appendage that dare touch it.


Murmur Burns
(Village of Umi - Mines)


They wouldn't be the ones to make the first move after all. Nor would they have to worry about Amaranth's current location, at least two of them were already here - no even aware that a group of villains stood in their midst. Issabella and the boy he didn't recognize had made quite a grand appearance. The lady was wearing a pair of dramatic wings, and the boy hadn't hesitated in squirming away from her hold and falling down to the tree below. Well, the boy wouldn't be so much of a mystery to him now. Murmur watched as shadows pulled around him, forming a large first, before he sent himself flying towards the Seven Virtues mage. Not an approach he would vouch for, being the strategist he was, but you had to get the job done somehow.

Inwardly he felt a form of glee, satisfaction from the latest turn in events. Not only could he catalog the girl's techniques, but he could learn more about this mystery boy as well. His eyes were moving between them, studying their movements, their offenses, defenses. The girl was relaxed, almost too much so, she held the sword with her arms, her legs steady against the boulder, but the rest of her seemed...bored. Even her eyes looked heavy, as if they would fall and bring her into a slumber any moment now.

The next actions were imminently burned into his memory, stored away for later use. From this distance Murmur couldn't understand what she was saying, but her sword quickly formed a barrier around her. The metal spread and stretched, making sure that the attack would leave her uninjured. He watched as her eyes opened back up, and he could tell she was suddenly interested - though he couldn't tell why. The young mage did seem to have an interesting type of magic, something beyond simple dark magic, but perhaps that was the paranoia talking.

Well, this was their chance, they might as well take it while their opponents are distracted. "Let's go retrieve the Aozora." It was the most sensible action to take. The Seven Virtues mage, or mages, would be focused on fighting Amaranth. He had never been so happy to see a light guild before, they had just made their mission so much easier. They could have used the fighting to improve themselves, but if he's patience a conflict will arise - there was no reason to throw themselves into battle at the moment.

He sent his team a glance, expecting them to follow. They still didn't know if this was the only Seven Virtues mage around, or what lurked in the mines either. He could always go it alone, but it was best to have his team at his side. They didn't know what kind of firepower they would need to retrieve the Aozora, and the more eyes and ears they had the better. Ravenna and Zangreus on the other hand, he didn't particularly care what they did at this point - so long as they didn't act recklessly. He didn't think they would though, they were too smart and experienced to make rookie mistakes.

Slipping into the mine had been an easy task, both thanks to the distraction outside and the invisibility enchantment. That had worn off by now, leaving them visible to the few men that lingered in the dark. There were lights overhead, floating in the air and guiding the way. The people looked at them with fear and apprehension, not sure if they were friends or foes, and ultimately didn't speak a word. Seven Virtues truly was a brutal guild, they had no mercy for others, no matter how young, old, or sick. Murmur guessed that to them that anyone was fair game, anyone that was breathing was a potential target.

"Look what we have here." Oh. He recognized that voice, though he didn't expect to hear it again so soon. A woman appeared in front of them, wearing the same armor that allowed her to disappear, just like last time. Her claws however, were different, being shorter and bulkier this time. He wondered what their ability was. Last time she had used poison, perhaps she had a pattern of using weapons that would effect the human body by similar means? In a flash her armor changed as well, being mostly black cloth. He rather disliked requip magic, it always left him in the dark about their abilities.

Murmur didn't want to honor her with a greeting, she had been too much trouble last time, he wasn't going to let her get away a second time. He summoned a card to his hand, flipping it over to reveal The King of Pentacles - granting him the ability to use both strong fire and earth magic. A smirk crossed his face, he was a lot more luckier this time. Unsurprisingly, since it was a lucky day for Capricorns. His lucky item made sure to double that luck too, all he had to do was bring along a package of salt, which was stored in his pocket. This would be over in no time at all.

With a flicker of movement the pieces of earth beside Chasity hurled upwards, their surface hot and ends pointed, but when they made contact with her body the material just passed through her. His eyebrows shot up, oh he really hated requip magic. The image in front of them that was 'Chasity' vanished into smoke, and her manic giggles echoed around them. "Illusions in an unfamiliar mine, not bad.." It really was a clever choice, who was to say that where they were standing actually looked like this? He glanced behind them, a wall suddenly blocking what was once a path leading to the entrance. He chuckled, there was no sure way to tell what was real or not now. "Be careful," He warned, taking a few steps forward. "She likes to appear out of no where." Just like an animal, and it was really starting to bother him.

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Characters Present

Character Portrait: Ravenna Character Portrait: Murmur Burns Character Portrait: Kiev Draginua Character Portrait: Zagreus Argent Character Portrait: Melinoe Argent
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∞ Kiev Draginua ∞
(Village of Umi - Mines)


He appreciated it. The moment of false care, or whatever those in the guild showed while he felt this way. He wasn’t scared, nor was his senses impaired in any way. Honestly, he was worried he wouldn’t be able to finish the mission, and that pissed him off in more ways than one. Every mission he had been on was successful. He has never failed a mission and he didn’t intend on failing this one. He gathered his strength, looking around at those in the guild before watching Ravenna scurry off. He was feeling slightly better, which was a good sign, but he had to be careful. He decided it was best to just follow the Blades just to see where this kid was leading them to. When they arrived at a little hut, Kiev stayed outside, leaning against a tree, waiting for them to reemerge.

When Ravenna emerged from the hut, Kiev could only smirk, feeling way better than he did upon their arrival. Perhaps it was just a stomach virus that he had, one that didn’t last very long, but he wasn’t going to take any chances. The moment he got a bit of free time, he would work on a spell to cure him. Sighing, he watched Ravenna, Murmur, Zagreus, Melinoe, and the others. His eyes settled on Melinoe, the girl who constantly accused him of attempting to take her brother away. If he hadn’t known any better, he would’ve thought she was jealous, or maybe she was, he wasn’t worried either way. Still smirking, he watched them all with odd eyes. When Ravenna slit her wrist, Kiev prepared himself. The veil fell upon them, causing them to become invisible to all. This was risky, and Kiev hoped that Raveena had enough blood for this spell of hers to last until they reached the mines. He mentally rolled his eyes, but followed behind Ravenna.

Kiev watched those he passed by closely. It was then that his eyes set on Amaranth members. The first he saw was Issabella Carrington, and he only recognized her because he had seen her once or twice, and she was indeed the talk of the town so to speak. Issabella had made a name for herself, and Kiev couldn’t help but smile. Truth is he had always had a crush on Issabella from the moment he saw her, though he would take that secret to his grave. Sighing, he noticed the other guild members, but didn't pay them as much attention as he did Issabella. He continued walking, following Ravenna, wondering about Freya. He remembered the girl and wondered why she chose to defect to Amaranth. It caused Kiev to wonder who in Crimson Blades would be the next to defect to Amaranth or some other goody too shoes guild. Walking into the mine, Kiev took in his surroundings, noticing mages here and there, especially the ones belonging to the Seven Virtues guild. He kept quiet, not talking, but simply walking. It was relatively easy to slip into the mines, being that the Amaranth guild had taken the initiative to “attack” or in Kiev’s words, “distract” the Seven Virtues.

As the spell that allowed them invisibility vanished, Kiev glared. He had observed the fighting that had broken out between Amaranth and the Seven Virtues. He observed their magic for as long as he could. At some point he would have to fill his mimic database with magics, but first he would have to find magics worthy storing into his mimic database. Kiev looked around at the fear and apprehension he saw in the eyes of those held captive. A voice came, and as Kiev turned he saw a female. Her voice was familiar, very familiar, but Kiev did not move. Something was happening around them, and he didn’t like it. Illusion magic was something he despised, though he had always been able to see through them, thanks to his whip, which dispersed such magic from his view, but this was different in a sense and he’d have to be careful. He watched Murmur move into action, attempting to slam the girl in between two boulders of rock that had been heated to add more injury. Unfortunately, the rocks passed through the illusion of the girl and Kiev smirked.

“This should be funâ€Ļâ€Ļ” he said softly his whip slowly uncoiling, ready to strike if any came near him. He kept his eye on Melinoe, and kept his spiritual eye on his surroundings.

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Character Portrait: Ravenna Character Portrait: Murmur Burns Character Portrait: Kiev Draginua Character Portrait: Zagreus Argent Character Portrait: Melinoe Argent
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#, as written by Layla
Ravenna ~ Village of Umi


"She likes to appear out of no where."

"Way to state the obvious, man clam," Ravenna said drily. Murmur had the head of a sea creature as far as she was concerned, and other than fish, clams were the only other ocean dwellers she could think of. Wait, clams were the weird wiggly things with the edible tentacles, right?

Ravenna eyed the spot where the blonde bimbo had been. She was even more obnoxious in illusion form than she was in solid. Honestly, you'd think there'd be a limit to how much space idiots could waste. But no, apparently there was no limit to stupidity. It disgusted her to think she breathed the same air Chastity did, it was almost as sickly as the smoke Suoh and K'brak insisted on filling themselves with. There were easier, cleaner, less air polluting ways to die. It reminded her of the breaths of all the rotten men that - I like cows.

Darting her gaze around the dimly lit mines, Ravenna creeped towards the light that burned from the torches along the walls. She really, really didn't like pitch black darkness. In fact, she didn't like enclosed spaces, either, and she disliked creepy crawlies almost as much as she despised weakness. Almost. Forcing her spine upright, Ravenna squared her shoulders against the chill of the suffocating space. It reminded her of the horrible cellars they'd kept her in, the restrictions, the unrelenting darkness of nothing. Casting a glance at Murmur - the bloody observant reversed mermaid - she prayed to Satan he wouldn't notice her unusual jitteriness. God, she hated the guy. Why did he have to be so two-legged?

Dragging her attention from the invisible spiders she saw along the walls and the man clam near her, Ravenna took Melinoe's hand in hers. She didn't want the girl out of her sight and she didn't trust any of the men enough to take care of her. What if Mel wandered? What if Chastity attacked? Zagreus' reflexes were crap as far as she was concerned, Murmur was as useful as a paper bag dancing in the wind and Kiev was on his period.

"You will follow," she told Melinoe, as if she'd given the girl any choice with her hand around hers. Ravenna threw Zagreus a sweet smile, as if to mock - I can tear your sister to pieces and she would still love me. Mel was a great tool for controlling the disobedient Zagreus. Ravenna had saved him from sexual servitude under his last master because Zag had reminded her of him. It was a spur of the moment, a mis- No, she didn't regret it. But you'd think he'd have more gratitude for his saviour. Well, it was better this way. Seeing him too often would only cause everyone unnecessary... Distraction.

The bleeding of Ravenna's wrist had long stopped by now and Ravenna, being used to pain and the destruction of her "shell" after living with it for as long as she could remember, took no care for her new scar. It was merely another atom in her bodily canvas of imperfections. She slipped around the mines with Mel in tow, manoeuvring through the painfully compact paths. She was following her instincts, or rather, the strangely interconnected flame of Chastity. Surely, she would be wherever Aozora was.

She was.

"Took you long enough," Chastity said cheerily. Ravenna couldn't believe what she was seeing - the mage wore even fewer clothes than last time. How was that possible? She was practically naked. Ravenna resisted the urge to smirk; she had just the thing - the person - in mind for Chastity. The idiot would not understand what hit her.

"I apologise for keeping you waiting. Kiev here needed moral support," Ravenna replied, indicating said mage with her chin. "He just had a miscarriage. Sad, really. It was Murmur's child. Now he is not only half a woman, but half a wife," Ravenna tsked.

Without missing a beat, Ravenna spoke in the language of Hell, "Jas dee Perzefona cre sajsi feren se oblivie." The ground beneath Ravenna split open, revealing the flaming depths below. The screams of the tortured, damned to burn for eternity, creeped from the red hollows. Ravenna fell into the fiery pits and in an immediate eternity, she reemerged from the depths as the ground closed into what it was before, the red glow diminishing into the dimness of the mines. Persephone rested on the ground, her body unmoving in rest. Dark eyelashes brushed against her cheeks, her lips a pale, gentle pink. Where Ravenna's scars once rested was a back of flawless skin, with shoulders painted in silver markings.

Persephone opened her eyes.

"Whatever it was, I took no part in it!" she said immediately, bolting upright. Persephone's eyes of iridescent emerald fluttered over the crevices of the dark walls and the people who did not matter to land on - "MURMUR!!!" Persephone squealed in delight, jumping to her feet to tackle Murmur to the ground. "Oh my dear, sweet tushy. I have waited millenniums to see you once again. Have you missed me dearly, my love? Oh, how arduous our love is!" Persephone gushed in Ravenna's body, pressing her cheek into Murmur's hair as she squished his head to her soft chest in a crushing embrace.

"This is rather amusing but I'm on a tight schedule," Chastity spoke from seemingly miles away. Persephone narrowed her eyes before pulling herself begrudgingly away from Murmur to stand and face the... What was she? Her fashion sense indicated a creature of lower class. Persephone clicked her tongue - a habit inherited from Ravenna; although the Takeover Spirit did not realise she was a Takeover but truly believed she was Persephone, Queen of the Underworld. Perhaps she was; no one quite knew. Persephone shook her head, observing the clawed 'woman' distastefully.

"Your garments fell into disuse last century, asexual, lesser demigod," Persephone said monotonously, utterly different from her previous display of enthusiasm toward Murmur. Of course, he was her Duke of Hell. This thing before her was something else entirely. Persephone used an unusual form of Confusion Magic, in which everything she said would appear to be truth and her victims would not be able to do anything but believe her every word. As most of what Persephone said was complete nonsense - one would be lucky to not live his or her entire life in everlasting confusion, simply because of one nonsensical thing Persephone babbled.

"In order to understand that Walnuts should be illegal, you need to realise that everything is controlled by a group of Peanuts made up of Walnuts with help from Macadamias. The conspiracy first started during The Rise of the planet of Nuts on Planet Earth land. They have been responsible for many events throughout history, including The Battle of Protein.

"Today, members of the conspiracy are everywhere. They can be identified by their nut scratching. They want to Crunching on nuts Raisins and imprison resisters in Nut factory using Conveyer belt. In order to prepare for this, we must destroy all nuts. Since the media is controlled by Pine nuts, we should get our information from Sunflower seeds,"
Ravenna-Persephone took a breath before placing her hands on Chastity's shoulders. Persephone held her lips in a frown as she caught the Seven Virtues mage in a serious gaze to the death. "You have been chosen to guard nuts in the faraway land of Chocolate Chip Factory. You must save them quick, before The Battle of Protein II destroys all Grandparents."

Persephone exhaled and leaned against Murmur, staring at her nails in deep concentration. Her gaze drew upwards as her head rested in the crook of Murmur's neck. "Do you like my nails, honey plum? I had them done of the blood of small children," she explained before giggling. "Just kidding! No, not really... ZAGREUS! MELINOE!" Persephone jumped away from Murmur to suffocate her two children in her infamous hugs of 'love.' "Oh my lovely children. How have you been? We have not seen one another in two moons!" Pulling back, she said quickly, "Him and I do not know one another. I do not even know Murmur's name. Where is your father?" she asked nervously, her gaze searching every corner in search of the dark and brooding Hades. She did so hate being wedded to him.

"Aphrodite," Persephone acknowledged, giving Kiev a curt nod. "You must limit your intake of infants, my dear. You almost look to be half a man." Persephone paused for a long moment, giving Kiev a comforting pat on the back. "He must have been particularly excited. It will not always hurt so," she said. Clearly, Aphrodite had lain with a particularly rough man, from the expression on her... Was that facial hair?

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Character Portrait: Ravenna Character Portrait: Murmur Burns Character Portrait: Kiev Draginua Character Portrait: Zagreus Argent Character Portrait: Melinoe Argent
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â€ģ
Murmur Burns

(Village of Umi - Inside the Mines - Aozora)


In a blur he was tackled to the ground by no other than Persephone, one of his preferred takeovers of Ravennas. The Queen of the Underworld squealed, soon babbling on about their love. He let himself smile, amused by her actions. "I miss you like eyes that cannot see." Murmur didn't mind putting up with this, as long as she proved to be useful. Besides, it would be a lie for him to claim he didn't find a little childish fun in it. The moment was over when the Seven Virtues mage interrupted, and he soon found himself standing yet again.

Nonsense words rattled around in his head as the Persephone talked, first and the blonde enemy and then at the others, but this also did not last. Chasity scoffed and crossed her arms, clearly offended by Persephone's earlier comment - Murmur nearly forgot that she was there during the commotion. "As if I care about the Chocolate Chip Factory, or grandparents!" She seemed to believe what the takeover spirit had said, however she didn't seem interested in leaving them alone. Her nose scrunched up during her pout and a moment later her face relaxed. "I'd rather play instead." Her lips tugged into a smirk and her form disappeared into smoke. It was only another illusion, the real Chasity was still hidden.

He was no stranger to this kind of magic, he himself has had the pleasure of using it himself whenever he drew The Moon arcana. Her ability was starting to appear limited, weak illusions that she used to distract her pray, while in contrast The Moon could create an entirely different environment. The area around them was quiet, if it wasn't for the five living bodies in the mine there certainly would only be dead silence. Murmur didn't bother trying to approach the Aozora, instead he focused his mind on using his senses to try and pinpoint where their enemy was hiding. He rather didn't like people who tried to play games with him. The man was hardly a mouse, and the woman a poor excuse of a snake.

The sounds from the others irritated him, his ears weren't as good as they once were, and the extra noise was hard to filter out. As the seconds passed by he organized the sounds around him, specifically the breathing from the other four, until he found the sound that didn't belong. Slow footsteps, if it had been any louder he wouldn't have been able to catch them. His body stiffened at the realization that she was approaching them from behind; not out of fear but from provocation, and animalistic excitement. Murmur forced his body to relax, continuing to face forward, allowing her to become closer and closer to what she assumed to be unsuspecting pray. He fixed his gloves in what could be considered a nervous manner, but in reality he felt no such emotions.

It happened over a matter of seconds, her actions predictable and identical to her tactics from the fight before. The blonde became visible to their eyes, displaying that she was wearing the armor that she had worn in their last battle, but her new claws remained. He didn't need to turn and face her, he didn't move at all, aside from a small jerk in his right hand. The rock from the ground below and the ceiling above erupted in motion, both cascading downwards an upwards in their own respects. Chasity didn't have time to respond, the earth surrounded her from all sides, crashing down around her until only her right arm was visible and limp.

This wasn't a trap, the rock twisted and turned, applying pressure to her body without mercy. Murmur stood still, only glancing backwards as she started to exude the most disgusting screams. They rang in his ears and bounced off the walls, filling the cavern with her painful whaling. Crimson blood began flowing out of the earth, and the cries ceased, leaving them again with stunted silence. He tugged at his magic to let the rock fall and rise, back to where it had been originally, causing her blood to drip down to the pool on the floor.

Thrill coursed through him, bringing spasms to his muscles. He could feel his heartbeat rise, booming in his ears over and over again as he head started to feel numb. It had been such a sweet sound, the noise of her bones crushing under the earth he controlled, her dying screams. Pleasure poked at him from under his skin and a thirst rose from within him. He wanted to do it again, over and over. For a moment his eyes darted to Melinoe, then Zagreus, then Kiev. Would it be just as simple to kill them too? Or would they give him a fight to remember - a hunt that would satisfy him like no other? Repetitive words rang in his head, their letters burning on the backs of his eyes so only he could see.

Kill them. Kill them. Kill them. Kill them. Kill them.

He willed them away. He told the voices not now, not yet.

Her death was without a doubt messy. The woman's body laid on the floor, wearing her default outfit and bent at unnatural angles thanks to her twice broken spine and neck. Chasity's bones had been crushed, her corpse appearing mangled - skin being torn off and soaked with blood. So she had only talked big game after all, his mind told him that there was no way for her to still be alive, unnatural healing or not. Murmur turned to face her for a moment, eyes narrowing, no, something was off. His eyes met her own, still open, and he realized that it wasn't a dead stare, but instead she was looking at him.

A new sound arose, one of her body being put back together. Shattered bones formed into a whole, her skin melted back as if it had never been damaged in the first place, and as she stood back up her spine snapped back into place. Chasity laughed as her body repaired itself until the only trace of the attack was the blood on the floor and the red stains on her skin. "Didn't I tell you?" She giggled again, her body shaking with joy, unafraid. The girl reequipped her black armor that would allow her to make illusions, her expression one of mania. "But I have to admit, no one has made me feel like that in a long time." Chasity sent him a wink, and in that moment she multiplied - filling the area around them with hundreds of copies, hiding the real one within the masses of bloodthirsty faces.

Setting

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Character Portrait: Ravenna Character Portrait: Murmur Burns Character Portrait: Kiev Draginua Character Portrait: Zagreus Argent Character Portrait: Melinoe Argent
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#, as written by Layla
Ravenna ~ Mines of Umi


Persephone laughed. Oh, my bloodthirsty Murmur, she thought affectionately. The mines felt very warm, did it not? Yes, it did. She wondered why the universe bothered to give Murmur clothes - indeed, the rules of modesty should not apply to her lovely Earl of Hell. He needed to be sculpted in obsidian, embedded in the rarest of gems and put on display in her boudoir. Well, the real him sharing her beds would be preferred but-

The unfashionable Hermaphrodite writhed on the ground as her bones snapped together with a sickly crunch. Persephone raised a brow as she watched the creature repair herself in a rather unladylike manner. Honestly, the thing clearly had parents of little courtly manners. Ah, it mattered not. She would soon die, anyway, and the world would be rid of her terrible temperament and taste.

Or not.

"I have to admit, no one has made me feel like that in a long time," the creature said manically as it - oh no you didn't - winked at Persephone's lover. She would die with excruciating speed in the worst possible way. How dare she wink at her one true love?

"You, Hermaphrodite," she growled, an staff with an arched head rippling to existence in her hands. "You are unloved and unappreciated. Deep inside your soul made of the wrinkly grandfather of grapes - raisins - lies a dog that is desperate to be loved and petted. You cannot see Murmur - you can see no one but me. You cannot move because you are captivated by that rock over there," she said, gesturing at Aphrodite. "It is the sexiest rock you have ever seen and you wish to mate with this rock."

There appeared to be multiple Hermaphrodites - Hades forbid it. Could it be? The world was filled with these... Things? "You wear tissue paper over your skin of Jell-O and your armour lost favour a millennium ago. You require makeup for your face looks to be a fishing pole."

"Most people believe that the bodice ripper around a guardian angel pours freezing cold water on a necromancer near a cigar, but they need to remember how accidentally an impresario about a coward ruminates. He called her Scheherazade (or was it Timosha?). Sometimes a stalactite takes a coffee break, but the lowly pocket always plays pinochle with the swamp over a debutante! A menagÊ à trois toward the bride derives perverse satisfaction from an underhandedly rhetorical impresario," she continued, her scythe now fully formed in her right hand. The large blade curved and glistened even in the darkness of the mines, the chain - heated of Hell's flames - curled intimidatingly as if it were a serpent scaring its prey.

"Chair number eleven is cosmopolitan, having trained the greatest assassin of Earth Land. Sir Chair is letting heartbreaking lies roll over us like a summer breeze," she continued, spinning her scythe above her head as if she did it everyday - which she did. Those imps needed a lesson or two every other hour and some souls required extra misery. Her heated chains slapped the illusions as she continued swinging her chains. "You cannot use illusion magic. You cannot heal. Your only power is to turn yourself into a reversed centaur.Your name is Homer Simpson and you have eighteen kids, all of whom are carrots with creatively drawn faces on them."

Persephone huffed, sighing dramatically as she strolled nonchalantly towards Aphrodite. "You should consider shaving, Aunt Aphro," she said as she patted the manly woman on the shoulder. She did not and could not see what those men saw in her. This was the Goddess of Love? Were masculine breasts the new court fashion? Persephone cupped her breasts in her hands self-consciously - was she not sufficiently flat? That was why... That was why Murmur had been so distant lately! Persephone sniffed tearfully. "It's because I'm too big, isn't it? Is that why you no longer love me? Because my backside is too attractive? Do I make you feel inferior and lesser?" Well, everyone was, compared to her but - "You should abandon your pants. You do not need them."

Narrowing her eyes, she let her gaze drift over Zagreus' scantily clad body - dear lord, was she even wearing a bra? Hades' Hell! Was Melinoe wearing a bra? "Hades be damned!" Persephone cried as she jumped to her feet, leaping dramatically towards them as she slapped her hands onto Zagreus' chest. "You are flat! My balls, wear some melons!" Turning to Melinoe, she slapped her son's chest. "Explain this sorcery, Melinoe. What are these man breasts you possess?" Glaring at Zagreus, Persephone slapped her buttocks.

"Stand tall, infant girl. I did not carry you in my uterus and have your unnaturally large head force itself through my fallopian tubes to have you slouch as if you had a manhood to guard. Curses, child. You have grown so tall, you could not fit in your dresses if you wanted to." To emphasise her point, a Ham Costume appeared in Persephone's hands. Zagreus' mother forced the Ham over his head but it fit only his upper body - leaving his long legs exposed.

"You see?! You are half a can of ham! Half a can!"

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Character Portrait: Ravenna Character Portrait: Murmur Burns Character Portrait: Kiev Draginua Character Portrait: Zagreus Argent Character Portrait: Melinoe Argent
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Murmur Burns
(Village of Umi - Inside the Mines - Aozora)


"You, Hermaphrodite," Murmur nearly groaned, it was like watching a boulder hurl towards him and not being able to do anything to stop it. Persephone's confusion magic could be more than beneficial but she used it, oh what was the word, excessively? She had no problem using it against her allies. Any weaker mage could be made into a dancing puppet, even stronger individuals could fall victim to acts of lunacy if they weren't careful - or prepared. Which is exactly what he was, prepared that is. As the woman talked on and on about nonsense, sending Chasity into a daze of delirium, Murmur pulled out a pair of earplugs and placed them in his ears. Sweet silence, magic items really were a gift to them all.

The clones were sent into a frenzy. Half of them were focused on Persephone, while the rest of them seemed to have gained an abnormal attraction to a large rock. They stared at it longingly and the others walked closer towards the vocal woman, wearing scowls and glares on their faces, claws at the ready. Of course, they were but illusions. Murmur looked around the cavern, trying to pinpoint where the real Chasity was. For all they knew she was long gone, or preparing her next move; she was rather good at slipping away. Though, he looked back to the angry faux Chasities, it looked like she was still being affected by Persephone's magic, at least to an extent. Wouldn't it be considered quite scary for such a strong, high ranking mage to be hindered by such silly spell work? He supposed it would be.

Persephone was reading her scythe weapon, though that didn't mean she had just started getting serious. After all the woman may seem a bit out there, but she truly was murderous and ruthless all the same. The chains attacked the false figures, making them disappear in a cloud of smoke and Murmur began doing the same with fire and earth whenever they got too close. Then, they all disappeared, leaving the five of them to themselves not far from the Aozora. Chasity was no where in sight, leaving him feeling like they had been subject to a rather anticlimactic resolution. Had she fled? Murmur continued to study the area around them, not being able to find any clues to where she had gone. Perhaps she had realized the amount of power Persephone's magic had and decided to leave until she could get a better grip on herself? That, or she was watching them from the shadows again, waiting for the right moment to attack. He found the idea of that approach both cowardly and intelligent. It would be foolish to continue to fight the five of them albeit, it wasn't very exciting, and long ago he realized that more than anything the woman enjoyed a good thrill or a rush to get the adrenaline pumping.

He didn't take his earplugs out until after Persephone was finished talking to him - who knows what she was babbling on about. Before he knew about her abilities he ended up in many embarrassing positions, something a person who had a professional reputation to maintain didn't want in the slightest. Murmur would rather keep his clothes on and god forbid the take over manage to get him in bed. He wasn't sure if he could handle Ravenna's wrath the morning after. Would she go all out on him? Without any mercy, not holding herself back? He could confidently say that she would, and he'd end up being incapacitated for quite awhile. He would do his best to avoid such a fate.

"You see?! You are half a can of ham! Half a can!" Murmur was sure that he didn't want to know what Persephone was going on about, and instead of looking in her direction he strolled over to what they came for in the first place, the Aozora. The stone was embedded in a wall of rock at the end of the mine. It was quite appealing, shining strongly despite being buried for so long, as if it just been polished not long ago. The man removed his right glove before running a bare finger over it, the surface smooth opposed to rough. Oddly enough, he didn't sense any magical presence form it, but that didn't necessarily mean there wasn't any. It could just need a little push. He felt the magic within him move, and he channeled it towards the stone, but nothing happened. Next he attempted to move the earth around it to break it free from it's prison, yet he couldn't effect the rock that surrounded the stone. Was it being protected by a different spell? Murmur frowned and exhaled, this was a puzzle he was having troubles solving, and he already had quite the headache.


-----


Unknown to Murmur, there was a woman approaching them from behind the group. Oh how stubborn the bloodthirsty are. The magic from Persephone had forced her to switch back into the armor that allowed her to hide in plain sight, invisible to the eyes of others. Words boggled her brain yet she pressed on, her mission was to protect the Aozora, and to kill anyone that got in the way. The orders from her master was strong, and her love for murder was nearly as great as her loyalty to the man that created her. Chasity prepared herself, coming behind Kiev, who seemed to be of lower rank than that monster of a woman. Her body twitched in excitement, one by one they would fall, then she'd never have to deal with their meddling again, and master would be so pleased with her - maybe he would let her kill just for the fun of it!

She couldn't hold herself back anymore, there would be no more playing around. The woman's gaze was locked on the neck of the man with the longer, black hair. That would be a good place to attack, or perhaps... Chasity moved in front of him, her mind continuing to try and block out the echos of what the woman had said. What kind of magic was that? It wasn't like anything she had experienced before, how bothersome. She readied her claws, moving into a stance to pierce his abdomen. Once she attacked she would no longer be invisible - she had to kill this man quickly and disappear again lest that woman get in her head again. She grinned and leaped, once again visible to others, and her weapons aimed at her target - only mere feet away from her.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Ravenna Character Portrait: Issabella Esther Carrington Character Portrait: Sikes Keller Character Portrait: Murmur Burns Character Portrait: Kiev Draginua Character Portrait: Zagreus Argent
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Not expecting such a quick reaction to his attack, Sikes looked wide eyed at the one he attacked as she blocked and countered right back at him with ease. Was she really at such a higher level then he was? In a perplexed state, he watched as the lightning attack aimed right for him. In a sudden blur, he then witnessed Issabella appear in front of him, guarding him from the attack with some form of shield.

"I don't intend on letting anyone die today, so stop trying to kill yourself."

Sikes just got annoyed by the fact that she claimed he was trying to kill himself as he replied back, "I'm not trying to kill myself, I'm trying to beat up the enemy!" But he then felt his words fall onto death ears as Izzy and the girl were then pulled into combat. Till this day, only one other person that he knew showed signs of having such high magic power as his confidence in defeating the girl that was guarding the mine entrance slowly faded at the sight of the battle.

"Whoa.." Was all that came out of his mouth at how Izzy, someone that truly seems to be stronger then him now, was having a hard time against her. "Are there...really people as strong as sis?" He mutters as he watched the fight until something caught his attention.

Looking over at the entrance to the mine, he detected a scent. He wasn't really sure who it was, but it smelt fairly familiar to the scent he picked up when they had arrived. "Wait...can there be others still?" He wondered to himself, looking back at Izzy, then at the mine entrance again. There was no way Izzy would be able to go along now with this girl holding her back like that. If someone else was really around and after the stones, then he was the only one actually free right now to go into the mine with ease and stop them. Determination filling him once again, he straightened himself out and called out to Izzy with his thoughts.

"There are others after the stones! I can move in there better then any person with my senses. I should be able to either sneak up on them or cut them off!" After letting Izzy know what he was planning, he already darts toward the entrance as Izzy took care of it's guard. Concentrating on one of the scents, he begins to follow it into the mine, sending one more final thought to Izzy before he vanishes in.

"...just win your fight and don't worry of me. I never enter a fight with plans on dying. But you better not die either against her. I want to fight you when we return to the guild." Chuckling in his head, he vanishes into the mine.

Once inside, he easily darts through the tunnels with ease, looking through the darkness of the mine as he trails off after the scent of the ones that ran ahead. Extending his arms along the floor, he sinks them into his own shadow that was formed form the few lights along the mine from the spheres of light along the side of the tunnels, lifting his arms into the form of beastly claws.

He could smell the scent getting stronger as he also started to hear the sound of battle up ahead. Passing by a few of the miners trying to get away from what was ahead, he looked confused, only to come to a screeching stop as he saw what was going on.

Right in front of him was a group of mages fighting some kind of armored clawed girl. The whole scene was giving him the same sensation as when he watched Izzy fighting the guard up front. He didn't recognize the group of mages fighting the enemy, but he did recognize the scent from before now. Just standing there with his arms in the shape of demonic claws still, he keeps his gaze on the group in front of him, trying his best to think of what to do. If one of those enemies was holding Izzy back, then there is no way he could take this one out. To make the moment worse, on the other side of the fight was the group of mages that sneaked inside. Suddenly pointing at the group of mages, he bluntly calls out to them.

"Your not getting the payment for this job!", he yelled at them annoyingly, believing that the mages were nothing more then a rival in finishing the job.

Glancing to the side, his gaze spotted the orbs of light that all lined up the side of the tunnels, each one with a strand that connected them all in a sort of circuit line. In spotting that, he gave a big cheeky grin as he lifts his clawed hands on each side of himself. Focusing on the tip of his claws, a strange dark aura begins to shroud them a bit.

"Let there be Dark!" He suddenly yells jokingly as he swung his arms, releasing several shards made from a black energy from within himself that each aimed at one of the spheres of light that brightened the tunnel section they were in. In destroying them, the section of the tunnel him, the enemy girl, and the group of mages were in went pitch black.

"Have fun!" Sikes called out before darting past them all. Using his night vision, he swiftly past them as he worked on getting a good head start to where these "stones" were at and once by one any sign of them in the dark would vanish swiftly. He wasn't sure who would win in this fight, but as long as he kept silent, like during his hunts back home, he was sure he could grab as much of the stones in the dark, right under all of their noses.

Darting back and froth around them all, the echo of his low chuckling echoed through the darkness as he was getting the stones for himself.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Ravenna Character Portrait: Freya Hirane Character Portrait: Sidney Allen Character Portrait: Murmur Burns Character Portrait: Browen Northwind Character Portrait: Amaya Tanaka
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#, as written by Layla
Freya Hirane ~ Village of Umi


Freya wrapped her arms around Ama, squeezing her tightly, as if she were afraid her dear redhead might disappear at any moment. She'd seen so much death today, who knew? Maybe she would. Pulling reluctantly back from Amaya, she held her at arm's length, her blue eyes assessing the damage done to her body. "You're hurt," Freya said, even though Amaya surely knew she was. The dark gloves the mage had slipped over Freya's hands had soothed the pain by forming a layer between her injured hands and the outside world.

Sniffing back tears, Freya said, "I wish I could do more for you." Unfortunately, Heavenly Body Magic didn't include the power to heal. "Maybe Izzy can," she continued. Looking at the entrance of the cave, she said, "I need to find Izzy and make sure she's okay. The fire's out," she said with a sad smile. At least, the unspoken words echoed between them. "I'm going to look for Izzy. There's," Freya choked. "Not much left to save," she finished quietly.

Turning to Sidney, she walked towards the feminine boy and entwined her fingers through his. "Sid and I will search for Izzy." She didn't want him seeing all that death and destruction. The boy had seen enough already. Enough to last a lifetime. "You and Browen can evacuate the survivors, if you'd like. I don't think the fire got to the outskirts." Think back to her trip here and the lack of fire she'd seen, Freya nodded more convincingly. "No, it didn't. Sid and I are going to go ahead. Alright, Sid?" she asked, pulling the boy into a life-squeezing hug.

With a confidence she did not quite feel, Freya headed for the mines, with Sidney in tow.

Freya Hirane ~ Mines of Umi ~ Aozora


"Shh," Freya whispered, putting a finger to her lips as she pressed Sidney back against the walls of the cave. Her eyes took in the scene before her and the much too familiar mages before her. Her hand - wrapped around Sidney's - trembled as she caught sight of... Heavens, she couldn't even say their names. She stood mere metres away from Crimson Blade. The all too familiar figure of Persephone stood casually in the dark depths of the cave, lounging about as if they were merely drinking a cup of tea. Or an infant's blood, in her case. Freya could not tell if she was happy or unhappy to see Persephone instead of Ravenna. Unlike Ravenna, Persephone did not plan or think, really. All Persephone cared for was Murmur and she seemed to be convinced everyone was some sort of God or Goddess. Persephone wore her usual, revealing attire but there were some strangers standing about.

Murmur, on the other hand, looked rather... Different. Gone was the relatively powerful but weaker mage, fighting this new Murmur would not leave her uninjured. In fact, in the state she was in, fighting him might make her very much dead. His eyes had deepened into an eerie crimson, an evil crimson, the eyes of a monster in the making, if he wasn't one already.

Turning back to Sidney, she held both his hands in her own, staring intently into his eyes. "If anything goes wrong - run. You can't fight these people, Sidney. Whatever you do, don't stop running until you find Amaranth. You got that, Sidney? Don't turn back for me or for anyone else," she whispered urgently.

"I can hear you, you know."

Ravenna ~ Mines of Umi ~ Aozora


The hermaphrodite lunged for Aphrodite. In a fraction of a blink, Persephone struck with her scythe. Her eyes remained unblinking as the deadly edge of the blade sliced through Chastity's throat, straight through to the other side. There was a moment of eerie silence - more silent than any sort of ordinary silence - where Chastity's body and head froze in midair. Then, as if time had begun again, the body crumpled into a heap on the ground, as the head dropped into a roll. Persephone's expression remained empty as the head fell to the ground in a sickening thud. It rolled and bumped against Persephone's feet.

"Well, it was annoying while it lasted," Persephone said with a shrug. Turning to Murmur, she smiled slowly, batting her eyelashes with an expression that said she had much to offer Murmur. "Where were we?"

Before Persephone could do anything else, a gleam caught her eye. Cocking her head curiously, she walked towards a strange blue crystal embedded to the walls of the cave. "What's this?" she asked absently, running her fingers over the ethereal crystal. She wanted it. It would look very good with that new blue dress she had tailored for her alone. Before she could attempt to pull the crystal out, an electric shock slid up her fingers, through to her arm. Persephone jumped back, rubbing her sore hand. She glared at the crystal as if it had personally offended her, which it had. Then, the plethora of information slid into her consciousness. She recognised this crystal.

"Aozora," she stated. "It can only be retrieved by one with a pure soul." Grinning, she looked around, knowing no one of purity existed before her. "Why don't you try, Aphrodite? You and your 'virgin body,'" she joked.

"Don't turn back for me or for anyone else," whispered a voice nearby. Persephone stepped away from Aozora, placing her hands on her hips and raising a brow at the direction of the voice.

"I can hear you, you know," she said. Silence replied. "Come out, come out, wherever you are. Don't make me go searching for you now." That was always a very, very bad idea.

Hercules stepped forth.

"Hercules! Why, if it isn't you! It's been so long since we've meant. I do hope you've met my daughter, Zagreus?" Persephone beamed, slapping Zagreus forward. She was in desperate need of a mate and Persephone simply wished to rid herself of her masculine, flat-chested daughter.

Hercules looked at Persephone half incredulously, half wearily. He appeared to be blocking someone... Someone... "Mother?!" Persephone exclaimed, before quickly running forward. Hercules stepped forward, pressing against Persephone's mother and holding out a black-gloved hand.

"Stand back!" Hercules demanded.

Persephone looked at him incredulously. "With all due respect, Hercules, she is my mother. I get to see her, like, once a year. And did you shrink?" Persephone squinted at the miniature Hercules. "What have you been eating? Are those... Man breasts? What in Hades' name have you been doing? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were female!"

"Stop," Hercules said in a pathetically weak voice as a thin veil of white flames appeared between Persephone and Hercules. "Run, Sidney," Hercules whispered. Sidney? Who in Hell was he talking to?

Persephone rolled her eyes, reaching straight through the flames to snatch her mother. The flames disappeared immediately as Hercules yelled, "Let go of him!"

"Oh my Hades, could you please just relax?!" Persephone exclaimed in exasperation, snatching Demeter from behind Hercules. "Mother, it has been so long," she said, hugging her long lost parent dearly. "How I have missed you so!"

"Get off of him!" Hercules continued to yell but Persephone waved him away as if he were a pesky fly. He was.

"Mother, you must eat more," Persephone said, furrowing her brows. Demeter was getting dangerously thin. Then, rolling her eyes at Hercules, she said, "What have you been taking? Estrogen?"

Amaranth


A messenger jogged on the spot in front of Amaranth's guild doors. He knocked rapidly, thrice, before entering, anyway. Grinning, he raced towards the Guild Master, taking off his postman hat respectfully and bowing. "Sir," he acknowledged before pulling a letter from his pocket. "You have an urgent letter from Mailman Trade," he explained. Reaching into his sling bag, he pulled out a crisp, neat envelope sealed with the trade guild's symbol in blue wax. The message read:

"Dear Gawain Harlen,

Your Mages are destroying my trade guild.

You're paying for it,
Chief Executive Officer of Mailman Trade,
Yukito Takashima

P.S. She's so cute."

"Oh, and he gave me this," the messenger said, pulling another envelope from his bag to hand to Gawain. On the back of the envelope, wrote:

"This is a Poof Letter. Open it and it will teleport you to Mailman Trade.

Note: Results may vary."

"And lastly!" the messenger began, pulling a large box from his small bag. "This and," he began, pulling an endless stream of boxes, bags, flowers and strange little trinkets from his bag. "These are for Angel, from the people of Mailman Trade." Pulling a scroll from his bag, he shook out the long, long piece of paper and began to read:

"Dear Beautiful Angel of Heaven,

You're so cool.

Love, forever and always,
Everyone from Mailman Trade,
Especially Yukito Takashima (please call me Yuki)"

"That's it," the messenger said cheerfully before saluting. "Have a good day, sir!"

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Ravenna Character Portrait: Sikes Keller Character Portrait: Freya Hirane Character Portrait: Sidney Allen Character Portrait: Murmur Burns Character Portrait: Browen Northwind
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Sidney Allen


His body shook with relief, watching as Amaya sent a dark orb hurtling towards the unforgiving fire mage, throwing him into a building that collapsed on top of him on impact. The dark spots of his eyes were locked onto where the enemy was tossed for a moment before Stamps hissed at him, as if to tell him to snap out of it. Sidney knelled down on the ground and placed that cat back in his bag, where it curled around and lied on the soft plush toys happily. The animal closed it's eyes in mock slumber, and Sidney was left to simply close the bag and place it back on his back. What an odd animal, but he had been helpful. His attention focused to the outskirts where people had left footprints in the watered down ground, hoping that the water had be beneficial after all.

Forcing his legs to move again, Sidney approached the others, acting as if he was more or less, perfectly fine. He was, wasn't he? The fire was out, the enemy would be out of their way long enough for them to finish the mission, right? There had been no casualties, only difficulties and injuries, but everyone was okay. At least that's what he told himself by shutting out the images and memories of corpses in the hot rubble. The wall wouldn't last for long, but for now it would allow him to continue on without being crippled from the trauma. Freya's hand met his own, clasping the two together, and the pressure against his burnt palms caused him to wince in pain. Nevertheless, he had smiled up at her, glad to see that she had came to help. "Sid and I will search for Izzy." He looked to the others as she spoke to them. There was Amaya, Browen and H'mong, his gaze over them was concerned, but hopeful, even confident. They'd be able to take care of this while they got Izzy. "Sid and I are going to go ahead. Alright, Sid?" He nodded against her deadly hug, happy to know that they'd see Izzy soon.

Not long after, the pair found themselves deep within the mines, hiding from the view from other mages that he could not see. Freya was acting oddly, even panicked, telling him to run if anything were to happened. He furrowed his brow, confused, yet nodded all the same. If these people were that bad, then he would do as Freya asked, as he would be no use against such powerful mages. He was lucky enough to distract the one from earlier, though it was as clear as day that he wouldn't be able to do the same against several. In any case he would have to rely on Freya to take care of it, just like always. A pang of frustration struck him. Why wasn't he stronger?

"I can hear you, you know."

The taunting continued until Freya stepped out from where they were tucked from view, boldly standing before those she had just finished warning him about. She was blocking him from view, or attempting to, for he peeked out from the side in curiosity regardless of the danger ahead. The one that had called them out was a beautiful woman, wearing little clothes and was decorated in scars that reminded him of the people back at the gated home many miles away. "Hercules! Why, if it isn't you! It's been so long since we've meant. I do hope you've met my daughter, Zagreus?" He watched, fascinated as the woman acted eccentrically. He began counting the scars he could spot on her body, before being interrupted by the woman taking interest in him now instead.

"Stand back!" Freya had pushed him back and held her hand forward, acting as a barrier between the two. His expression snapped away from it's previous dreamy state, suddenly aware of how much danger they were in. "With all due respect, Hercules, she is my mother. I get to see her, like, once a year. And did you shrink?" Sindey's eyebrows quirked upwards, mystified by the words that fell from the woman's mouth. Hercules? Mother? It was like the woman was under a spell of delusions and couldn't understand how the people she was looking at weren't who she thought they were because he certainly, positively, wasn't her mother? Right? His eyes widened comically. Unless there was some really strange magic involved, he was quite positive that he never had a child before!

Sidney wasn't able to do as Freya wished and instead only squeaked as the woman grabbed him, yanking him away from his guild mate. Oh no. His heart beat rose, he was a goner for sure, happening to fall right into the lions den. However, instead of dismembering him, she only circled him in a surprisingly warm embrace - something he sunk into on instinct. "Mother, you must eat more," What exactly was happening here? He watched the scenes unfold as if he was watching a cleverly orchestrated play. For a moment his eyes closed, letting the sounds surround him in muffled passes. Maybe it was all just a dream? Sidney's eyelids opened and he found himself staring at her scars again. "Um," His voice was soft, not thinking his words through. "Why do you...Are you hurt?" She wasn't injured physically, but weren't those scars of people that had damaged hearts? Or was he mistaken?

He let his attention travel among the other people in the cave, trying to understand the situation better. A blonde woman and a dark haired man, a rather feminine appearing man, and a..wait. "Murmur?" He couldn't help himself, the words were followed by mental scolding. The man was studying the situation, and a flash of anger crossed his eyes when he let the cat of the bag of the two of them knowing one another. Sidney glanced away, though he couldn't prevent himself looking back at the blue haired man, his body relaxing. This was the guild Murmur was in, and Murmur wasn't evil. He was a bit..well, off, but he was kind. He was the one who gave him a life with Amaranth, even if he wanted information in return for the support. That was normal though, right? Of course a guild would be curious about their rivals. So, why couldn't he shake the feeling that something was wrong?


Murmur Burns
(Mines of Umi - Aozora)


Suddenly, the cave was dark, all thanks to that Amaranth kid that he didn't recognize. The man rubbed his temples for a moment before channeling his magic, lining the top of the cave with orbs of fire to bring light to the area once again. Almost simultaneously was the death of their enemy - Chasity, as Persephone used her weapon of preference to slice her head clean off. A smile crossed his face as he watched the body float through the air before falling to the side, several meters away. The woman had thought it would be easy to pick them off by targeting Kiev, and she had clearly underestimated the woman that possessed Ravenna's body.

Now that their little encounter was over with, they could finally move on and complete the mission. Persephone sent him a look that would make many men drop to their knees, but he only locked gazes with her, maintaining the slight bloodthirsty expression that had pulled his lips upwards for a moment longer, soon letting it falter into a typical thin line. She made her way towards him and the Aozora, being met with the same result he had gotten when she attempted to obtain the gem. His eyes didn't stay on her long as they shifted over to the black haired Amaranth boy, who was caught up in the stones around them. His expression was a curious one, debating on what would be more beneficial; fulfilling his own desire to kill or to let him go, and keep up this charade of being apart of the false guild 'Carrot Blade'?

He found that he would have to let the boy live, for they had visitors, both friends of his. He stood in the background as he watched Persephone and Freya face one another in a one sided argument. The blonde was a strong mage, and he had no doubt that she had grown in her abilities. However, right now, she was very, incredibly and uncharacteristically weak. If she decided to fight them he wouldn't have any troubles putting an end to her life, let alone defeating her. He was having such good luck today, after all. He sent the woman a small smile, something he was doing all too much of today, only this time he decided to keep it in place. Oh, Freya was not happy at all, she was putting up such a fuss to protect little rich boy Sidney.

Sidney Allen, he still wasn't happy about how what was his was stuck in what could be considered a battlefield filled with dangerous, murderous people. The boy was only supposed to gather information on Amaranth for him, and yet here he was being dragged along on all sorts of dangerous adventures. This wasn't good at all, if the boy died it would be quite troublesome for him to acquire a new informant. Let alone such a perfect one like Sidney, who despite his flaws was observant, and obedient. Even his pathetic magic proved to be useful by misappropriating the official Amaranth documents, which would be memorized, more or less, and told to the Crimson Blade member at a later date.

Ideas swam through his head, he needed to guarantee that Sidney would live a little longer, for his own benefit. Murmur couldn't rely on the mages of Amaranth for long. By the looks of things, they could barely hold their own against the mages of Seven Virtues, showing pore strategy and planning. Persephone had grabbed the boy and was smothering him, and it took long enough for him to finally realize that Murmur was here among the group. The red eyed man made a note to tread carefully, he had to try to make sure that Amaranth didn't start to doubt Sidney along with keeping the boy under the illusion that Murmur wasn't part of a dark guild, for if he knew his loyalty and trust might start to crack.

"Murmur?" His eyes narrowed momentarily, he felt anger shoot through his veins. No, he had to keep a level head for this, keep the lies and facades sewn together, lest they crumble and fall, forcing his plans to start too soon and before they were ready. "Hello, old friend." He said, addressing Sidney. Murmur would have to play a simple card trick; convince the others that they knew each other from long ago. It would be easy enough, because who could prove it wasn't the truth? "Persephone, at this pace, you might just break Demeter." For matters like this, he wasn't sure if he was grateful that Ravenna was using that particular takeover or not. Perhaps, in this situation, it was better for him to play along then face the woman who called upon the spirit herself. He looked over Freya and Sidney again before continuing to speak. "Do you think it's possible that these two have a pure enough soul to release the Aozora?"


Humility
(Seven Virtues)


Chasity and Industria were both dead. He could feel it, yet he had no emotions of remorse for them. They had died before, and if he wanted to, as long as their bodies were still somewhere, he could revive them both. The blonde man sat at the guild of Seven Virtues, a fork in hand and a plate of cake in front of him. Temperance had also been defeated, though momentarily. He sent the signal for the man to retreat, hoping that for once his creation would obey such a wish. Even if he could bring them back to life, it didn't mean he would. The man drank the remainder of his tea, eyes traveling over his other children when he was finished. He would do fine with just four, as long as he had Patience and Humanitas, there would be no lull in his plans. It was a loss, but he wouldn't waste time with bringing them back. Humility stabbed a fork through the cake, separating it from the rest. There was no rush, everything would work out in the end. Power, knowledge, discord, destruction. It wasn't as if he actually needed the Aozora, even if it would have been a nice addition to his collection. A sickly sweet smile was in place on his face after he swallowed another piece of the pastry, excitement for what was to come swirling throughout his soul. This was more of a test for the enemy, that's all. Everything would still fall in place, he just had to wait, and let time do the rest.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Ravenna Character Portrait: Sikes Keller Character Portrait: Freya Hirane Character Portrait: Sidney Allen Character Portrait: Murmur Burns Character Portrait: Zagreus Argent
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#, as written by Layla
Ravenna ~ Mines of Umi ~ Aozora


"Why do you...Are you hurt?" asked Demeter. No, not Demeter. For a flicker of a moment - a moment so brief it might not have existed at all - Persephone's emerald eyes appeared aqua. An aqua as never-ending in its sadness as the very bottom of Hell; for a moment, Ravenna watched. And then the moment was gone. Persephone laughed, her green eyes smiling at her mother's concern.

"Of course not, mama," she said. "Do you really think your Queen of the Underworld can be harmed so easily?"

"Murmur?" Demeter asked. Persephone raised her brows, then proceeded to fret endlessly. Did her mother know of her affair? How had she come to know of the Earl of Hell? Which of her servants had betrayed her? Would her mother tell Hades? What would her mother do? Was she angry? Why wasn't she angry? And why on Earth was she covered in crayons?

Persephone's eyes flickered towards the dark haired mage who'd yelled before destroying the lights of the cave. Why was he still there? Who in Hell was he? Then, Persephone narrowed her eyes upon closer inspection. No, it was not a boy but Pandora, the very first human woman to have been made. Well, that explained it. Pandora was an idiot. "What are you doing there?" she called out towards 'Pandora,' who was really Sikes. "Your very existence is a crime towards Godkind." Persephone rolled her eyes, clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth before giving Aphrodite vague eye signals that she assumed the Goddess of Love and Beauty would understand. Of course, she wouldn't.

"Persephone, at this pace, you might just break Demeter," chastised the greatest voice of all Hellkind. Persephone furrowed her brows before releasing Demeter with an "Oh." not having realised she was still holding on to her mother. Persephone smiled sheepishly before kissing Demeter on both her cheeks. "Sorry, mama. You're becoming terribly fragile. How can the Goddess of Harvest be so starved?" Of course, she knew the answer. Her mother was obviously worried for her, as she always was, and could not bring herself to fertilise the Earth. "I'm here now, mama," she said, rubbing her mother's bony shoulder.

"Do you think it's possible that these two have a pure enough soul to release the Aozora?" Lord Murmur asked, his voice as all-comsuming as the galaxies beyond, as heart pounding as a split of thunder in a silent night, as masculine as he who was the embodiment of testosterone, as...

Zeus.

Persephone's eyes widened as she stared at Zeus. Zeus. Her father. God of Gods. Zeus.

Oh. My. Freaking. Zeus.

The Queen of the Underworld stumbled backwards, staring at her father in all his mighty glory. Although he seemed to have shrunk... Just a little. Why was everyone shrinking and why did Aphrodite have chest hair? Still, Persephone could see the power radiating from his grey and white head of hair; the muscles rippled beneath his strong arms. He could break her with a flick of his paw. Wait, paw? Persephone squinted before shaking her head and shrugging. Clearly, there was something wrong with her eyesight. You must cut down on your intake of trees, she chastised herself.

As if she'd suddenly noticed she'd been gawking at her father the entire time, Persephone quickly dropped to her knees, glaring at everyone else - especially her two reckless children - to do the same. "My liege," she said with a respectfully bowed head. Her forest green hair fell over her shoulders to shield her face; she pressed her palms to the dirt to still their trembling. "Father, what do you wish of me?"

"Forgive me for my disobedience, greatest of Gods, mightiest of Kings. Your ferocity inspires every artist of every kingdom to sculpt your beastly shoulders and perfect face," she said, trying to keep the fear from her voice.

"Meow."

Persephone yelped as she jumped to her feet and flattened herself against the wall of the cave, clinging to it for dear life as she hid behind Murmur. But not even Murmur could stand against this... This... Beast. "What do you mean, my lord?!" she gasped, trembling as she stared at the epitome of perfection, of horror. This was the creature of her nightmares. This was the creature who could make Hell freeze. What did he mean? Was Meow a summon? A spell? Was she soon to die? Why had he uttered such a barbaric word? What did this mean? She had to protect Murmur from her father. Yes, she had to protect her love.

"If you must punish one, punish me. Leave him," She looked at Murmur. "Unharmed. I beg of you father."

"Meow."

"I don't understand! What do you wish of me, oh mighty Zeus? Please, tell me and I will do!" she begged, dropping to her knees before the God. "Do you need your fur combed? Your whiskers teased? Your claws painted?" Persephone paused. Why did Zeus look suspiciously like a cat...?

Persephone clasped her hands to her mouth, as if she'd uttered her thoughts aloud. Surely, her father would punish her for such a disrespectful thought! The mightiest Zeus? A cat? Never. Oh Hell, she might as well have killed herself for the atrocity she'd committed in thinking such thoughts and for seeing such lies.

"Meow."

"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!"

Freya Hirane ~ Mines of Umi ~ Aozora


The strangest thing was happening. Freya watched, dumbfounded, as the Queen of the Underworld dropped to her knees before Stamps. Stamps. The cat. Persephone then proceeded to beg for forgiveness and throw herself at a wall when Stamps did what all cats did: meowed. Freya stood frozen, her jaw nearly falling to the floor as the woman who'd just decapitated another bowed down to a cat.

What in the Heavens...?

Then, it clicked. Slowly, because shock made one weak in thoughts but slowly, Freya understood. Persephone thought Stamps the cat was Zeus. Crimson Blade's master's - Death's - greatest fear was a cat.

"Uh... Zeus has a sore throat," Freya said slowly.

"What?" Persephone asked, half fearful, half shocked, half relieved. Wait, no, that was a whole and a half. Well, close enough.

"He, umm... Spoke too much. Commanding people and... Stuff," Freya mumbled. "He uh, wants you to help us."

"How?" Persephone asked, eager to please Zeu- Stamps.

"Umm..." Freya thought.

"I know!" the beautiful green-haired woman gushed, racing towards the blue gems that was embedded to the cave. "A gift!" Closing her eyes, the Takeover glowed, her emerald light intensifying until Freya had to look away and shield her eyes with her arms. Then, the cave was dim once again. "You and Demeter are capable of opening it." Persephone beamed.

Freya furrowed her brows, staring at Sidney incredulously. Them? How? Why? Persephone took Freya's hand, ushering her towards the eerily beautiful crystal and placing her hand on it. The blonde mage shut her eyes, expecting a shock of electricity to slither up her arm but feeling nothing but a slight, warm tingling trickling up the length of her arm. A strange euphoria filled her, until she was almost dizzy with joy. Freya's lips tilted into the smile of a drunk - well, she was always drunk but now more so - as her head rolled on her shoulders. Forcing her head to stay still, she reached towards Sidney. "You should try this," she slurred. "So... Happy.

"Unicorns. I want to be a unicorn."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Ravenna Character Portrait: Sikes Keller Character Portrait: Freya Hirane Character Portrait: Sidney Allen Character Portrait: Murmur Burns Character Portrait: Kiev Draginua
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#, as written by Layla
Ravenna ~ The Village of Umi ~ Inside Aozora


"Well, well, well. Isn't this pretty, Murmur, my love?" Persephone said with a smile as she took in the mesmerising beauty of the caves that was Aozora. Crystals - more beautiful than any she'd ever seen before - glistened, and a lone tree made entirely of light hung in the centre of the space. Persephone gazed at the crystal faceted ceiling, lifting her arms and twirling in a circle. "This i-" Persephone doubled over, her eyes widening in pain as a horrid cry of pain escaped her lips. She lifted her emerald eyes to stare at Murmur in fear, reaching a hand towards him. "Help me," she mouthed, no sound escaping her throat except for her whimpers and grunts.

Persephone screamed, her spine arching as she was engulfed in emerald flames. Long seconds passed and when the fire cleared, Persephone no longer stood where she was. Instead, a furious Ravenna stood in her place, her inky black hair billowing in the unnatural wind. A cyclone seemed to curl around her, lifting her clothes and slick hair as her eyes blazed a brilliant and burning sapphire. A scream of frustration, as deafening as Persephone's but instead of fear and pain, it was drenched in overflowing anger.

"Explain yourselves!" she called, her voice smacking the walls and crushing the very foundation of the cave. Or so it seemed. Her eyes sizzled through the people about her, tearing apart Murmur, Zagreus and Kiev as if they were somehow responsible for the utter disappointment she'd found in Aozora. She yelled, ripping a large crystal from the walls and flinging it at the magical tree. The gate into and out of Aozora began to close, slowly, but Ravenna noticed none of this in her rage. "Who in Hell are they?" she demanded, jerking her head towards a drowsy Freya and a smiling Sidney.

Ravenna narrowed her eyes when she'd closer inspected Freya. She walked closer, standing directly before the S-class mage. "Constance Lockhart," she said, tilting the blonde mage's head up by her chin. "Freya Hirane, is it now? Angel?" she asked without desire for an answer. Ravenna looked into the girl's sky blue eyes and clicked her tongue distastefully, flipping Freya's head away none to gently. "You haven't grown in seven years," she said. Then, looking down at the mage's chest, corrected herself, "Well, not vertically, anyway."

The mistress of Crimson Blade threw Murmur a glare, everything bad that ever happened always led to him. Not to mention she needed someone to blame and who better to be subjected to the brunt of her anger than the twisted paper face? She looked at the closing doors and tapped her foot. "You're letting it close, blueberry head," she said to Murmur without looking at him. Then, with a roll of her eyes, strolled out of Aozora. "Well, what are you waiting for? Your other half to come? Hey, two half women might actually make one whole. You should marry," she said to Murmur and Kiev. "My officially incapable Takeover that is Persephone has insight to such things. I hope your period cramps are over now, Kiev. My condolences to you for the loss of your child, Murmur. I'm sure he is sad that he could not have you as a father." Then, under her breath, she muttered, "Lucky kid."

"Who's that guy?" she asked as she eyed Sikes. Without a shrug, even, she walked out of the caves, duly noting the beheaded clawed hermaphrodite. Ravenna winced at the sunlight that assaulted her eyes when she stepped out of the caves. Who gave the bloody thing permission to shine? "I am not happy about this." Ravenna crossed her arms, clicking her tongue in the notorious way she did. Ravenna was feeling impatient and that was never a good thing. "Explain."

Okay, so she didn't remember half of what her Takeovers did when she called upon them but surely they were not so different from her, right? It was not as if Persephone loved Murmur or anything equally as impossible. That was just absurd.

Freya Hirane ~ The Village of Umi ~ Outside the mines


Freya stared at Ravenna for a very, very long time. They all stood in the sunlight now and she could see the dark mage with crystal clarity. Ravenna looked... Different. And it seemed she'd become the master of Crimson Blade. What happened to Master Naciel? Ravenna had grown significantly since Freya had last seen her. She was no longer bundled tightly in clothes and she could see Ravenna's scars in all their... Horror? Sadness? Freya didn't know what to think. Her wrists were ruined beyond belief, hundreds and thousands of scars overlapping over her body. Thick, jagged scars along her back showed from the edges of her shirt. Freya wondered what tragedies she hid under her clothes, wondered what miseries she hid within her skull. The blonde mage's gaze softened as she looked at Ravenna.

The euphoria of Aozora had left her and Freya suddenly felt heavier than she'd ever felt since K'brak killed Keiko. Still, she wanted badly to wrap Ravenna in a hug and tell her all would be well. But she feared she would be lying. Did anything ever become well for people who'd suffered the horrors and been subjected to monsters as Ravenna had been? Freya remembered the timid, quiet girl from seven years ago. She remembered how the guild - the cruel, heartless guild - had fallen into silence when Naciel carried the damaged girl into Crimson. She remembered how Ravenna would flinch every time someone came near her and how she cowered in the corners when in the presence of men. Freya could not and did not wish to imagine what must have been done to her for Ravenna to become so fearful of everyone, of men.

When Freya had asked for Ravenna's name, Ravenna had called herself "Kaiya." Freya remembered tilting her head then and telling Ravenna it was an ugly name. Later that day, Naciel had said, "Kaiya means forgiveness, did you know? Do you wish to forgive, child? Do you forgive the people who did this to you?" 'Kaiya' had bowed her head, saying nothing. "Never forgive them. They do not deserve such things as forgiveness, rather, they deserve hate. They deserve the pain they have inflicted upon you for all these years. Never forgive, Ravenna." And that was that. From then on, Kaiya was not Kaiya, but Ravenna. The frightened girl had grown to live up to her name.

Yet at that moment, Freya realised she did not fear Ravenna at all. Instead, she felt deeply sorry for the girl. A tear trickled down Freya's cheek, a tear shed for Ravenna because it was something Ravenna never would or could do.