Septiezal finally ripped himself away, or perhaps, the beast let go. Either way, he did not care. Clawing up grass, the serpent scrambled forward and into a fluid slither just in time to avoid Dragon's fire. Then, his middle pair of eyes caught dark shapes moving behind him. Immediately, he whisked around and saw the Shadebeast's black, shadowy clouds bloom into various dark tendrils and like striking snakes, they lunged towards everyone.

Septiezal gasped and snapped his head back just in time as one whizzed past him. Its iciness grazed his scales, harsh and cold, just like the creature's bite. He sped across the muck, narrowly missing another dark wisp as he slithered towards Dragon. "What is this thing??" He hissed.



"speak"

GHOSTLIGHT

SHADEBEAST

36 / 100 HP

Shadows lashed, crashing against several of those present, missing Septiezal as the agile beast avoided Shadebeast's malice once again. The guttural roar of frustration that followed was unmistakeable.

It recoiled as the bright-light, conjured bat flapped and bit at its face; ethereal wings battered it, seeming to do no real damage, yet the light clearly drove back the darkness that shrouded Shadebeast. The fire helped, though seemed to damage it to a lesser extent, and was blinding; when the flames stopped, all seemed engulfed in pitch black.

Shadows coiled and filled the clearing. Wisps appeared and began to gather, dancing overhead, blinking and flashing that phosphorescent blue-green as if they were overseeing the battle. When the shadows cleared, the ghost-lights illuminated an empty patch of grass where the shadows had been. All of this occurred within a few swift seconds.

A face appeared just before Selena in the darkness, all slavering fangs and glowing red eyes, jaws driving to snap her up and crush her bones.

Septiezal 90/100

Pride 67/100

Dragon 86/100

Yoosung 100/100

Charoite 100/100

Selena 86/100

Shadebeast has taken 20 damage from Selena's conjured bat.
Shadebeast has also taken 7 damage from Dragon's Incinerate.

Selena, Dragon and Pride each take 14 damage from Shadebeast's shadow attack.

Shadebeast is attempting to attack Selena.

@Septiezal @Pride @Dragon @Yoosung @Charoite @Selena

Electric Storm, Electric Storm, Electric Storm, Don't Cry Baby
Instinct was to run away from this monster now that the feline had been returned to her senses. Her face was still stinging from the strangely solid shadows. Her jowls ached from the slash as numbingly cold settled in past her burnt orange fur. Running would be the best idea, even if she could not guarantee its success. As darkness once again covered the clearing, she found herself lifting a paw to turn away from this monster. Then that voice echoed in her head again. Was it still speaking to them? Was it the memory of that haunting voice, buried deep into the depths of her brain to forever haunt her? She could never be sure. What she was sure of was what it said. Zeno reverberated in her mind; it promised pain much worse than the one she felt now. With that, a strange feeling began to envelop her. No! her mind cried out, an audible growl formed in the back of her throat with bared too. She could not bare the thought of her new and perhaps only friend facing this shadow beast, of him feeling the pain she did. For once in all of the cycles she had lived, Selena found she could not run away. The risk was too great. She cried out as fangs and eyes suddenly appeared before her. With a cry she fumbled back. Electric sparks leapt from the raised ends of her pelt, growing in intensity. Normally the sparks were unnoticeable but as they grew in strength, she found her whole body tinging. It was an uncomfortable feeling that continued to grow. At last, it became too much. A terrible sound of fear, pain, and fiery broke from the bobcat’s mouth as the sparks gathered at the base of her neck where her gem laid. There, it arched over her head and forward towards the shadowy beast. At any moment she feared the fangs biting down into her neck. Those red eyes burrowed into her brain, into the brain stem that was busy pumping endorphins in a terrifying flight. But she needed to keep her friend safe. No matter what. Such a small bat would not stand a chance against this creature. Speech Thoughts Tags: Notes: Yay for character development!

Pride blinked. He saw the thing lunge for the cat, and in the mere split-second that he had, he refocused the spell he'd been forming--trying to cast the same magic, but to where the beast had now reappeared. He wanted to grab it, to throw it back with his mind, to stop it from tearing the cat apart--but he'd settle for snapping its jaws shut just too soon, if he could.

He wasn't sure what happened--he'd already backfired his magic once, here. Perhaps the wisps were interfering, or maybe the first backfire had interfered, somehow, with his ability to cast.

But the world exploded into stars, his vision went dark and he sagged, again, to his knees in the mud--useless to help, at all.

Dragon turned as the shadows coiled, and as the wisps gathered, his jaws snapping shut and then bouncing back open to hang a fraction parted, white upper teeth glinting. He whipped (slowly) first this way, then that, but saw nothing--until the darkness leapt for the bobcat. He saw her arc shocks into it, saw its gem glinting red--ITS GEM!

He inhaled, coughed, and then felt the heat boiling up in his throat. He couldn't risk a burst of pure fire--but this, this he could. He could aim for that gem, and not risk bathing the bobcat in his fire.

The glob of superheated bile hurled out, whipping in a glowing stream through the air, heading straight for the glowing ruby--so clearly visible against the black of the giant dog's body.

Then he took another breath, starting to rush toward the dog, not waiting to see what effect his magic had had.

"MEEEEEEEEEELT," he bellowed.

For a brief moment, as the beast bared its fangs at the feline , the image of snarling, avian teeth and slashing claws ripped through his mind, spilling his blood. Though he could not remember their faces, the terrible pain of the their attack never left him. Septiezal let out a sharp hiss of terror, not only for the cat, but for himself as well as the shadows engulfed her.

NOOO!!!

He didn't want to see that again, the tearing of flesh, breaking of bone. He did not want to see blood split like that again. It spurred Septiezal do something he wouldn't normally do, not for a stranger. His mind snapped into action, and without thinking, the serpent lunged towards the shadows, guided by the red eyes and the heat of Dragon's attack. Septiezal opened his jaws wide and with a hiss, aimed to sink his teeth into the creature so he could subdue within his coils.


"speak"

@Yoosung

GHOSTLIGHT

SHADEBEAST

0 / 100 HP

So many things happened at once. Just before the beast's jaws closed over Selena, her electricity jolted through it, staggering it. An unearthly howl echoed forth, and then doubled in intensity and pain as Dragon's superheated bile impacted its gemstone. There was a hissing and cracking sound, and the creature stumbled. As it lunged again for Selena, with one last drooling, maddened snarl...

Septiezal hurtled at him. The mutated snake would find the massive beast rapidly weakening in his coils, the prior attack and the damage to his gem making him a victim, rather than a foe. The breath left the beast quickly, the thumping of its heart weakening and, suddenly, failing. The patchwork serpent was left with a massive, limp monstrosity in his grip, one that felt oddly icy-cold to the touch. Jaws hung loosely open, the tongue lolling out lifelessly, the red eyes dulled in death.

Overhead, the wisps danced and sparked, before vanishing abruptly in a quiet burst. Those present would feel the faintest surge of magicka, and the presence of a new form of it, one they could try to cast themselves, if they so wished.

It wasn't clear what the connection was between the massive Shadebeast and the strange glowing ghostlights. How strange...

Septiezal 90/100

Pride 67/100

Dragon 86/100

Yoosung 100/100

Charoite 100/100

Selena 86/100

Shadebeast takes 17 damage from Selena's Bolt.
Shadebeast takes 12 damage from Dragon's Blastmelt.
Shadebeast takes 9 damage from Septiezal's physical attack.

Shadebeast is now dead, but his gem has been damaged and cannot be revived.

All characters present at the end of the battle have learned the spell Will o' Wisp.

This concludes the Event thread Ghostlight. Characters may exit at their leisure.

@Septiezal @Pride @Dragon @Yoosung @Charoite @Selena

The dog turned his ears back towards the Stag as it began to speak, voice weak. He nodded, shifting on his paws, and reached for his magic. But before he could do so, his ears began to ring, vision doubling.

"아니!"

He staggered, with a whine, as agony shot through where his Gem sat, shaking his head. Drool dripped from his mouth as though he were in the early stages of rabies, and he balked, side-stepped as vertigo tore at his sense of balance.

The yelling tore at his ears, Magic tearing in the air. All he could do was stand, deaf and dumb, eyes hazy. It was only when he was struck by the Shadebeast's shadows that he was able to move - ice-cold pain shooting through him. He squealed like a struck dog, and balked back, cringing so low that muck pulled at his stomach. He backed up until his rear bumped into a tree, head swinging listessly.

And then it was over, the Shadebeast was dead. He was free to stagger off into Cetus, to find a space to collapse and sleep through this attack, to rest until his senses had returned to normal.

-EXIT-

I've been on a lonely tripdragging along a lonely shadow

Electric Storm, Electric Storm, Electric Storm, Don't Cry Baby
Time seemed to slow down as the monster’s gapping jaws drew closer. Her eyes clenched shut as her small body tensed for the impact. She had always known, since the day she first hatched in one of the many corridors, that the cycle of life was a cruel and untamable foe. It was her fate to be devoured by a creature more powerful than she. It was simply one of life’s truths … and one she had accepted a long time ago. Despite her instinct kicking in, screaming for mercy in her brain, she knew it was inevitable. Yet the bite never came. Instead the noise seemed to stop. Did she miss the moment and was already dead? Hesitantly she opened her eyes. She was surprised by the shadebeast resting at her paws, burned and tattered. For a moment she simply stared in disbelief at the corpse. She was alive. For whatever reason the fates had spared her meager existence. It was unfathomable that such a brute could be defeated and yet the evidence rested less than a paw’s length away. At first, she simply stared at the beast as though afraid it would reanimate at any moment. Yet only stillness was given in response. Slowly the others were leaving. She only then noticed that the lights two had left. Magic surged in her, but it was barely noticed in the shock of still being alive. Emerald eyes swept the area, noting each of the others. No words came. Just another glance at the defeated foe. Then, with a bristle of her fur she retreated into the darkness of Cetus. Strangely enough it seemed easier to recount her steps. Perhaps that was simply instinct, though, as her thoughts had drifted off to ponder a good many things. Speech Thoughts Tags: -Selena has Exited the thread- Notes:

Pride staggered up, mind and body reeling.

Whatever this creature was, it had the power to turn his own magic against him--or so it seemed. It was, however, dead--and a quick glance around showed that none of those present had been badly wounded.

"I must rest," he stammered. His gait, staggering and weary, carried him first to the dead Shadebeast. He gave it two sharp, solid, violent kicks with a forefoot, and even tore at it briefly with his antlers to ensure that it didn't move. When it didn't, he looked for the stone--and found it half-melted.

Good. It won't be coming back. He turned, trembling with pain and the shock of adrenaline, his white coat stained with black mud and his silver antlers now streaked with blood. He made his way quickly away from the clearing, swaying, without another word.

exit Pride