Mages of the Tricore

[Shadoe Mayari]

Kleis shuddered, quietly curling up into a ball. She could hear the Reaper’s attacks hit her waxy shield, which was slowly weakening and was beginning to melt. She could hear his eerie cackle and taunts, as well as the hissing of a snake. A Familiar? But only Standard Mages could have Familiars…
She closed her eyes, listening to the crickets outside, trying to find the exit. As she focused less on the shield, it began to fade away, revealing her bloodied and injured body. She’ll just have to run now. Before the Reaper could react, she jumped up and her wings began to vibrate so she was just hovering a bit off the ground. She could probably outrun this guy if she tried. She sped out of the old warehouse, creating a Shell Shield in front of the entrance to trap him inside, even it was just for a little bit. She’ll need to find a place to hide before she can change back into her normal form.

Kleis: 25 minutes before knockout. 35% health.

[AmberSerpentofGlory]

It had been an arduous month, full of mystery and misfortune. Emirayha was on a stroll one night in an attempt to gather her thoughts and assuage her anguish. Her deep train of thought was interrupted when she heard odd noises that seemed to be originating from an old warehouse nearby. Not long after the noises ceased, Emirayha saw a girl fleeing from an old warehouse quietly but hectically nonetheless. Feeling intrigued and a bit altruistic, she clutched her obsidian necklace gently as her ears perked up and her eyes began emanating a slight purple glow. She was going to be ready for whatever came next. After all that has happened in her life, she had no reason to be afraid or unprepared anymore. It never amounted to anything. Upon closer observation, she could see that the girl was brutally injured. Beneath Emirayha's concern for the girl was the spirit in her that had been craving a good brawl, something exciting. Pursuing this peculiar looking predicament could allow her to satisfy both. She attempted too move in closer to get a better look and develop a plan of action.

[Shadoe Mayari]

As Emirayha approached the old warehouse, she would have felt a sudden wave of fear and disgust wash over. The Reaper had sensed her, and she was now one of his targets. She would have also felt Kleis’s presence as well, for they were both targeted by the same Reaper. A large snake headbutted the shell shield that Kleis put up previously, before slithering out and morphing into what appeared to be a young man. He was covered from head to toe in black, except for his where his eyes would be. They were most likely clawed out by something, only leaving empty sockets in their place.
A bow and arrow materialized in the Reaper’s hands. He fired a shot near Emirayha and one in the direction that Kleis was running. The arrow landed about a foot in front of Emirayha, before exploding into a disgusting acid that would burn her skin at contact. (How much damage she takes depends on you, but it’ll be insta-kill if she stays in normal form.)
Kleis shot up in the air when she heard the arrow land near her, she wasn’t going to fall for that trick again. She sensed Emirayha nearby. Was she a normal human…? If she was, she had to protect her. It was her duty. She landed in a nearby tree, near a wasp nest. These woods were known for their wasps, and she knew that they’ll probably leave her alone. She just needed to heal in a place where the Reaper couldn’t reach her.

Reaper LV 6
85% health
Pow 55 / Mag 80 / Spd 35

Kleis: 20 minutes before knockout. 31% health, healing.

[AmberSerpentofGlory]

Emirayha could feel her eyes begin to tear up as soon as she felt the aroma of the acid creep around her skin. She had just barely jumped back from the splashes and small burns began to form around her ankles in seconds. The scent was unbearable even in small amounts! It smelled like a concentrated combination of death, alcohol, and nail polish remover. It wasn't too long before her eyes began to glow in a furious rage and she clutched her pendant tightly. This creature definitely wasn't the type to play around, the type with a penchant for cheap sucker punches. When it came to serious battles, it could probably careless about rules and mercy, but luckily neither did Emirayha. She setup a weak mirror shield for her transformation and briefly closed her eyes. Upon her forehead her spirit-eye emerged, her nails grew much longer, and her eyes and hands began glowing.
Now the action would really begin. Seeing the girl hiding behind a tree now, Emirayha knew that she'd have to at least put up a good distraction even if she couldn't defeat it solo so that the girl could fully heal. Who knows how strong this thing is? She had barely gotten a glimpse of its power. Still in rage, Emirayha fired blinding bursts of light from her hands at the Reaper. Having no eyes, the brightness probably wouldn't effect it, but it didn't seem like the type to like light in general. (10-15% damage) Despite her mood, she kept her distance from the reaper and attacked from afar so she could observe it more.


Emirayha: 55 minutes before knockout, 92% health (-2% for speed, not quite a direct hit.)

[Shadoe Mayari]

The Reaper appeared to raise his hand over his sockets, as if to shade them from the light, but didn’t react any further. He backed away with his bow ready, firing several shots in Emirayha’s general direction. Even though they were quite off, they appeared to converge towards to her. Heat seekers? (Four shots fired, each arrow does 5%-8% damage if hit.)
Kleis was healing pretty quickly, but not fast enough in such a short amount of time. There was no way she could help in this state. The other Mage might be able to take that Reaper down, since she herself weakened it a bit, but it was strong. She scooted closer to the wasps nest, whispering some gibberish. A few wasps flew out and sped towards the Reaper, flying into his sockets. However, he didn’t appear to notice them. For now, at least.

Reaper LV 6
78% Health
Pow 55 / Mag 80 / Spd 35

Kleis: 15 minutes before knockout. 37% health, still healing.

[AmberSerpentofGlory]

Two of the arrows landed, (5% and 7% damage) but after that Emirayha reacted swiftly and put up a mirror shield to deflect the other two to the ground. She hadn't noticed the wasps just yet. The reaper didn't seem to waver just yet, but with some more hits and some time it could very well be at the mercy of the novice mages. She fired 5 more light bursts, but this time Emirayha faked fleeing much to Kleis's disappointment and took a short route through some bushes to the back of the reaper while he was recovering briefly from the flash of light. She intended to strike from behind in a fury of clawing, aiming especially for his face and the back of his head. Hopefully she wouldn't be noticed before her attacks could land. And if so, it'd be a long battle to the death..... She was sure it wouldn't hurt to try, especially now noticing the excited wasps floating around in the reaper's eye sockets.


Emirayha 50 min before knockout, 80% health, opponent hit attempts: 5 times

[Shadoe Mayari]

The Reaper remained locked on Emirayha. Even though he couldn’t see, it didn’t mean that he had other ways to locate his target. However, before he could react properly, the wasps had began their own attack. They began to attack the Reaper from the inside out. Kleis listened to the wasp’s cries, hearing them complain about how decayed the inside of his body was.
The Reaper froze in place, his body twitching as if he was having a seizure. He was disabled now, and Emirayha had the upper hand. As she swiped at him with her claws, she would have felt how fragile the Reaper’s body really was, as if he was a weak corpse that had risen out of its grave. The cloth that covered his mouth and neck was torn, revealing that he did not have a lower jaw, but a large, gaping hole instead.
The Reaper quickly backed away, disoriented. A green acid began to leak out of his orifices, as he was trying to expel the wasps inside of him. Kleis grabbed her sword and waited for the right time to swoop down and off this guy.

Reaper LV 6
41% health, disoriented.
Pow 55/ Mag 80 /Spd 35

Kleis: 44% health. 10 minutes before knockout.

[AmberSerpentofGlory]

Upon touching the reaper, Emirayha could tell that its interiors and its heart was nothing more than a vacant shell despite its many abilities. 'Wow, this thing really is just a shell,' Emirayha thought. 'There really isn't much to fight. How pathetic.' Picking at the bold, fragile creature in her mind but still attempting to remain alert, Emirayha continued to claw the creature rapidly while trying to avoid the mysterious green acid. She winked at Kleis.


Emirayha 45 min before knockout, 80% health, opponent hit attempts: 5 times

[Shadoe Mayari]

Kleis lunged at the Reaper, her sword in hand. She hovered just above the ground as she began to hack and slash at him while the wasps still did their job. She decided to count how many it would take to get this guy down, and with Emirayha’s help, it’ll be done quicker. One, two, three--there. The several gashes caused by their attacks were now leaking acid, and the Reaper began to dissolve in his own gross fluids. It wasn’t long until the acid completely consumed his body. The liquid then began to evaporate until nothing was left behind, except for a dull green orb.
Kleis transformed back into her normal form and picked up the orb. “…Hey. I’m Kleis,” she said, holding a hand out for Emirayha to shake. She hasn’t met many Mages that weren’t Reapers from around these parts.

Kleis and Emirayha have gained 7 esse each.

[AmberSerpentofGlory]

"Nice to meet you, Kleis. My name is Emirayha." Emirayha said, changing back into normal form, her spirit eye dissipating back into her forehead. "Nice skills, I like your sword. Now, if you don't mind me asking, how exactly did you get into this predicament?"

[Shadoe Mayari]

"Ah...long story," Kleis said, resting her hands behind her neck. "Long story short, I was on patrol and stuff happened." The dragonfly necklace appeared in her hand and she clipped it around her neck. It had a soft orange glow, as it appeared as if it was reacting to the orb the Reaper dropped.

[AmberSerpentofGlory]

"Oh, I see. We all have our long personal life stories.... I understand. I won't goad you for it anymore." Emirayha said calmly. 'For now...' she thought. "Well where are you off to now?"

[Shadoe Mayari]

Kleis shrugged. She really didn't know where she was gonna go, but she'll have to wait before going on patrol again. "I still have to go on patrol, but I'll need to heal up for a bit." She looked back towards the forest. "I'll probably just hang out around here."

[AmberSerpentofGlory]

"Well, nice meeting you. It's getting late. I'd better go home." Emirayha said, ambling away slowly into the distance in the same languid way she was when she had first arrived. She knew all that would at home would be an empty house; The most peculiar item would be an empty crystal ball full of broken dreams and broken promises. Oh the things she had gotten herself into in the past few months.... only time would tell if she'd ever be free again.

[Shadoe Mayari]

"Wait." Kleis frowned and crossed her arms. "You're a Mage. So I can ask for your help." After all, who's better to ask than another one of her kind? She's been a Mage ever since she was five, but she couldn't use her powers until recently. And with all these Reapers appearing all of a sudden, someone has to deal with them. She sure as hell can't take them all on her own.

[AmberSerpentofGlory]

Emirayha turned around. "Help with what? You don't need to beat around the bush. Take a chainsaw to it."

[Shadoe Mayari]

"It's more like a request, really," Kleis said, shrugging. "I've been patrolling this place every night for a couple of months now, and the amount of these guys has been increasing ever since. If you get any clues as to where they're coming from, just tell me, 'kay?" She gestured to the forest. "I'll be on my way, now."

[AmberSerpentofGlory]

"Okay, I'll do that." Emirayha promised. She had really no idea where they could have originated from or how to contain them, but it was senseless to deny a fellow mage her assistance, especially to the benefit of herself and her home as well. Perhaps their origin would become intertwined with her story one day in the future.... Melancholy-looking girls like her just always seemed to be associated with no good.

[Shadoe Mayari]

Kleis gave Emirahya a slight nod before turning on her heel and disappearing into the forest. She appeared to briefly acknowledge the wasp nest as she walked past it.

---

OOC: Timeskip?

[AmberSerpentofGlory]

---

OOC: Yes! You start.

[Shadoe Mayari]

The next day was, of course, a school day. As the last bell of the day rang, Kleis wandered around the halls, making sure that she was always near a window. She studied the people around her by looking at their reflections, checking out certain guys and avoiding certain girls. Oh, how she wished that she had a boyfriend. It's not like no one liked her, it was because that she was a Mage, she's too busy to be in a relationship.
She sighed and headed towards the exit. She had to patrol today, too.

[AmberSerpentofGlory]

Emirayha moaned at the clock as another minute slowly crept around the corner. She could feel her heavy eyes and her languid body drooping on her desk. She couldn't stand sitting through school, but in a minute she'd be free and it wouldn't matter. Unlike other children, she never had a friend to talk the class away with and actually tried to focus on the material. She couldn't find much interest in anything since it happened.... Emirayha was just about to drift into a deep dream-like state when the bell rang. Finally. But before she could leave, her teacher stopped her. Great. Mrs. Harrisburg never played around, and when she comes you know you're about to get it. "This isn't the first time I've seen you sleeping in my class. You're just barely passing with a C and you can do much better. If I catch you again, I'm calling home and dishing out consequences, got it?"
With a deep yawn and a nod, Emirayha managed to leave without hearing a word her teacher said or caring about it. She began a lazy amble home. Suddenly remembering that she said she'd help discover the origin of the reapers, she turned toward the wooded area where she had first met Kleis.

[Shadoe Mayari]

Making sure that no creepers or normals were following her, Kleis made her was to the labyrinth that is her forest. Before entering the maze, she sent a little message to all the crickets and cicadas to help guide the Mage from yesterday if she were to visit. She progressed through the maze, eventually coming to a little brick cottage. Home sweet home.
It appeared to be old and overgrown on the outside. The windows appeared to be boarded up and the door creaked when it swung on its rusty hinges. On the inside, however, it was surprisingly neat and clean, just like any little cute house. There were no signs of overgrowth except for a few spider webs in the corners.

[AmberSerpentofGlory]

Emirayha soon arrived at the forest, its many hedges much more elaborate than she had recalled. Today it resembled a labyrinth. How come she hadn't noticed this before? In a bit of a dreamy state, she wandered around for what felt like hours before she noticed a cicadas cry echoing in the distance. It seemed to come closer with every step. Before long, she bumped into the cicada making the call and several others emerged. Their many mesmerizing calls persuaded her to follow. They led her deep into the forest to an overgrown home. Curious and aloof in the face of the many hazards that could await, she knocked on the door without hesitation. She hadn't realized that she had been followed, and that a creeper hid in the bushes nearby.

[Shadoe Mayari]

"Come in," Kleis said as the door swung open, revealing the bright and clean interior. She was sitting at a little round table, looking up stuff about the city on an orange laptop. There was a little cheesecake on the middle of the table, untouched until a spider glided down and had a little taste. The spider crawled into Kleis's hand, and she brought it back to its web in the corner. "Please close the door behind you."

[Sponsored content]